1920 United States presidential election in California

Main article: 1920 United States presidential election

1920 United States presidential election in California

←  1916 November 2, 1920 1924  →
Turnout	71.87% (of registered voters) 7.70 pp 47.26% (of eligible voters) 10.65 pp [1]
Nominee Warren G. Harding James M. Cox Eugene V. Debs Party Republican Democratic Socialist Home state Ohio Ohio Indiana Running mate Calvin Coolidge Franklin D. Roosevelt Seymour Stedman Electoral vote 13 0 0 Popular vote 624,992 229,191 64,076 Percentage 66.20% 24.28% 6.79%
County Results Harding   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   90–100% The 1920 United States presidential election in California took place on November 2, 1920, as part of the 1920 United States presidential election in which all 48 states participated. California voters chose 13 electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting Democratic nominee, Governor James M. Cox of Ohio and his running mate, Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York, against Republican challenger U.S. Senator Warren G. Harding of Ohio and his running mate, Governor Calvin Coolidge of Massachusetts. By the beginning of 1920 skyrocketing inflation and President Woodrow Wilson's focus upon his proposed League of Nations at the expense of domestic policy had helped make the incumbent president very unpopular [2] – besides which Wilson also had major health problems that had left First Lady Edith Wilson effectively running the nation. Political unrest observed in the Palmer Raids and 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. [3] Demand in the West for exclusion of Asian immigrants became even stronger than it had been before. [4] Another issue was the anti-Cox position taken by the Ku Klux Klan, [5] at the time a dominant force in Southern Democratic politics, and Cox's inconsistent stance on newly passed Prohibition – he had been a "wet" before, but announced he would support Prohibition enforcement in August. [5] The West had been the chief presidential battleground ever since the "System of 1896" emerged following that election. [6] For this reason, Cox chose to tour the entire nation [7] and after touring the Pacific Northwest Cox went to California to defend his proposed League of Nations. Cox argued that the League could have stopped the Asian conflicts – like the Japanese seizure of Shandong – but his apparent defence of Chinese immigrants in the Bay Area was very unpopular and large numbers of hecklers attacked the Democratic candidate. [8] Moreover, the only attention Cox received in the Western press was severe criticism. [8] Results General Election Results [9] Party Pledged to Elector Votes Republican Party Warren G. Harding John H. Rosseter 624,992 Republican Party Warren G. Harding W. L. Hollingsworth 624,291 Republican Party Warren G. Harding A. H. Hewitt 624,067 Republican Party Warren G. Harding A. J. Mathews 624,041 Republican Party Warren G. Harding George M. Francis 623,964 Republican Party Warren G. Harding C. C. Young 623,920 Republican Party Warren G. Harding Wylie M. Giffen 623,778 Republican Party Warren G. Harding Lawrence J. Flaherty 623,686 Republican Party Warren G. Harding George R. Davis 623,670 Republican Party Warren G. Harding Mrs. Edward F. Glaser 623,393 Republican Party Warren G. Harding Ed Fletcher 623,333 Republican Party Warren G. Harding Mrs. D. C. Stephens 623,279 Republican Party Warren G. Harding Mrs. Charles C. Teague 623,172 Democratic Party James M. Cox E. L. Doheny 229,191 Democratic Party James M. Cox Robert M. Fitzgerald 