1920 United States presidential election in Oregon
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 County Results
Harding 50-60% 60-70% 70-80%
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| Elections in Oregon |
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The1920 United States presidential election in Oregontook place on November 2, 1920. All contemporary 48 states were part of the1920 United States presidential election.Voters chose five electors tothe Electoral College,who selected thepresidentandvice president.This is the earliest presidential election in Oregon to include all 36 of the state’s present counties.
Oregonhad been in the 1900s solidified as a one-party Republican bastion, which it would remain at a Presidential level apart from the 1910s GOP split untilFranklin D. Rooseveltrose to power in1932,[1]and apart from a very shortNew Dealinterlude at state level until the “Revolution of 1954”. As of 1920, the state had not elected a Democratic Congressman since 1878, and between 1900 and 1954 Democratic representation in the Oregon legislature would never exceed fifteen percent except during the above-mentioned 1930s interlude,[2]so that Republican primaries would become the chief mode of competition.[3]
In1916,when a powerful "peace vote" due to opposition to participation inWorld War I[4]allowedWoodrow Wilsonto sweep most of the West andGreat Plains,Western Oregon’s largelyYankeepopulation rejected Wilson’s progressivism as it had rejected the “free silver”politics ofWilliam Jennings Bryanin1896.[5]Thus, Oregon was the only Western state apart fromSouth Dakotato backCharles Evans Hughes,althoughOzark mountaineer-settledEastern Oregondid vote for Wilson.[5]
By the beginning of 1920 skyrocketinginflationand Wilson's focus upon his proposedLeague of Nationsat the expense of domestic policy had helped make the incumbent President very unpopular[6]– besides which Wilson also had major health problems that had left First LadyEditheffectively running the nation. Political unrest seen in thePalmer Raidsand the "Red Scare" further added to the unpopularity of the Democratic Party, since this global political turmoil produced considerable fear of alien revolutionaries invading the country.[7]Demand in the West for exclusion of Asian immigrants became even stronger than before.[8]
Despite the fact that Oregon had been the only Western state to support Hughes and had not voted Democratic in a two-way race for over half a century, Cox did visit the state on September 14 to discuss Prohibition, saying that the League of Nations was an opportunity that would not be repeated ( “This League or None” ).[9]Cox also said whilst touring the West that Prohibition should not be an issue as it would depend on enforcement rather than the actual passage of the Eighteenth amendment.[10]
Oregon went with this tide, voting strongly for Republican nominee,Ohio SenatorWarren G. Harding,over Democratic nomineeOhio GovernorJames M. Cox.Harding carried every county in the state; however, the conservatism of Western Oregon where most of the state’s population resided meant that the swing toward the Republicans was extremely muted vis-à-vis any other Western State,[11]and also that left-wing third parties did not have the impact they didin Washington Stateor some states inthe Midwest.In fact, Oregon was the only state in the West, Plains orUpper Midwestexcept New Mexico where the swing against the Democrats was less than the national swing,[12]and indeed it was Harding’s weakest state north of the Missouri–Iowa border and west of theGreat Lakes.[11]
