1920 United States presidential election in Illinois

none June 2025 September 2023 1920 United States presidential election in Illinois Illinois 1915 presidential no All 29 Illinois votes to the Electoral College 1916 United States presidential election in Illinois 1916 1924 United States presidential election in Illinois 1924 November 2, 1920 x200px Warren G Harding-Harris & Ewing crop.jpg Warren G. Harding Republican Party (United States) Ohio Calvin Coolidge 1,420,480 29 67.81% James M. Cox 1920.jpg James M. Cox Democratic Party (United States) Ohio Franklin D. Roosevelt 0 534,395 25.51% 1920 United States presidential election in Illinois results map by county.svg 180px County results Harding #f2b3be 40–50% #e27f90 50–60% #cc2f4a 60–70% #d40000 70–80% #aa0000 80–90% Cox #b9d7ff 40–50% #86b6f2 50–60% President Woodrow Wilson Democratic Party (United States) Warren G. Harding Republican Party (United States) The 1920 United States presidential election in Illinois took place on November 2, 1920, as part of the 1920 United States presidential election. State voters chose 29 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. A strongly Democratic state during the Second Party System, Illinois became Republican-leaning after the American Civil War due to a combination of strong Free Soil Party heritage amongst its Yankee northern counties with the wartime conversion of some Virginian-settled rock-ribbed Democratic Southern Illinois countiesPhillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, pp. 341-344 978-0-691-16324-6 to Unionist RepublicanismWells, Damon; Stephen Douglas: The Last Years, 1857–1861, p. 285 0292776357 à la Appalachia.Copeland, James E.; ‘Where Were the Kentucky Unionists and Secessionists’; The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, volume 71, no. 4 (October, 1973), pp. 344-363 Between the Civil War and World War I, partisanship in Illinois – like in the Border States – largely re-fought the war, with the result that although the Democratic Party gained at least 43 percent of the statewide vote via Southern and German Catholic support in every election up to 1900, they never gained an absolute majority and carried the state's electoral votes only in 1892.https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/compare.php?year=1920&fips=17&f=0&off=0&elect=0&type=state Presidential General Election Results Comparison – Illinois Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas Due to the Democratic Party's growing Populist and prohibitionist leanings, a decline in Democratic support after 1900 in its German Central Illinois strongholds transformed Illinois into a powerfully Republican state at all levels.Schattschneider, Elmer Eric; The Semisovereign People: A Realist's View of Democracy in America, pp. 76-84 0030133661 Even Woodrow Wilson in 1912 when the GOP was mortally divided carried the state by only a very narrow margin. Harding's managers were always confident he would carry Illinois as all but three GOP nominees had since that party was formed.Price, Harry N.; ‘Harding Back Home: Speaks to First Voters Today From His Front Porch’; The Washington Post, October 18, 1920, p. 1 However, actual polls in Illinois vacillated, with a straw ballot in The Farm Journal even placing Cox at 45 percent in this strong Republican state.‘Farm Vote Favors Harding: Farm Journal Poll Puts Cox Ahead, However, in Illinois and Indiana’; New York Times, October 22, 1920, p. 4 As election day neared, estimates of a Republican plurality of “at least 264,000” were made via a national survey of newspaper editors.‘Harding 363 Votes, Cox 168, Is Result Obtained From Estimates by 47 Editors: Maryland, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Montana, Utah and Arizona, With Solid South, Are Only States Conceded to Democratic Candidate in Nation-Wide Canvass’; Washington Post, October 31, 1920, p. 1 As it turned out, the editorial estimate was shown extremely conservative by the very earliest reports on polling day, which showed Harding winning by three-to-one.