1916 United States presidential election in Minnesota

Main article: 1916 United States presidential election

1916 United States presidential election in Minnesota

←  1912 November 7, 1916 1920  →

Nominee Charles Evans Hughes Woodrow Wilson Allan L. Benson Party Republican Democratic Socialist Home state New York New Jersey New York Running mate Charles W. Fairbanks Thomas R. Marshall George Ross Kirkpatrick Electoral vote 12 0 0 Popular vote 179,544 179,152 20,117 Percentage 46.35% 46.25% 5.19%

County Results Hughes   40-50%   50-60%   60-70% Wilson   30-40%   40-50%   50-60%

President before election Woodrow Wilson Democratic Elected President Woodrow Wilson Democratic

The 1916 United States presidential election in Minnesota took place on November 7, 1916 as part of the 1916 United States presidential election. Minnesota voters chose 12 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president. Minnesota held its first Presidential Primary on March 14, 1916.

Minnesota was won by the Republican candidate, former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Charles Evans Hughes won the state over incumbent President Woodrow Wilson by a margin of just 392 votes, or 0.1011968% (one vote in 988). This is the fifteenth-closest statewide presidential election on record, and although it was only the second-closest result in 1916 after New Hampshire, there was not to be a closer result until Adlai Stevenson II won Kentucky in 1952 by 700 of 993,148 votes.

Wilson's performance was the closest any Democrat had come to carrying the Republican stronghold of Minnesota since Minnesota's statehood inception in 1858 ^[1] – he was almost five percent ahead of his losing margin in 1912 when the state was won by Progressive Theodore Roosevelt. Wilson comfortably won the urban counties of Ramsey, Hennepin, and St. Louis, which became rigid strongholds for the Democratic Party. Wilson also led Hughes in the socialist strongholds of the forestry- and mining-dominated northern counties. Nevertheless, Hughes won the state with the dominance of the farming districts in the south and his ability to carry fifty-three of eighty-seven state counties. Wilson was however the first Democrat to ever carry Lake, Kandiyohi, Saint Louis, Norman, Todd, Lyon, Murray and Martin Counties, ^[2] the first to carry Carlton County since Winfield Scott Hancock in 1880, and the first to win Hubbard County since Grover Cleveland in 1888. ^[2]

As of the 2020 presidential election , ^[update] this would be the last time that a Democrat would win the presidency without carrying Minnesota, and the only time since statehood that a Democrat won two consecutive terms without ever carrying the state.

Primary elections

Republican primary

The Republican primary took place on March 14, 1916. Albert B. Cummins, Henry D. Estabrook and William Grant Webster were the three candidates.

1916 Minnesota Republican presidential primary ^[3]

Candidate	Votes	%
Albert B. Cummins	54,214	76.77
Henry D. Estabrook	12,693	17.97
Wm. Grant Webster	3,710	5.25
Total	70,617	100.0

Democratic primary

The Democratic primary took place on March 14, 1916. Incumbent president, Woodrow Wilson, ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.

1916 Minnesota Democratic presidential primary ^[4]

Candidate	Votes	%
Woodrow Wilson	45,136	100.00
Total	45,136	100.0

Prohibition primary

The Prohibition primary took place on March 14, 1916. William Sulzer, Eugene Foss were the two candidates, neither of which were members of the Prohibition party, although Sulzer had been nominated by the Prohibition party for Governor of New York in 1914.

