1920 Democratic Party presidential primaries

Last updated

1920 Democratic Party presidential primaries
Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg
  1916 March 9 to June 5, 1920 1924  

1,097 delegates to the Democratic National Convention
732 (two-thirds) votes needed to win
  Portrait of A. Mitchell Palmer.jpg James M. Cox 1920.jpg William Gibbs McAdoo, formal photo portrait, 1914.jpg
Candidate A. Mitchell Palmer James M. Cox William G. McAdoo
Home state Pennsylvania Ohio California
Delegate count104 (256)74 (134)10 (266)
Contests won221
Popular vote140,01086,19474,987
Percentage19.32%11.89%10.35%

  JamesWGerard.jpg Robert Latham Owen.jpg Edward Irving Edwards (1).jpg
Candidate James Watson Gerard Robert Latham Owen Edward I. Edwards
Home state New York Oklahoma New Jersey
Contests won221

1920 Democratic presidential primaries results.svg
First ballot of the 1920 Democratic National Convention.svg
     McAdoo     Palmer     Cox     Gerard
     Owen     Edwards     Uncommitted     Various [lower-alpha 2] [lower-alpha 1]

Previous Democratic nominee

Woodrow Wilson

Democratic nominee

James M. Cox

From March 9 to June 5, 1920, voters of the Democratic Party elected delegates to the 1920 Democratic National Convention, for the purposing of choosing a nominee for president in the 1920 United States presidential election. [1]

Contents

The race for delegates was made under a cloud of uncertainty because the party's two leading names, President Woodrow Wilson and three-time nominee William Jennings Bryan, withheld their intentions; both men privately hoped for the nomination, but neither's name was formally submitted before the voters or the convention as a candidate.

The delegate elections were inconclusive, with Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer, Treasury Secretary William Gibbs McAdoo, and Ohio governor James A. Cox leading the candidate field. With no clear front-runner, many states withheld their delegates from any one candidate, instead sending an uncommitted slate of delegates or preferring to back a favorite son on the first ballot. At the convention, Cox was ultimately nominated on the forty-fourth ballot.