‘Illinois for G.O.P. by Half a Million: Harding Gets 3 to 1 Vote Over Cox – Carries Cook County by 150,000’; Washington Post, November 3, 1920, p. 1 Ultimately, Harding did not finish with so large a margin as this, but nonetheless he carried Illinois by 42.30 percentage points. This constitutes the biggest margin by which Illinois has been carried in the state's presidential election history, the best performance by any Republican candidate, and the third-best vote percentage overall behind Andrew Jackson’s two efforts in 1828 and 1832. Harding carried all but three counties, and was the first-ever Republican victor in the following counties: Calhoun, Cass, Clinton, Effingham, Gallatin, Hamilton, Jasper, Jersey, Mason, Pike, Schuyler, Wabash and White.Menendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004, pp. 180-184 0786422173 Primaries The general election coincided with the general election for other federal offices (Senate and House), as well as those for state offices.OFFICIAL VOTE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS CAST AT THE General Election, Nov. 2, 1920 Delegates to Constitutional Convention Questions of Public Policy, Nov, 4, 1919 Judicial Elections, 1919-1920 PRIMARY ELECTIONS General Primary, Sept, 15, 1920 Delegates to the Constitutional Convention, Sept. 10, 1919 Presidential Preference April 13, 1920 https://www.elections.il.gov/DocDisplay.aspx?doc=Downloads/ElectionOperations/VoteTotals/Archived/1920/PE%20and%20GE%201920.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20210817091137/https://www.elections.il.gov/DocDisplay.aspx?doc=Downloads/ElectionOperations/VoteTotals/Archived/1920/PE%20and%20GE%201920.pdf dead August 17, 2021 Illinois State Board of Elections 5 August 2020 Turnout The total vote in the state-run primary elections (Democratic, Republican, Socialist) was 408,586. The total vote in the general election was 2,094,714. Both major parties, as well as the Socialist Party, held non-binding state-run preferential primaries on April 13. Democratic 1920 Illinois Democratic presidential primary no 1916 Illinois Democratic presidential primary 1916 1924 Illinois Democratic presidential primary 1924 presidential Illinois 1920 04 13 150x150px Edward I. Edwards New Jersey F653A6 6,117 33.04% 150x150px William G. McAdoo California 006A4E 3,401 18.37% 150x150px William Jennings Bryan Nebraska 1,879 10.15% 280px The 1920 Illinois Democratic presidential primary was held on April 13, 1920 in the U.S. state of Illinois as one of the Democratic Party's state primaries ahead of the 1920 presidential election. The popular vote was a non-binding "beauty contest". Delegates were instead elected by direct votes by congressional district on delegate candidates. Delegate candidates either were listed on the ballot with their preference on for a particular presidential candidate, or were listed as expressing no preference. However, these delegates officially were uninstructed. 50 of the sate's 58 convention delegates were elected by this means, with eight further uninstructed delegates later being selected May 10 at the state party convention.https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1920/06/20/118331053.html?pageNumber=104 Democratic National Convention, 1920 The New York Times June 20, 1920 1920 Illinois Democratic presidential primary Edward I. Edwards (write-in) 6,117 33.04 William G. McAdoo (write-in) 3,401 18.37 William J. Bryan (write-in) 1,879 10.15 Woodrow Wilson (incumbent) (write-in) 879 4.75 Champ Clark (write-in) 536 2.90 James M. Cox (write-in) 259 1.40 James Hamilton Lewis (write-in) 38 0.21 