1916 Minnesota Prohibition presidential primary ^[5]

Candidate	Votes	%
William Sulzer	3,334	57.49
Eugene N. Foss	2,465	42.51
Total	5,799	100.0

Results

1916 United States presidential election in Minnesota [6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Republican	Charles Evans Hughes	179,544	46.35%	12
	Democratic	Woodrow Wilson	179,152	46.25%	0
	Socialist	Allan L. Benson	20,117	5.19%	0
	Prohibition	Frank Hanly	7,793	2.01%	0
	Socialist Labor	Arthur E. Reimer	468	0.12%	0
	Progressive	No candidate	290	0.07%	0
Totals			387,364	100.00%	12

Results by county

County	Charles Evans Hughes Republican		Thomas Woodrow Wilson Democratic		Allan Louis Benson [7] Socialist		Various candidates Other parties		Margin		Total votes cast [8]
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Aitkin	1,122	46.23%	877	36.14%	385	15.59%	43	1.77%	245	10.09%	2,427
Anoka	1,262	48.95%	1,171	45.42%	77	2.91%	68	2.64%	91	3.53%	2,578
Becker	1,761	50.44%	1,453	41.62%	181	5.05%	96	2.75%	308	8.82%	3,491
Beltrami	1,331	33.04%	1,912	47.47%	716	17.48%	69	1.71%	-581	-14.42%	4,028
Benton	1,020	49.09%	945	45.48%	81	3.84%	32	1.54%	75	3.61%	2,078
Big Stone	810	44.88%	869	48.14%	77	4.15%	49	2.71%	-59	-3.27%	1,805
Blue Earth	2,864	53.96%	2,211	41.65%	95	1.74%	138	2.60%	653	12.30%	5,308
Brown	2,078	59.68%	1,101	31.62%	252	7.13%	51	1.46%	977	28.06%	3,482
Carlton	1,096	40.18%	1,115	40.87%	425	15.07%	92	3.37%	-19	-0.70%	2,728
Carver	1,950	65.57%	960	32.28%	34	1.13%	30	1.01%	990	33.29%	2,974
Cass	982	38.21%	1,260	49.03%	281	10.74%	47	1.83%	-278	-10.82%	2,570
Chippewa	1,311	46.79%	1,134	40.47%	261	9.01%	96	3.43%	177	6.32%	2,802
Chisago	1,749	61.22%	944	33.04%	130	4.50%	34	1.19%	805	28.18%	2,857
Clay	1,549	44.79%	1,716	49.62%	104	2.93%	89	2.57%	-167	-4.83%	3,458
Clearwater	493	39.92%	544	44.05%	158	12.39%	40	3.24%	-51	-4.13%	1,235
Cook	125	34.44%	162	44.63%	63	16.76%	13	3.58%	-37	-10.19%	363
Cottonwood	1,425	60.23%	762	32.21%	116	4.78%	63	2.66%	663	28.02%	2,366
Crow Wing	1,715	44.42%	1,568	40.61%	445	11.14%	133	3.44%	147	3.81%	3,861
Dakota	1,881	41.73%	2,373	52.64%	144	3.12%	110	2.44%	-492	-10.91%	4,508
Dodge	1,260	55.80%	895	39.64%	45	1.94%	58	2.57%	365	16.16%	2,258
Douglas	1,709	50.26%	1,398	41.12%	176	5.00%	117	3.44%	311	9.15%	3,400
Faribault	2,184	61.71%	1,123	31.73%	76	2.06%	156	4.41%	1,061	29.98%	3,539
Fillmore	2,945	65.20%	1,313	29.07%	92	1.96%	167	3.70%	1,632	36.13%	4,517
Freeborn	2,418	60.07%	1,347	33.47%	106	2.54%	154	3.83%	1,071	26.61%	4,025
Goodhue	2,471	53.09%	1,875	40.29%	122	2.09%	186	3.29%	1,596	28.23%	4,654