Candidates

Not placed in nomination

Favorite sons

Primary and caucus results

Democratic Presidential Nominating State Conventions and Primaries
DateStateContest
Type
CandidateVotes
Won (#)
Votes
Won (%)
Delegates
Won
Reference(s)
March 9 New
Hampshire
Primary
(8 of 8 delegates)
Uninstructed7,103
100 / 100
8 / 8
March 16 North
Dakota
Primary
(10 of 10 delegates)
William Jennings Bryan 340 (W)
87.40 / 100
William Gibbs McAdoo 49 (W)
12.60 / 100
Uninstructed
10 / 10
March 23 South
Dakota
Primary
(10 of 10 delegates)
James W. Gerard 2,530
38.26 / 100
10 / 10
Scattering2,162
32.70 / 100
James O. Monroe1,920
29.04 / 100
April 5 Michigan Primary
(0 of 30 delegates)
Herbert Hoover 24,006 (W)
27.17 / 100
William Gibbs McAdoo 18,665 (W)
21.09 / 100
William Jennings Bryan 17,954 (W)
20.29 / 100
Edward I. Edwards 16,642 (W)
18.81 / 100
Alexander Mitchell Palmer 11,187 (W)
12.64 / 100
April 6 New
York
Primary
(90 of 90 delegates)
Uninstructed113,300
100 / 100
90 / 90
Wisconsin Primary
(26 of 26 delegates)
Scattering3,391
97.81 / 100
[2]
James M. Cox 76 (W)
2.19 / 100
Uninstructed
26 / 26
April 13 Illinois Primary
(50 of 58 delegates)
Edward I. Edwards 6,933 (W)
32.31 / 100
[2]
Scattering6,931 (W)
32.31 / 100
William Gibbs McAdoo 3,838 (W)
17.89 / 100
William Jennings Bryan 1,968 (W)
9.17 / 100
Woodrow Wilson 931 (W)
4.34 / 100
Champ Clark 548 (W)
2.55 / 100
James M. Cox 266 (W)
1.24 / 100
James Hamilton Lewis 40 (W)
0.19 / 100
Uninstructed
50 / 50
April 20 Georgia Primary
(0 of 28 delegates)
Thomas E. Watson 51,974
35.60 / 100
[3] [4]
Alexander Mitchell Palmer 48,460 [lower-alpha 3]
33.19 / 100
Michael Hoke Smith 45,568
31.21 / 100
Nebraska Primary
(16 of 16 delegates)
Gilbert Hitchcock 37,452
67.26 / 100
16 / 16
Robert G. Ross13,179
23.67 / 100
William Jennings Bryan 3,466 (W)
6.23 / 100
Scattering1,585 (W)
2.85 / 100
April 23 Montana Primary
(8 of 8 delegates)
Scattering [lower-alpha 4] 2,994
100 / 100
[2]
Uninstructed
8 / 8
April 27 Massachusetts Primary
(36 of 36 delegates)
Uninstructed28,261
100 / 100
36 / 36
New
Jersey
Primary
(28 of 28 delegates)
Edward I. Edwards 4,163
88.54 / 100
28 / 28
William Gibbs McAdoo 180 (W)
3.83 / 100
Woodrow Wilson 149 (W)
3.17 / 100
William Jennings Bryan 64 (W)
1.36 / 100
Herbert Hoover 64 (W)
1.36 / 100
Hiram Johnson 55 (W)
1.17 / 100
Scattering27 (W)
0.57 / 100
Ohio Primary
(48 of 48 delegates)
James M. Cox 85,838
97.79 / 100
48 / 100
William Jennings Bryan 971 (W)
1.11 / 100
Scattering394 (W)
0.45 / 100
William Gibbs McAdoo 292 (W)
0.33 / 100
Herbert Hoover 282 (W)
0.32 / 100
April 28 Alaska Primary
(6 of 6 delegates)
Uninstructed
6 / 6
[2]
May 4 California Primary
(26 of 26 delegates)
Uninstructed23,861
100 / 100
26 / 26
May 10 Alabama Primary
(24 of 24 delegates)
Uninstructed
24 / 24
[2]
May 18 Pennsylvania Primary
(76 of 76 delegates)
Alexander Mitchell Palmer 80,356
73.70 / 100
76 / 76
William Gibbs McAdoo 26,875
24.65 / 100
Scattering718 (W)
0.66 / 100
Edward I. Edwards 674 (W)
0.62 / 100
William Jennings Bryan 285 (W)
0.26 / 100
Woodrow Wilson 129 (W)
0.12 / 100
Vermont Primary
(0 of 8 delegates)
William Gibbs McAdoo 137 (W)
33.83 / 100
Woodrow Wilson 68 (W)
16.79 / 100
Edward I. Edwards 58 (W)
14.32 / 100
Herbert Hoover 39 (W)
9.63 / 100
William Jennings Bryan 26 (W)
6.42 / 100
Hiram Johnson 18 (W)
4.44 / 100
Champ Clark 16 (W)
3.95 / 100
James M. Cox 14 (W)
3.46 / 100
Eugene V. Debs 8 (W)
1.93 / 100
Henry Ford 7 (W)
1.73 / 100
Thomas R. Marshall 7 (W)
1.73 / 100
Alexander Mitchell Palmer 7 (W)
1.73 / 100
May 21 Oregon Primary
(10 of 10 delegates)
William Gibbs McAdoo 24,951
98.57 / 100
10 / 10
Scattering361 (W)
1.43 / 100
May 22 Hawaii Primary
(6 of 6 delegates)
Uninstructed
6 / 6
[2]
May 25 Texas Primary
(40 of 40 delegates)
Uninstructed
40 / 40
[2]
West
Virginia
Primary
(16 of 16 delegates)
Uninstructed
16 / 16
[2]
June 8 Florida Primary
(12 of 12 delegates)
Uninstructed
12 / 12
[2]
June 10 Washington, D.C. Primary
(11 of 11 delegates)
Uninstructed
11 / 11
[2]

Delegates not selected in primaries

Many delegations were not selected in public primaries. The following table shows delegates awarded at a state level by convention, committees, and other means.