Scattering 5,405 29.19 18,514 100 Republican 1920 Illinois Republican presidential primary Illinois presidential no 1916 Illinois Republican presidential primary 1916 1924 Illinois Republican presidential primary 1924 1920 04 13 150x150px Frank Orren Lowden Illinois 5d73e5 197,073 50.54% 150x150px Leonard Wood New Hampshire a59400 132,522 33.98% 150x150px Hiram Johnson California 668c63 56,242 14.42% 100px The 1920 Illinois Republican presidential primary was held on April 13, 1920, in the U.S. state of Illinois as one of the Republican Party's state primaries ahead of the 1920 presidential election. The preference vote was a "beauty contest". Delegates were instead selected by direct vote in each congressional district on delegate candidates. Delegate candidates either were listed on the ballot with their preference on for a particular presidential candidate, or were listed as expressing no preference. 1920 Illinois Republican presidential primary Frank O. Lowden 197,073 50.54 Leonard Wood 132,522 33.98 Hiram W. Johnson (write-in) 56,242 14.42 Herbert Hoover (write-in) 2,274 0.58 William Hale Thompson (write-in) 686 0.18 Scattering 1,169 0.30 389,966 100 Socialist 1920 Illinois Socialist presidential primary Illinois presidential no 1916 Illinois Socialist presidential primary 1916 1920 04 13 150x150px Eugene V. Debs Indiana CD3700 102 96.23% 100px The 1920 Illinois Socialist presidential primary was held on April 13, 1920, in the U.S. state of Illinois as one of the Socialist Party's state primaries ahead of the 1920 presidential election. 1920 Illinois Socialist presidential primary Eugene V. Debs 102 96.23 Scattering 4 3.77 106 100 Results Presidential CandidateRunning MatePartyElectoral Vote (EV)Popular Vote (PV)Warren G. Harding of OhioCalvin CoolidgeRepublican291,420,48067.81%James M. CoxFranklin D. RooseveltDemocratic0534,39525.51%Eugene V. DebsSeymour StedmanSocialist074,7473.57%Parley P. ChristensenMax S. HayesFarmer-Labor049,6302.37%Aaron S. WatkinsLeigh ColvinProhibition011,2160.54%William Wesley CoxAugust GillhausSocialist Labor03,4710.17%Robert MacauleyRichard BarnumSingle Tax07750.04% Results by county CountyWarren Gamaliel HardingRepublicanJames Middleton CoxDemocraticEugene Victor DebsSocialistParley Parker ChristensenFarmer-LaborVarious candidatesOther partiesMarginTotal votes castIllinois State Board of Elections; Official Vote of the State of Illinois Cast at the General Election November 2, 1920 (highest elector for each slate)#%#%#%#%#%#%Adams12,85257.07%7,22232.07%3731.66%1,8778.33%1970.87%5,63025.00%22,521Alexander5,28761.92%3,16737.09%580.68%50.06%220.26%2,12024.83%8,539Bond3,66264.67%1,53327.07%450.79%1913.37%2324.10%2,12937.59%5,663Boone5,38689.39%4968.23%1041.73%100.17%290.48%4,89081.16%6,025Brown1,59045.08%1,86652.91%70.20%50.14%591.67% -276 -7.83%3,527Bureau9,96874.94%2,35417.70%6074.56%1861.40%1871.41%7,61457.24%13,302Calhoun1,36764.82%70333.33%140.66%40.19%211.00%66431.48%2,109Carroll5,19486.65%60610.11%871.45%651.08%420.70%4,58876.54%5,994Cass3,95654.06%2,86139.10%530.72%3745.11%741.01%1,09514.96%7,318Champaign15,57371.83%5,24724.20%1590.73%4091.89%2931.35%10,32647.63%21,681Christian7,53552.75%5,39837.79%3472.43%7415.19%2641.85%2,13714.96%14,285Clark5,31255.35%4,18143.57%330.34%70.07%640.67%1,13111.78%9,597Clay3,68359.90%2,35838.35%751.22%90.15%240.39%1,32521.55%6,149Clinton4,56463.71%1,66123.19%2413.36%6308.79%680.95%2,90340.52%7,164Coles8,56358.76%5,81139.87%860.59%90.06%1050.72%2,75218.88%14,574Cook635,19771.12%197,49922.11%52,4755.88%4,9660.56%3,0000.34%437,69849.01%893,137Crawford5,18855.02%4,09243.39%520.55%20.02%961.02%1,09611.62%9,430Cumberland3,09558.18%2,16240.64%110.21%30.06%490.92%93317.54%5,320DeKalb10,37483.93%1,70013.75%1631.32%430.35%810.66%8,67470.17%12,361DeWitt5,00160.68%3,07937.36%520.63%390.47%710.86%1,92223.32%8,242Douglas4,88565.