228,994 Democratic Party James M. Cox Francis J. Heney 228,969 Democratic Party James M. Cox Thomas Rutledge 228,792 Democratic Party James M. Cox John A. Livingston 228,728 Democratic Party James M. Cox L. O. Stephens 228,719 Democratic Party James M. Cox Arthur C. Huston 228,693 Democratic Party James M. Cox James F. Peck 228,579 Democratic Party James M. Cox E. S. Heller 228,568 Democratic Party James M. Cox Mary E. Foy 228,541 Democratic Party James M. Cox Sarah Hagan 228,509 Democratic Party James M. Cox Peter F. Zabala 228,477 Democratic Party James M. Cox William G. Irving 228,458 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs R. W. Anderson 64,076 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs Isabel King 63,829 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs Joseph Lawrence 63,813 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs Mary Morgan 63,784 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs Fred Bergstrom 63,778 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs Frithiof Sundman 63,761 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs Karl Hellman 63,750 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs Bird E. Morehouse 63,742 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs Anna Macy 63,739 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs Abraham Levin 63,713 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs A. T. Pruess 63,693 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs Clarissa Kneeland 63,692 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs Addie Benedict 63,686 Prohibition Party Aaron S. Watkins H. A. Johnson 25,204 Prohibition Party Aaron S. Watkins H. P. Stipp 25,085 Prohibition Party Aaron S. Watkins Stella B. Irvine 25,057 Prohibition Party Aaron S. Watkins Edward Beach 25,047 Prohibition Party Aaron S. Watkins Elam Biggs 25,033 Prohibition Party Aaron S. Watkins Wiley J. Phillips 24,973 Prohibition Party Aaron S. Watkins Ada Ferris 24,953 Prohibition Party Aaron S. Watkins F. A. Densmore 24,934 Prohibition Party Aaron S. Watkins E. F. Van Vlear 24,930 Prohibition Party Aaron S. Watkins T. K. Beard 24,929 Prohibition Party Aaron S. Watkins Anna M. De Yo 24,895 Prohibition Party Aaron S. Watkins Joseph Fusch 24,886 Prohibition Party Aaron S. Watkins O. U. Hull 24,864 Write-in Scattering 587 Votes cast [lower-alpha 1] 944,050 Results by county County Warren G. Harding Republican James M. Cox Democratic Eugene V. Debs Socialist Aaron S. Watkins Prohibition Scattering Write-in Margin Total votes cast [lower-alpha 2] #  % #  % #  % #  % #  % #  % Alameda 73,177 69.11% 21,468 20.27% 9,266 8.75% 1,978 1.87% 0 0.00% 51,709 48.83% 105,889 Alpine 64 91.43% 6 8.57% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 58 82.86% 70 Amador 1,350 64.13% 639 30.36% 63 2.99% 53 2.52% 0 0.00% 711 33.78% 2,105 Butte 5,409 65.69% 2,262 27.47% 339 4.12% 224 2.72% 0 0.00% 3,147 38.22% 8,234 Calaveras 1,480 63.96% 641 27.70% 111 4.80% 82 3.54% 0 0.00% 839 36.26% 2,314 Colusa 1,645 61.24% 907 33.77% 72 2.68% 62 2.31% 0 0.00% 738 27.48% 2,686 Contra Costa 9,041 63.75% 3,483 24.56% 1,410 9.94% 248 1.75% 0 0.00% 5,558 39.19% 14,182 Del Norte 596 62.61% 279 29.31% 49 5.15% 28 2.94% 0 0.00% 317 33.30% 952 El Dorado 1,636 64.36% 726 28.56% 115 4.52% 65 2.56% 0 0.00% 910 35.80% 2,542 Fresno 14,621 55.36% 9,613 36.39% 1,426 5.40% 753 2.85% 0 0.00% 5,008 18.96% 26,413 Glenn 1,916 64.19% 902 30.22% 89 2.98% 78 2.61% 0 0.00% 1,014 33.97% 2,985 Humboldt 6,528 69.89% 1,778 19.04% 763 8.17% 271 2.90% 0 0.00% 4,750 50.86% 9,340 Imperial 4,699 64.51% 2,022 27.76% 374 5.13% 189 2.59% 0 0.00% 