Results[edit]
| Presidential Candidate | Running Mate | Party | Electoral Vote (EV) | Popular Vote (PV) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warren G. HardingofOhio | Calvin Coolidge | Republican | 5[13] | 143,592 | 60.20% |
| James M. Cox | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Democratic | 0 | 80,019 | 33.55% |
| Eugene V. Debs | Seymour Stedman | Socialist | 0 | 9,801 | 4.11% |
| Aaron S. Watkins | Leigh Colvin | Prohibition | 0 | 3,595 | 1.51% |
| William Wesley Cox | August Gillhaus | Industrial Labor | 0 | 1,515 | 0.64% |
Results by county[edit]
| County | Warren Gamaliel Harding Republican |
James Middleton Cox Democratic |
Eugene Victor Debs Socialist |
Aaron Sherman Watkins Prohibition |
William Wesley Cox Industrial Labor |
Margin | Total votes cast[14] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Baker | 3,495 | 58.63% | 2,171 | 36.42% | 179 | 3.00% | 78 | 1.31% | 38 | 0.64% | 1,324 | 22.21% | 5,961 |
| Benton | 3,752 | 66.25% | 1,719 | 30.35% | 86 | 1.52% | 89 | 1.57% | 17 | 0.30% | 2,033 | 35.90% | 5,663 |
| Clackamas | 6,928 | 59.52% | 3,740 | 32.13% | 706 | 6.07% | 179 | 1.54% | 86 | 0.74% | 3,188 | 27.39% | 11,639 |
| Clatsop | 3,498 | 61.40% | 1,687 | 29.61% | 397 | 6.97% | 56 | 0.98% | 59 | 1.04% | 1,811 | 31.79% | 5,697 |
| Columbia | 2,007 | 61.53% | 970 | 29.74% | 173 | 5.30% | 58 | 1.78% | 54 | 1.66% | 1,037 | 31.79% | 3,262 |
| Coos | 3,272 | 52.73% | 2,297 | 37.02% | 485 | 7.82% | 96 | 1.55% | 55 | 0.89% | 975 | 15.71% | 6,205 |
| Crook | 872 | 59.20% | 528 | 35.85% | 40 | 2.72% | 23 | 1.56% | 10 | 0.68% | 344 | 23.35% | 1,473 |
| Curry | 599 | 60.87% | 280 | 28.46% | 91 | 9.25% | 10 | 1.02% | 4 | 0.41% | 319 | 32.42% | 984 |
| Deschutes | 1,649 | 54.24% | 1,072 | 35.26% | 230 | 7.57% | 45 | 1.48% | 44 | 1.45% | 577 | 18.98% | 3,040 |
| Douglas | 4,402 | 60.18% | 2,428 | 33.19% | 334 | 4.57% | 97 | 1.33% | 54 | 0.74% | 1,974 | 26.99% | 7,315 |
| Gilliam | 821 | 60.59% | 498 | 36.75% | 18 | 1.33% | 14 | 1.03% | 4 | 0.30% | 323 | 23.84% | 1,355 |
| Grant | 1,310 | 68.59% | 497 | 26.02% | 77 | 4.03% | 18 | 0.94% | 8 | 0.42% | 813 | 42.57% | 1,910 |
| Harney | 1,026 | 63.26% | 479 | 29.53% | 76 | 4.69% | 18 | 1.11% | 23 | 1.42% | 547 | 33.72% | 1,622 |
| Hood River | 1,449 | 59.95% | 761 | 31.49% | 122 | 5.05% | 63 | 2.61% | 22 | 0.91% | 688 | 28.47% | 2,417 |
| Jackson | 4,382 | 59.81% | 2,503 | 34.17% | 247 | 3.37% | 135 | 1.84% | 59 | 0.81% | 1,879 | 25.65% | 7,326 |
| Jefferson | 623 | 61.56% | 300 | 29.64% | 38 | 3.75% | 37 | 3.66% | 14 | 1.38% | 323 | 31.92% | 1,012 |
| Josephine | 1,606 | 62.22% | 819 | 31.73% | 99 | 3.84% | 34 | 1.32% | 23 | 0.89% | 787 | 30.49% | 2,581 |
| Klamath | 2,742 | 70.18% | 901 | 23.06% | 164 | 4.20% | 35 | 0.90% | 65 | 1.66% | 1,841 | 47.12% | 3,907 |
| Lake | 1,136 | 72.08% | 358 | 22.72% | 59 | 3.74% | 13 | 0.82% | 10 | 0.63% | 778 | 49.37% | 1,576 |
| Lane | 7,714 | 61.97% | 3,986 | 32.02% | 457 | 3.67% | 232 | 1.86% | 58 | 0.47% | 3,728 | 29.95% | 12,447 |
| Lincoln | 1,229 | 59.09% | 669 | 32.16% | 140 | 6.73% | 28 | 1.35% | 14 | 0.67% | 560 | 26.92% | 2,080 |
| Linn | 4,693 | 56.17% | 3,177 | 38.03% | 264 | 3.16% | 180 | 2.15% | 41 | 0.49% | 1,516 | 18.14% | 8,355 |
| Malheur | 2,352 | 64.97% | 1,075 | 29.70% | 123 | 3.40% | 47 | 1.30% | 23 | 0.64% | 1,277 | 35.28% | 3,620 |