Grant	878	49.19%	778	43.59%	66	3.57%	63	3.53%	100	5.60%	1,785
Hennepin	27,957	40.78%	36,395	53.09%	3,302	4.75%	902	1.32%	-8,438	-12.31%	68,556
Houston	1,783	69.08%	744	28.83%	23	0.88%	31	1.20%	1,039	40.26%	2,581
Hubbard	685	40.39%	799	47.11%	171	9.84%	41	2.42%	-114	-6.72%	1,696
Isanti	1,123	48.18%	935	40.11%	217	9.09%	56	2.40%	188	8.07%	2,331
Itasca	1,163	36.89%	1,504	47.70%	429	13.36%	57	1.81%	-341	-10.82%	3,153
Jackson	1,503	51.95%	1,272	43.97%	75	2.55%	43	1.49%	231	7.98%	2,893
Kanabec	776	49.02%	608	38.41%	174	10.82%	25	1.58%	168	10.61%	1,583
Kandiyohi	1,612	41.82%	1,968	51.05%	167	4.21%	108	2.80%	-356	-9.23%	3,855
Kittson	709	43.98%	749	46.46%	107	6.45%	47	2.92%	-40	-2.48%	1,612
Koochiching	474	25.68%	1,089	58.99%	255	13.61%	28	1.52%	-615	-33.32%	1,846
Lac qui Parle	1,614	56.30%	1,047	36.52%	100	3.36%	106	3.70%	567	19.78%	2,867
Lake	401	30.22%	506	38.13%	366	26.50%	54	4.07%	-105	-7.91%	1,327
Le Sueur	1,430	43.89%	1,723	52.89%	53	1.60%	52	1.60%	-293	-8.99%	3,258
Lincoln	777	38.18%	1,174	57.69%	40	1.92%	44	2.16%	-397	-19.51%	2,035
Lyon	1,389	38.97%	1,893	53.11%	200	5.49%	82	2.30%	-504	-14.14%	3,564
McLeod	1,772	55.22%	1,305	40.67%	69	2.11%	63	1.96%	467	14.55%	3,209
Mahnomen	262	36.39%	411	57.08%	43	5.94%	4	0.56%	-149	-20.69%	720
Marshall	1,461	44.73%	1,513	46.33%	204	6.08%	88	2.69%	-52	-1.59%	3,266
Martin	1,741	47.16%	1,756	47.56%	88	2.32%	107	2.90%	-15	-0.41%	3,692
Meeker	1,780	52.69%	1,475	43.66%	67	1.95%	56	1.66%	305	9.03%	3,378
Mille Lacs	1,127	44.58%	1,113	44.03%	248	9.66%	40	1.58%	14	0.55%	2,528
Morrison	1,887	48.84%	1,650	42.70%	225	5.67%	102	2.64%	237	6.13%	3,864
Mower	2,520	59.43%	1,572	37.08%	64	1.48%	84	1.98%	948	22.36%	4,240
Murray	1,137	46.64%	1,193	48.93%	69	2.79%	39	1.60%	-56	-2.30%	2,438
Nicollet	1,288	58.44%	814	36.93%	38	1.68%	64	2.90%	474	21.51%	2,204
Nobles	1,413	50.39%	1,280	45.65%	46	1.60%	65	2.32%	133	4.74%	2,804
Norman	1,046	42.11%	1,076	43.32%	227	8.67%	135	5.43%	-30	-1.21%	2,484
Olmsted	2,101	49.67%	1,926	45.53%	90	2.07%	113	2.67%	175	4.14%	4,230
Otter Tail	4,238	53.81%	2,858	36.29%	502	6.09%	278	3.49%	1,470	18.45%	7,876
Pennington	868	40.47%	1,004	46.81%	237	10.87%	36	1.68%	-136	-6.34%	2,145
Pine	1,531	44.38%	1,507	43.68%	341	9.68%	71	2.06%	24	0.70%	3,450
Pipestone	1,010	52.44%	732	38.01%	151	7.71%	33	1.71%	278	14.43%	1,926
Polk	2,471	37.93%	3,498	53.70%	381	5.71%	164	2.52%	-1,027	-15.77%	6,514
Pope	1,321	51.18%	1,121	43.43%	57	2.14%	82	3.18%	200	7.75%	2,581
Ramsey	13,317	35.08%	22,291	58.72%	1,684	4.36%	669	1.76%	-8,974	-23.64%	37,961
Red Lake	463	37.70%	694	56.51%	50	4.00%	21	1.71%	-231	-18.81%	1,228