Delegates not awarded via primaries
Other delegate allocation
DateStateContest
Type
CandidateVotes
Won (#)
Votes
Won (%)
Delegates
Won
Reference(s)
February 5 Oklahoma Convention
(20 of 20 delegates)
Robert Latham Owen
20 / 20
[2]
February 27 Arizona Convention
(6 of 6 delegates)
Uninstructed
6 / 6
[2]
February 28 Iowa Convention
(26 of 26 delegates)
Uninstructed
(Later Supported Edwin T. Meredith)
26 / 26
[2]
March 9 Nevada Convention
(6 of 6 delegates)
Uninstructed
6 / 6
[2]
April 6 Minnesota Convention
(24 of 24 delegates)
Uninstructed
24 / 24
[2]
Philippines Convention
(6 of 6 delegates)
Uninstructed
6 / 6
[2]
April 8 North
Carolina
Convention
(24 of 24 delegates)
Furnifold McLendel Simmons
24 / 24
[2]
April 10 Puerto Rico Convention
(6 of 6 delegates)
Uninstructed
6 / 6
[2]
May 3 Maryland Convention
(16 of 16 delegates)
Uninstructed
16 / 16
[2]
May 4 Kentucky Convention
(26 of 26 delegates)
James M. Cox
26 / 26
[2]
May 6 Connecticut Convention
(14 of 14 delegates)
Uninstructed
14 / 14
[2]
Rhode
Island
Convention
(10 of 10 delegates)
Uninstructed
10 / 10
[2]
May 10 Illinois Convention
(8 of 50 delegates)
Uninstructed
8 / 8
[2]
Michigan Convention
(30 of 30 delegates)
Uninstructed
30 / 30
[2]
Wyoming Convention
(6 of 6 delegates)
Uninstructed
6 / 6
[2]
April 22 Missouri Convention
(36 of 36 delegates)
Uninstructed
36 / 36
[2]
April 23 Kansas Convention
(20 of 20 delegates)
Uninstructed
20 / 20
[2]
May 17 Colorado Convention
(12 of 12 delegates)
Uninstructed
12 / 12
[2]
Washington Convention
(14 of 14 delegates)
Uninstructed
14 / 14
[2]
May 18 Georgia Convention
(28 of 28 delegates)
Alexander Mitchell Palmer
28 / 28
[2]
May 19 Virginia Convention
(24 of 24 delegates)
Carter Glass
24 / 24
[2]
May 20 Indiana Convention
(30 of 30 delegates)
Uninstructed
30 / 30
[2]
May 25 Delaware Convention
(6 of 6 delegates)
Uninstructed
30 / 30
[2]
May 26 South
Carolina
Convention
(18 of 18 delegates)
Uninstructed
18 / 18
[2]
June 1 Indiana State Committee
(18 of 18 delegates)
Uninstructed
18 / 18
[2]
June 2 Vermont Convention
(8 of 8 delegates)
Uninstructed
8 / 8
[2]
June 3 Louisiana Convention
(20 of 20 delegates)
Uninstructed
20 / 20
[2]
New
Mexico
Convention
(6 of 6 delegates)
Uninstructed
6 / 6
[2]
June 8 Tennessee Convention
(24 of 24 delegates)
Uninstructed
24 / 24
[2]
June 12 Utah Convention
(8 of 8 delegates)
Uninstructed
8 / 8
[2]
June 15 Idaho Convention
(8 of 8 delegates)
Uninstructed
8 / 8
[2]
June 16 Mississippi Convention
(20 of 20 delegates)
Uninstructed
20 / 20
[2]

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Favorite sons received the support of the delegations of Nebraska (Gilbert Hitchcock), West Virginia (John W. Davis), Virginia (Carter Glass), New York (Al Smith), Mississippi (John Sharp Williams), Connecticut (Homer Stille Cummings), North Carolina (Furnifold Simmons), Iowa (Edwin T. Meredith), and Indiana(Thomas R. Marshall). Former Speaker of the House Champ Clark won the Louisiana delegation.
  2. Delegates to the State Convention which officially chose delegates and their instruction were based not on the popular vote, but based on their performance under the county unit system. Palmer came second state-wide, but won the most unit votes. Despite attempts by Watson and some Smith supporters to send an uninstructed delegation to the National Convention, it was the delegation pledged to Palmer that was seated by the credentials committee.
  3. No candidate technically filed for the Montana Democratic Presidential Primary.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1904 United States presidential election</span> 30th quadrennial U.S. presidential election

The 1904 United States presidential election was the 30th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 1904. Incumbent Republican President Theodore Roosevelt defeated the conservative Democratic nominee, Alton B. Parker. Roosevelt's victory made him the first president who ascended to the presidency upon the death of his predecessor to win a full term in his own right. This was also the second presidential election in which both major party candidates were registered in the same home state; the others have been in 1860, 1920, 1940, 1944, and 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1908 United States presidential election</span> 31st quadrennial U.S. presidential election

The 1908 United States presidential election was the 31st quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 1908. Republican Party nominee William Howard Taft defeated three-time Democratic nominee William Jennings Bryan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1920 United States presidential election</span> 34th quadrennial U.S. presidential election

The 1920 United States presidential election was the 34th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 2, 1920. In the first election held after the end of the First World War and the first election after the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, Republican Senator Warren G. Harding of Ohio defeated Democratic Governor James M. Cox of Ohio. Both major-party vice-presidential nominees would later succeed to the presidency: Calvin Coolidge (Republican) upon Harding's death in 1923 and Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democratic) after defeating Republican President Herbert Hoover in 1932. This was one of only six presidential elections where both major candidates had the same home state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1924 United States presidential election</span> 35th quadrennial U.S. presidential election

The 1924 United States presidential election was the 35th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 4, 1924. In a three-way contest, incumbent Republican President Calvin Coolidge won election to a full term. Coolidge was the second vice president to ascend to the presidency and then win a full term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1924 Democratic National Convention</span> U.S. political event held in Madison Square Garden in New York City