21%2,30830.81%510.68%1481.98%991.32%2,57734.40%7,491DuPage12,28082.00%2,08413.92%3492.33%1210.81%1420.95%10,19668.08%14,976Edgar6,75053.29%5,69444.95%1361.07%60.05%810.64%1,0568.34%12,667Edwards3,00279.21%74219.58%00.00%00.00%461.21%2,26059.63%3,790Effingham4,17657.47%2,98541.08%430.59%160.22%470.65%1,19116.39%7,267Fayette5,75858.48%3,82438.84%1081.10%450.46%1111.13%1,93419.64%9,846Ford4,99582.40%95815.80%220.36%300.49%570.94%4,03766.60%6,062Franklin7,60851.11%4,89432.88%5843.92%1,63010.95%1701.14%2,71418.23%14,886Fulton9,52359.25%5,29332.93%7434.62%2481.54%2651.65%4,23026.32%16,072Gallatin2,18449.94%2,00045.74%370.85%1162.65%360.82%1844.21%4,373Greene3,68547.96%3,77649.15%630.82%1101.43%490.64% -91 -1.18%7,683Grundy4,64780.05%80313.83%821.41%2253.88%480.83%3,84466.22%5,805Hamilton3,22054.71%2,59144.02%270.46%240.41%240.41%62910.69%5,886Hancock7,37957.75%5,12540.11%640.50%320.25%1781.39%2,25417.64%12,778Hardin1,55561.54%94337.32%80.32%100.40%110.44%61224.22%2,527Henderson2,74776.65%74020.65%230.64%140.39%601.67%2,00756.00%3,584Henry12,37978.96%2,53016.14%4362.78%1290.82%2031.29%9,84962.82%15,677Iroquois9,18677.79%2,42920.57%350.30%200.17%1391.18%6,75757.22%11,809Jackson8,00359.96%4,57534.28%750.56%5904.42%1040.78%3,42825.68%13,347Jasper3,27951.63%2,97146.78%410.65%60.09%540.85%3084.85%6,351Jefferson5,71153.57%4,77244.77%640.60%300.28%830.78%9398.81%10,660Jersey2,87357.90%1,99940.29%230.46%200.40%470.95%87417.61%4,962Jo Daviess6,09876.25%1,60420.06%2032.54%280.35%640.80%4,49456.20%7,997Johnson2,97270.91%1,13727.13%380.91%280.67%160.38%1,83543.78%4,191Kane26,83282.82%4,32313.34%7562.33%2780.86%2090.65%22,50969.48%32,398Kankakee12,85379.33%2,82817.46%820.51%3532.18%850.52%10,02561.88%16,201Kendall3,45987.99%43911.17%80.20%30.08%220.56%3,02076.83%3,931Knox12,55973.85%2,85216.77%2331.37%1,1846.96%1771.04%9,70757.08%17,005Lake15,71282.28%2,32112.15%7874.12%1590.83%1170.61%13,39170.12%19,096LaSalle23,75173.23%6,62620.43%9272.86%9432.91%1870.58%17,12552.80%32,434Lawrence4,72054.17%3,70742.54%1001.15%70.08%1802.07%1,01311.62%8,714Lee7,61578.94%1,71517.78%1731.79%380.39%1051.09%5,90061.17%9,646Livingston10,38274.83%3,10122.35%740.53%1951.41%1220.88%7,28152.48%13,874Logan6,95764.79%3,23230.10%1991.85%1981.84%1521.42%3,72534.69%10,738Macon16,48665.27%7,91731.35%3781.50%2360.93%2400.95%8,56933.93%25,257Macoupin8,70044.68%5,93630.49%1,2086.20%3,32017.05%3061.57%2,76414.20%19,470Madison19,24957.82%10,14930.48%1,0003.00%2,6137.85%2810.84%9,10027.33%33,292Marion6,62052.06%4,35134.22%1571.23%1,37910.85%2081.64%2,26917.85%12,715Marshall3,73467.61%1,56828.39%1081.96%801.45%330.60%2,16639.22%5,523Mason3,84258.40%2,59539.44%430.65%290.44%701.06%1,24718.95%6,579Massac3,73182.98%68815.30%140.31%290.65%340.76%3,04367.68%4,496McDonough7,22163.18%3,93034.38%1181.03%300.26%1311.15%3,29128.79%11,430McHenry9,88585.10%1,53613.22%1040.90%280.24%630.54%8,34971.88%11,616McLean16,68065.27%6,41125.09%1330.52%1,9047.45%4271.67%10,26940.18%25,555Menard2,88259.19%1,86438.28%300.62%240.49%691.42%1,01820.91%4,869Mercer5,53174.58%1,57421.22%901.21%1021.38%1191.60%3,95753.36%7,416Monroe2,95570.11%93222.11%421.00%2716.43%150.36%2,02348.00%4,215Montgomery7,42952.92%4,75633.88%2161.54%1,3659.72%2731.94%2,67319.04%14,039Morgan8,16962.87%4,44734.23%1511.16%1140.88%1120.86%3,72228.65%12,993Moultrie3,27955.76%2,51342.73%240.41%170.29%480.82%76613.02%5,881Ogle9,32282.99%1,72015.31%750.67%130.12%1030.92%7,60267.68%11,233Peoria24,54166.00%9,45325.42%7121.91%2,1745.85%3020.81%15,08840.58%37,182Perry4,59858.47%2,47831.51%1011.28%5446.92%1431.82%2,12026.96%7,864Piatt4,28368.16%1,90330.28%340.54%40.06%600.95%2,38037.87%6,284Pike5,56454.12%4,27941.62%1781.73%680.66%1911.86%1,28512.50%10,280Pope2,48677.42%68721.40%240.75%80.25%60.19%1,79956.03%3,211Pulaski4,00262.85%2,27635.74%450.71%80.13%370.58%1,72627.10%6,368Putnam1,62374.04%36216.51%723.28%1195.43%160.73%1,26157.53%2,192Randolph6,18062.54%3,18132.19%1351.37%3053.09%810.82%2,99930.35%9,882Richland3,02657.05%2,17440.99%410.77%50.09%581.09%85216.06%5,304Rock