Redwood	2,029	56.98%	1,361	38.22%	121	3.35%	50	1.40%	668	18.76%	3,561
Renville	2,432	55.25%	1,660	37.71%	115	2.50%	195	4.43%	772	17.54%	4,402
Rice	2,408	51.66%	2,083	44.69%	56	1.17%	114	2.45%	325	6.97%	4,661
Rock	1,196	59.68%	705	35.18%	66	3.23%	37	1.85%	491	24.50%	2,004
Roseau	821	38.71%	834	39.32%	405	18.56%	61	2.88%	-13	-0.61%	2,121
Saint Louis	10,834	41.47%	12,056	46.15%	2,544	9.49%	690	2.64%	-1,222	-4.68%	26,124
Scott	972	40.86%	1,361	57.21%	13	0.54%	33	1.39%	-389	-16.35%	2,379
Sherburne	965	54.09%	731	40.98%	41	2.24%	47	2.63%	234	13.12%	1,784
Sibley	1,737	62.37%	973	34.94%	37	1.31%	38	1.36%	764	27.43%	2,785
Stearns	4,312	54.44%	3,350	42.29%	141	1.75%	118	1.49%	962	12.14%	7,921
Steele	1,734	52.20%	1,497	45.06%	41	1.22%	50	1.51%	237	7.13%	3,322
Stevens	943	52.56%	787	43.87%	24	1.31%	40	2.23%	156	8.70%	1,794
Swift	1,335	50.21%	1,181	44.42%	85	3.13%	58	2.18%	154	5.79%	2,659
Todd	1,919	44.50%	1,922	44.57%	339	7.63%	132	3.06%	-3	-0.07%	4,312
Traverse	774	48.71%	779	49.02%	27	1.69%	9	0.57%	-5	-0.31%	1,589
Wabasha	1,787	53.11%	1,449	43.06%	41	1.19%	88	2.62%	338	10.04%	3,365
Wadena	938	54.31%	651	37.70%	116	6.63%	22	1.27%	287	16.62%	1,727
Waseca	1,522	54.11%	1,178	41.88%	47	1.63%	66	2.35%	344	12.23%	2,813
Washington	2,167	53.55%	1,610	39.78%	149	3.57%	121	2.99%	557	13.76%	4,047
Watonwan	1,300	59.94%	801	36.93%	30	1.36%	38	1.75%	499	23.01%	2,169
Wilkin	690	44.20%	808	51.76%	42	2.65%	21	1.35%	-118	-7.56%	1,561
Winona	2,916	47.94%	2,907	47.80%	133	2.14%	126	2.07%	9	0.15%	6,082
Wright	2,683	52.24%	2,262	44.04%	87	1.66%	104	2.02%	421	8.20%	5,136
Yellow Medicine	1,501	50.08%	1,238	41.31%	149	4.80%	109	3.64%	263	8.78%	2,997
Totals	179,544	46.35%	179,152	46.25%	20,117	5.08%	8,551	2.21%	392	0.10%	387,364

See also

• United States presidential elections in Minnesota

References

1. "Minnesota", Counting the Votes.
2. Menendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004, pp. 228-231 ISBN   0786422173
3. "Presidential Preference Primary" (PDF). Retrieved August 15, 2022.
4. "Presidential Preference Primary" (PDF). Retrieved August 15, 2022.
5. "Presidential Preference Primary" (PDF). Retrieved August 15, 2022.
6. "1916 Presidential Election Results, 1916". Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
7. Minnesota Office of the Secretary of State Elections; ‘Abstract of Votes Polled for President by Counties, 1916’; The Legislative Manual for the State of Minnesota 1917 pp. 508-509
8. Robinson, Edgar Eugene; The Presidential Vote 1896-1932, pp. 234-241 ISBN   9780804716963