The 1924 Democratic National Convention, held at the Madison Square Garden in New York City from June 24 to July 9, 1924, was the longest continuously running convention in United States political history. It took a record 103 ballots to nominate a presidential candidate. It was the first major party national convention that saw the name of a woman, Lena Springs, placed in nomination for vice president. John W. Davis, a dark horse, eventually won the presidential nomination on the 103rd ballot, a compromise candidate following a protracted convention fight between distant front-runners William Gibbs McAdoo and Al Smith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1896 Democratic National Convention</span> U.S. political event held in Chicago, Illinois

The 1896 Democratic National Convention, held at the Chicago Coliseum from July 7 to July 11, was the scene of William Jennings Bryan's nomination as the Democratic presidential candidate for the 1896 U.S. presidential election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1910–11 United States Senate elections</span>

The 1910–11 United States Senate election were held on various dates in various states. As these U.S. Senate elections were prior to the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, senators were primarily chosen by state legislatures. Senators were elected over a wide range of time throughout 1910 and 1911, and a seat may have been filled months late or remained vacant due to legislative deadlock. However, some states had already begun direct elections during this time. Oregon pioneered direct election and experimented with different measures over several years until it succeeded in 1907. Soon after, Nebraska followed suit and laid the foundation for other states to adopt measures reflecting the people's will. By 1912, as many as 29 states elected senators either as nominees of their party's primary or in conjunction with a general election.

The 1932 Democratic National Convention was held in Chicago, Illinois June 27 – July 2, 1932. The convention resulted in the nomination of Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York for president and Speaker of the House John N. Garner from Texas for vice president. Beulah Rebecca Hooks Hannah Tingley was a member of the Democratic National Committee and Chair of the Democratic Party of Florida. She seconded the nomination of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, becoming the second woman to address a Democratic National Convention.

The 1928 Democratic National Convention was held at Sam Houston Hall in Houston, Texas, June 26–28, 1928. The keynote speaker was Claude G. Bowers. The convention resulted in the nomination of Governor Alfred E. Smith of New York for president and Senator Joseph T. Robinson of Arkansas for vice president.

The 1920 Democratic National Convention was held at the Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, California from June 28 to July 6, 1920. It resulted in the nomination of Governor James M. Cox of Ohio for president and Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt from New York for vice president. The 1920 Democratic National Convention marked the first time any party had held its nominating convention in a West Coast city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1904 Democratic National Convention</span> American presidential nominating convention

The 1904 Democratic National Convention was an American presidential nominating convention that ran from July 6 through 10 in the Coliseum of the St. Louis Exposition and Music Hall in St. Louis, Missouri. Breaking with eight years of control by the Democratic Party's reform wing, the convention nominated conservative Judge Alton B. Parker of New York for president and Henry G. Davis of West Virginia for vice president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1976 Democratic Party presidential primaries</span> Primary election process

From January 27 to June 8, 1976, voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for president in the 1976 United States presidential election. Former Georgia governor Jimmy Carter was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 1976 Democratic National Convention held from July 12 to July 15, 1976, in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1912 Democratic National Convention</span> American presidential nominating convention

The 1912 Democratic National Convention was held at the Fifth Regiment Armory off North Howard Street in Baltimore from June 25 to July 2, 1912.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Jennings Bryan 1896 presidential campaign</span> Campaign of William Jennings Bryan for the election to President of the United States in 1896

In 1896, William Jennings Bryan ran unsuccessfully for president of the United States. Bryan, a former Democratic congressman from Nebraska, gained his party's presidential nomination in July of that year after electrifying the Democratic National Convention with his Cross of Gold speech. He was defeated in the general election by the Republican candidate, former Ohio governor William McKinley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1924 Democratic Party presidential primaries</span>

From March 12 to June 7, 1924, voters and members of the Democratic Party elected delegates to the 1924 Democratic National Convention, in part to nominate a candidate for President of the United States in the 1924 election.

Al Smith, Governor of New York, was a candidate for Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 1924 election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1924 United States presidential election in Idaho</span> Election in Idaho

The 1924 United States presidential election in Idaho took place on November 4, 1924, as part of the 1924 United States presidential election. State voters chose four representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

This is a list of endorsements for declared candidates in the Democratic primaries for the 1928 United States presidential election.

References

  1. Kalb, Deborah (2016-02-19). Guide to U.S. Elections – Google Books. ISBN   9781483380353 . Retrieved 2016-02-19.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 "Democratic National Convention, 1920". The New York Times . June 20, 1920.
  3. "PALMER TO LEAD BY 12 IN GEORGIA CONVENTION; Controversy Is On as to Whether or Not He Can Control National Delegates". The New York Times. April 23, 1920.
  4. "SEAT REFUSED REED IN BITTER CONTEST; Credentials Committee Seats Delegates from Georgia Pledged to Palmer. GAINS FOR ADMINISTRATION National Committee Overruled in Oregon Decision Giving Two Delegates Half Vote Each". The New York Times. June 29, 1920.