Island21,90871.32%5,20816.95%2,2217.23%1,1233.66%2590.84%16,70054.36%30,719Saline6,72252.96%3,50027.58%700.55%2,32118.29%790.62%3,22225.39%12,692Sangamon21,82059.42%11,00029.95%7522.05%2,6917.33%4601.25%10,82029.46%36,723Schuyler2,80053.86%2,25843.43%240.46%80.15%1092.10%54210.43%5,199Scott2,07552.25%1,78644.98%190.48%441.11%471.18%2897.28%3,971Shelby6,35153.93%5,11343.42%680.58%330.28%2111.79%1,23810.51%11,776St. Clair21,68151.34%14,03233.23%1,3263.14%4,85111.49%3410.81%7,64918.11%42,231Stark2,75079.57%66119.13%130.38%160.46%160.46%2,08960.45%3,456Stephenson9,57074.64%2,77221.62%2722.12%990.77%1080.84%6,79853.02%12,821Tazewell7,67962.69%3,64029.71%2291.87%5464.46%1561.27%4,03932.97%12,250Union3,11945.55%3,66053.45%250.37%50.07%380.55%-541-7.90%6,847Vermilion18,17561.74%8,63429.33%3891.32%1,7145.82%5271.79%9,54132.41%29,439Wabash2,87152.40%2,51445.88%230.42%100.18%611.11%3576.52%5,479Warren6,30969.41%2,23624.60%1051.16%2803.08%1601.76%4,07344.81%9,090Washington4,51970.76%1,10217.26%661.03%65410.24%450.70%3,41753.51%6,386Wayne4,90860.50%3,13738.67%250.31%20.02%410.51%1,77121.83%8,113White4,49451.23%4,14847.29%891.01%50.06%360.41%3463.94%8,772Whiteside10,92381.74%1,92714.42%1250.94%2201.65%1681.26%8,99667.32%13,363Will21,74676.37%5,41019.00%4901.72%6822.40%1460.51%16,33657.37%28,474Williamson10,11856.73%4,72826.51%2961.66%2,40213.47%2901.63%5,39030.22%17,834Winnebago19,91379.23%3,35513.35%1,1754.67%5072.02%1840.73%16,55865.88%25,134Woodford4,92969.06%1,97727.70%761.06%690.97%861.20%2,95241.36%7,137Totals1,420,48067.81%534,39525.51%74,7473.57%49,6302.37%15,4620.74%886,08542.30%2,094,714 Analysis Despite Illinois’ position within the core of reliable Republican states in the “System of 1896”, at the beginning of the 1920 presidential campaign former Progressive Illinois Republican Harold L. Ickes came out against Republican nominee Warren Harding and supported the Democratic nominee, Ohio Governor James Cox.‘H.L. Ickes Deserts Harding as “Unfit”: Ex-Progressive Leader and Illinois Republican Delegate Comes Out for Cox’; New York Times, August 19, 1920, p. 11 Cox would visit the state on two occasions during his national fall campaign tour, once in September‘Cox Gives Leads for Fund Inquiry: Charges That the Republicans Fixed $80,000 Levy for Chicago Coal Dealers Last Summer’; New York Times, September 6, 1920, p. 1 and once in October.‘Harding Is Wabbler Cox Says in Attack: Declares Senator Presents the “Most Pitiable Spectacle” in Our Political History’; New York Times, October 13, 1920, p. 3 In the first campaign, Cox claimed that Harding wanted to fund his campaign by imposing an onerous levy upon the coal dealers of Chicago, and said the Democrats were making every effort to win the state, despite it having been Charles Evans Hughes’ fifth-strongest nationwide in 1916.https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/stats.php?year=1916&f=1&off=0&elect=0 1916 Presidential Election Statistics Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections 2018-03-05 In the second, Cox criticized Harding's stand on the League of Nations, and argued that it would benefit American business and spiritual morals to enter therein. At the end of the third week of October, another Illinois Republican leader in Morton D. Hull followed Ickes in deserting Harding and endorsing Cox, this time exclusively over the issue of the League of Nations.‘Hull, Illinois Leader, Repudiates Harding: Former Congressman Announces His Support of Cox on League of Nations Issue’; New York Times, October 21, 1920, p. 1 See also United States presidential elections in Illinois References 30em Category:1920 Illinois elections Illinois 1920