2,677 36.75% 7,284 Inyo 1,195 57.20% 682 32.65% 180 8.62% 32 1.53% 0 0.00% 513 24.56% 2,089 Kern 7,079 49.01% 6,095 42.20% 933 6.46% 337 2.33% 0 0.00% 984 6.81% 14,444 Kings 2,806 59.61% 1,604 34.08% 180 3.82% 117 2.49% 0 0.00% 1,202 25.54% 4,707 Lake 993 57.23% 571 32.91% 75 4.32% 96 5.53% 0 0.00% 422 24.32% 1,735 Lassen 1,582 66.22% 643 26.92% 97 4.06% 67 2.80% 0 0.00% 939 39.31% 2,389 Los Angeles 178,117 69.10% 55,661 21.59% 14,674 5.69% 8,812 3.42% 506 0.20% 122,456 47.51% 257,770 Madera 1,779 55.46% 1,145 35.69% 181 5.64% 103 3.21% 0 0.00% 634 19.76% 3,208 Marin 5,375 68.80% 1,688 21.61% 632 8.09% 118 1.51% 0 0.00% 3,687 47.19% 7,813 Mariposa 484 55.38% 320 36.61% 53 6.06% 17 1.95% 0 0.00% 164 18.76% 874 Mendocino 4,443 65.83% 1,789 26.51% 401 5.94% 116 1.72% 0 0.00% 2,654 39.32% 6,749 Merced 3,457 62.99% 1,537 28.01% 331 6.03% 163 2.97% 0 0.00% 1,920 34.99% 5,488 Modoc 992 62.59% 535 33.75% 36 2.27% 22 1.39% 0 0.00% 457 28.83% 1,585 Mono 170 67.73% 56 22.31% 22 8.76% 3 1.20% 0 0.00% 114 45.42% 251 Monterey 4,817 67.76% 1,771 24.91% 263 3.70% 258 3.63% 0 0.00% 3,046 42.85% 7,109 Napa 4,448 70.99% 1,444 23.05% 274 4.37% 100 1.60% 0 0.00% 3,004 47.94% 6,266 Nevada 2,055 64.97% 747 23.62% 279 8.82% 82 2.59% 0 0.00% 1,308 41.35% 3,163 Orange 12,797 71.52% 3,502 19.57% 632 3.53% 962 5.38% 0 0.00% 9,295 51.95% 17,893 Placer 2,894 59.44% 1,559 32.02% 288 5.91% 128 2.63% 0 0.00% 1,335 27.42% 4,869 Plumas 999 63.96% 403 25.80% 114 7.30% 46 2.94% 0 0.00% 596 38.16% 1,562 Riverside 9,124 69.55% 2,798 21.33% 690 5.26% 506 3.86% 0 0.00% 6,326 48.22% 13,118 Sacramento 15,634 64.87% 7,150 29.67% 944 3.92% 372 1.54% 0 0.00% 8,484 35.20% 24,100 San Benito 1,965 65.00% 900 29.77% 74 2.45% 84 2.78% 0 0.00% 1,065 35.23% 3,023 San Bernardino 12,518 62.84% 5,620 28.21% 890 4.47% 893 4.48% 0 0.00% 6,898 34.63% 19,921 San Diego 19,286 63.78% 8,478 27.27% 1,812 5.83% 971 3.12% 0 0.00% 11,348 36.50% 31,087 San Francisco 96,105 65.18% 32,637 22.13% 17,049 11.56% 1,630 1.11% 29 0.02% 63,468 43.04% 147,450 San Joaquin 12,003 60.94% 6,487 32.93% 695 3.53% 513 2.60% 0 0.00% 5,516 28.00% 19,698 San Luis Obispo 4,123 61.31% 1,606 23.88% 643 9.56% 301 4.48% 52 0.77% 2,517 37.43% 6,725 San Mateo 7,205 70.52% 1,958 19.16% 956 9.36% 98 0.96% 0 0.00% 5,247 51.36% 10,217 Santa Barbara 6,970 67.48% 2,586 25.04% 496 4.80% 277 2.68% 0 0.00% 4,384 42.44% 10,329 Santa Clara 19,565 68.09% 6,485 22.57% 1,667 5.80% 1,015 3.53% 0 0.00% 13,080 45.52% 28,732 Santa Cruz 5,285 66.28% 1,957 24.54% 412 5.17% 320 4.01% 0 0.00% 3,328 41.74% 7,974 Shasta 2,108 62.07% 1,028 30.27% 205 6.04% 55 1.62% 0 0.00% 1,080 31.80% 3,396 Sierra 506 72.18% 158 22.54% 24 3.42% 13 1.85% 0 0.00% 348 49.64% 701 Siskiyou 2,909 60.05% 1,502 31.01% 337 6.96% 96 1.98% 0 0.00% 1,407 29.05% 4,844 Solano 7,102 64.77% 2,954 26.94% 743 6.78% 166 1.51% 0 0.00% 4,148 37.83% 10,965 Sonoma 10,377 66.90% 4,070 26.24% 680 4.38% 385 2.48% 0 0.00% 6,307 40.66% 15,512 Stanislaus 7,038 61.61% 3,055 26.74% 582 5.09% 748 6.55% 0 0.00% 3,983 34.87% 11,423 Sutter 1,862 70.32% 636 24.02% 69 2.61% 81 3.06% 0 0.00% 1,226 46.30% 2,648 Tehama 2,462 61.81% 1,079 27.09% 231 5.80% 211 5.30% 0 0.00% 1,383 34.72% 3,983 Trinity 622 62.89% 285 28.82% 75 7.58% 7 0.71% 0 0.00% 337 34.07% 989 Tulare 9,136 61.26% 4,837 32.43% 527 3.53% 414 2.78% 0 0.00% 4,299 28.83% 14,914 Tuolumne 1,285 59.38% 659 30.45% 157 7.26% 63 2.91% 0 0.00% 626 28.93% 2,164 Ventura 5,231 76.00% 1,305 18.96% 181 2.63% 166 2.41% 0 0.00% 3,926 57.04% 6,883 Yolo 3,375 61.95% 1,787 32.80% 133 2.44% 153 2.81% 0 0.00% 1,588 29.15% 5,448 Yuba 2,012 70.70% 696 24.46% 82 2.88% 56 1.97% 0 0.00% 1,316 