1904 United States presidential election in Oregon

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1904 United States presidential election in Oregon
Flag of Oregon (1900-1925).gif
  1900 November 8, 1904 1908  
  Theodore Roosevelt by the Pach Bros (cropped 3x4).jpg AltonBParker.png Debs-Eugene-circa1904.jpg
Nominee Theodore Roosevelt Alton B. Parker Eugene V. Debs
Party Republican Democratic Socialist
Home state New York New York Indiana
Running mate Charles W. Fairbanks Henry G. Davis Ben Hanford
Electoral vote400
Popular vote60,45517,5217,619
Percentage67.06%19.43%8.45%

Oregon Presidential Election Results 1904.svg
County results
Roosevelt
  50–60%
  60–70%
  70–80%

The 1904 United States presidential election in Oregon took place on November 8, 1904. All contemporary 45 states were part of the 1904 United States presidential election. State voters chose four electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.

Contents

This election would solidify Oregon as a one-party Republican bastion, which it would remain at a presidential level apart from the 1910s GOP split until Franklin D. Roosevelt rose to power in 1932, [1] and apart from a very short New Deal interlude at state level until the “Revolution of 1954”. Democratic representation in the Oregon legislature would never exceed fifteen percent during this period, [2] and no Democrat other than Woodrow Wilson would henceforth carry even one county in the state before the Great Depression. Republican primaries would become the chief mode of competition: indeed Oregon became in this election year the first Western state to utilize the direct primary. [3]

President Roosevelt was extremely popular in Oregon because of his policies of reforming the railroads, creating a Department of Commerce and Labor and conserving the forest resources that were at the time heavily exploited by big business. [3] Parker's re-emphasis on the Gold Standard, which harked back to Grover Cleveland, aroused no enthusiasm in Oregon. [4] Nor did his opposition to Roosevelt's policy of imperialism in the Pacific, [5] with the result that Parker's showing was the worst-ever by any major-party nominee in Oregon except for his mentor Cleveland twelve years previously. [6] At the same time, Roosevelt's performance remains the best ever by any presidential candidate since Oregon's statehood in 1859. Parker did not win thirty percent in a single county, and overall took just a little over nineteen percent of Oregon's ballots.

Socialist nominee Eugene V. Debs, whose campaign focused on trust-busting and the evils of monopoly, [7] traveled all around the nation in a charismatic campaign that netted him over four hundred thousand votes nationwide. Although he did not outpoll Parker in any Oregon county, Debs nonetheless received over eight percent of the vote.

Results

1904 United States presidential election in Oregon [8]
PartyCandidateVotesPercentageElectoral votes
Republican Theodore Roosevelt (incumbent)60,45567.06%4
Democratic Alton B. Parker 17,52119.43%0
Socialist Eugene V. Debs 7,6198.45%0
Prohibition Silas C. Swallow 3,8064.22%0
Populist Thomas E. Watson 7530.84%0
Totals90,154100.00%4
Voter turnout