| Marion | 8,798 | 66.16% | 3,831 | 28.81% | 327 | 2.46% | 287 | 2.16% | 55 | 0.41% | 4,967 | 37.35% | 13,298 |
| Morrow | 1,186 | 68.75% | 451 | 26.14% | 57 | 3.30% | 24 | 1.39% | 7 | 0.41% | 735 | 42.61% | 1,725 |
| Multnomah | 44,806 | 58.06% | 27,607 | 35.77% | 3,488 | 4.52% | 846 | 1.10% | 427 | 0.55% | 17,199 | 22.29% | 77,174 |
| Polk | 2,709 | 58.97% | 1,653 | 35.98% | 123 | 2.68% | 97 | 2.11% | 12 | 0.26% | 1,056 | 22.99% | 4,594 |
| Sherman | 893 | 65.57% | 423 | 31.06% | 30 | 2.20% | 13 | 0.95% | 3 | 0.22% | 470 | 34.51% | 1,362 |
| Tillamook | 1,664 | 60.80% | 828 | 30.25% | 165 | 6.03% | 49 | 1.79% | 31 | 1.13% | 836 | 30.54% | 2,737 |
| Umatilla | 4,979 | 58.03% | 3,255 | 37.94% | 196 | 2.28% | 108 | 1.26% | 42 | 0.49% | 1,724 | 20.09% | 8,580 |
| Union | 2,844 | 56.65% | 1,899 | 37.83% | 173 | 3.45% | 70 | 1.39% | 34 | 0.68% | 945 | 18.82% | 5,020 |
| Wallowa | 1,612 | 60.28% | 896 | 33.51% | 100 | 3.74% | 44 | 1.65% | 22 | 0.82% | 716 | 26.78% | 2,674 |
| Wasco | 2,698 | 62.25% | 1,434 | 33.09% | 122 | 2.81% | 58 | 1.34% | 22 | 0.51% | 1,264 | 29.16% | 4,334 |
| Washington | 4,947 | 64.74% | 2,262 | 29.60% | 255 | 3.34% | 133 | 1.74% | 44 | 0.58% | 2,685 | 35.14% | 7,641 |
| Wheeler | 797 | 76.56% | 212 | 20.37% | 11 | 1.06% | 16 | 1.54% | 5 | 0.48% | 585 | 56.20% | 1,041 |
| Yamhill | 4,102 | 59.49% | 2,353 | 34.13% | 149 | 2.16% | 265 | 3.84% | 26 | 0.38% | 1,749 | 25.37% | 6,895 |
| Totals | 143,592 | 60.20% | 80,019 | 33.55% | 9,801 | 4.11% | 3,595 | 1.51% | 1,515 | 0.64% | 63,573 | 26.65% | 238,522 |
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Burnham, Walter Dean; ‘The System of 1896’, in Kleppner, Paul (editor),The Evolution of American Electoral Systems,pp. 176-179ISBN0313213798
- ^Schattschneider, Elmer Eric;The Semisovereign People: A Realist's View of Democracy in America,pp. 76-84ISBN0030133661
- ^Murray, Keith; ‘Issues and Personalities of Pacific Northwest Politics, 1889-1950’,The Pacific Northwest Quarterly,vol. 41, no. 3 (July 1950), pp. 213-233
- ^Menendez, Albert J.;The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004,p. 47ISBN0786422173
- ^abPhillips, Kevin P.;The Emerging Republican Majority,p. 497ISBN9780691163246
- ^Goldberg, David Joseph;Discontented America: The United States in the 1920s,p. 44ISBN0801860059
- ^Leuchtenburg, William E.; The Perils of Prosperity, 1914-1932, p. 75ISBN0226473724
- ^Vought, Hans P.;The Bully Pulpit and the Melting Pot: American Presidents And The Immigrant, 1897-1933,p. 167ISBN0865548870
- ^Small, Robert T.; ‘Cox Claims Reward: Lists Fourteen Attitudes He Says Harding Has Taken’;The Washington Post,October 22, 1920, p. 1
- ^‘Governor Cox Declares Prohibition Is Not a Campaign Issue: Tells Washington State “Drys” and Democrats He Enforced Law in Ohio’;Special to theNew York Times,September 12, 1920, p. 1
- ^abPhillips;The Emerging Republican Majority,p. 498
- ^"1920 Presidential General Election Data – National Vote Trend: D–R Margin Change from Previous Election Relative to National Change".
- ^"1920 Presidential General Election Results – Oregon".Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas.RetrievedDecember 29,2019.
- ^Oregon Secretary of State Elections Division;Abstract of Votes Cast in the several counties in the State of Oregon at a General Election held on the Second Day of November, A.D. 1920, for Presidential Electors, United States Senator in Congress...