46.24% 2,846 Total 624,992 66.20% 229,191 24.28% 64,076 6.79% 25,204 2.67% 587 0.06% 395,801 41.93% 944,050 Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Amador Butte Calaveras Colusa Contra Costa El Dorado Fresno Glenn Imperial Inyo Kern Kings Lake Lassen Madera Mariposa Merced Modoc Mono Monterey Nevada Placer Plumas Sacramento San Benito San Francisco San Joaquin San Luis Obispo Santa Barbara Santa Cruz Shasta Sierra Siskiyou Solano Stanislaus Sutter Tehama Trinity Tulare Tuolumne Yolo Yuba Analysis In September, several opinion polls were conducted, all predicting that Harding would carry California, which had been extremely close in the two preceding elections, by over one hundred thousand votes. [10] By the end of October, although no more opinion polls had been published, most observers were even more convinced that the Republicans would take complete control of all branches of government. [11] On election day, Warren Harding carried California by a margin much larger than early polls predicted, winning with 66.20 percent of the vote to James Cox's 24.28 percent. Harding became the first of only two presidential nominees to sweep all of California's counties; the only other one was Franklin D. Roosevelt, the losing 1920 vice-presidential candidate, sixteen years later. Harding's 66.20 percent of the vote was the largest fraction for any presidential candidate in California until Roosevelt won with 66.95 percent in 1936, though his 41.92-percentage-point margin of victory is the largest for any candidate in the state. This was the first time Colusa County, the one of only two counties in the Pacific States to support Democratic nominee Alton B. Parker in 1904, ever voted Republican. The other such county, Mariposa County, backed a Republican for the first time since 1872. [12] Plumas County would never vote Republican again until Ronald Reagan in 1980, and Amador, El Dorado and Placer Counties would not vote Republican again until Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952. [12] Notes Based on totals for highest elector on each ticket Based on the highest elector on each ticket References "Historical Voter Registration and Participation in Statewide General Elections 1910-2018" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved May 5, 2022. Goldberg, David Joseph; Discontented America: The United States in the 1920s, p. 44 ISBN   0801860059 Leuchtenburg, William E.; The Perils of Prosperity, 1914-1932, p. 75 ISBN   0226473724 Vought, Hans P. ; The Bully Pulpit and the Melting Pot: American Presidents And The Immigrant, 1897-1933, p. 167 ISBN   0865548870 Brake, Robert J.; 'The porch and the stump: Campaign strategies in the 1920 presidential election'; Quarterly Journal of Speech, 55(3), pp. 256-267 Faykosh, Joseph D., Bowling Green State University; The Front Porch of the American People: James Cox and the Presidential Election of 1920 (thesis), p. 68 Faykosh, The Front Porch of the American People (thesis), p. 69 Faykosh, The Front Porch of the American People (thesis), p. 74 Statement of Vote at General Election held on November 2, 1920 in the State of California. Sacramento, California. pp. 8–15. Retrieved July 15, 2024. 'Predict Republican Victory in California: Senator Harding Pleases Delegation; Majority of 100,000 Forecast'; Los Angeles Times , September 16, 1920, p. 12 'Republicans Going to Win: Prospects of a Complete Victory'; The Observer , October 31, 1920, p. 13 Menendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004, pp. 153-155 ISBN   0786422173 This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.