Results by county

CountyTheodore Roosevelt
Republican
Alton Brooks Parker
Democratic
Eugene Victor Debs [9]
Socialist
Silas Comfort Swallow [9]
Prohibition
Thomas Edward Watson [9]
Populist
MarginTotal votes cast [10]
# %# %# %# %# %# %
Baker 1,99059.76%93828.17%33510.06%521.56%150.45%1,05231.59%3,330
Benton 1,10762.51%44224.96%744.18%1367.68%120.68%66537.55%1,771
Clackamas 2,78367.78%68416.66%42110.25%1413.43%771.88%2,09951.12%4,106
Clatsop 1,40868.68%33616.39%25612.49%412.00%90.44%1,07252.29%2,050
Columbia 1,30174.26%22112.61%1609.13%613.48%90.51%1,08061.64%1,752
Coos 1,71264.26%49018.39%34212.84%923.45%281.05%1,22245.87%2,664
Crook 76365.33%26622.77%1169.93%161.37%70.60%49742.55%1,168
Curry 32270.77%8719.12%388.35%51.10%30.66%23551.65%455
Douglas 2,44363.21%90823.49%38710.01%952.46%320.83%1,53539.72%3,865
Gilliam 56867.46%19523.16%485.70%283.33%30.36%37344.30%842
Grant 1,00767.81%31621.28%1238.28%322.15%70.47%69146.53%1,485
Harney 39558.35%19028.06%8011.82%71.03%50.74%20530.28%677
Jackson 1,99261.16%79824.50%3079.43%1334.08%270.83%1,19436.66%3,257
Josephine 91460.89%32721.79%20813.86%473.13%50.33%58739.11%1,501
Klamath 55268.74%20825.90%253.11%101.25%81.00%34442.84%803
Lake 39474.20%11521.66%40.75%91.69%91.69%27952.54%531
Lane 3,50165.88%1,16621.94%3656.87%2324.37%500.94%2,33543.94%5,314
Lincoln 58164.84%17919.98%11813.17%141.56%40.45%40244.87%896
Linn 2,34654.36%1,20627.94%4099.48%2866.63%691.60%1,14026.41%4,316
Malheur 79963.82%28022.36%745.91%776.15%221.76%51941.45%1,252
Marion 4,10670.03%1,08418.49%2975.07%3125.32%641.09%3,02251.54%5,863
Morrow 87565.10%23017.11%15611.61%785.80%50.37%64547.99%1,344
Multnomah 13,69273.88%2,32412.54%1,8499.98%5923.19%770.42%11,36861.34%18,534
Polk 1,38063.65%52124.03%1225.63%1185.44%271.25%85939.62%2,168
Sherman 70171.10%16316.53%323.25%868.72%40.41%53854.56%986
Tillamook 72969.49%13612.96%11911.34%656.20%00.00%59356.53%1,049
Umatilla 2,64266.27%84021.07%2596.50%2235.59%230.58%1,80245.20%3,987
Union 1,88462.88%77525.87%2026.74%1163.87%190.63%1,10937.02%2,996
Wallowa 71464.32%25522.97%998.92%343.06%80.72%45941.35%1,110
Wasco 2,09267.33%53617.25%2287.34%2227.15%290.93%1,55650.08%3,107
Washington 2,29673.19%49215.68%1394.43%1514.81%591.88%1,80457.51%3,137
Wheeler 46269.58%16124.25%223.31%121.81%71.05%30145.33%664
Yamhill 2,00463.14%65220.54%2146.74%2838.92%210.66%1,35242.60%3,174
Totals60,45567.06%17,52119.43%7,6288.46%3,8064.22%7440.83%42,93447.62%90,154

See also

Notes

    References

    1. Burnham, Walter Dean; ‘The System of 1896’, in Kleppner, Paul (editor), The Evolution of American Electoral Systems, pp. 176-179 ISBN   0313213798
    2. Schattschneider, Elmer Eric; The Semisovereign People: A Realist's View of Democracy in America, pp. 76-84 ISBN   0030133661
    3. 1 2 Murray, Keith; ‘Issues and Personalities of Pacific Northwest Politics, 1889-1950’, The Pacific Northwest Quarterly, vol. 41, no. 3 (July 1950), pp. 213-233
    4. Archer, Clark; Martis, Kenneth C. and Shelley, Fred M.; Historical Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections 1788-2004, p. 99 ISBN   1568029551
    5. Warren, Kenneth F.; Encyclopedia of U.S. campaigns, elections, and electoral behavior: A-M, p. 609 ISBN   1412954894
    6. David Leip. "Presidential General Election Results Comparison – Oregon". Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas.
    7. Egbert, Donald Drew and Bassett, Thomas D.; Socialism and American Life; p. 278 ISBN   1400875080
    8. Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas; Presidential General Election Results – Oregon
    9. 1 2 3 Géoelections; Popular Vote for Eugene V. Debs (1904) (.xlsx file for €15)
    10. Robinson, Edgar Eugene; The Presidential Vote 1896-1932, pp. 305-308 ISBN   9780804716963