1920 United States presidential election in Michigan

Main article: 1920 United States presidential election

1920 United States presidential election in Michigan

←  1916 November 2, 1920 1924  →
All 15 Michigan votes to the Electoral College
Nominee Warren G. Harding James M. Cox Party Republican Democratic Home state Ohio Ohio Running mate Calvin Coolidge Franklin D. Roosevelt Electoral vote 15 0 Popular vote 762,865 233,450 Percentage 72.76% 22.27%
County Results Harding   60-70%   70-80%   80-90%   90-100% Cox   40-50%
President before election Woodrow Wilson Democratic Elected President Warren G. Harding Republican

The 1920 United States presidential election in Michigan took place on November 2, 1920, as part of the 1920 United States presidential election. Voters chose 15 ^[1] representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Ever since the Panic of 1893 and the Populist movement, Michigan had been rigidly one-party polity dominated by the Republican Party. ^[2] In the 1894 elections, the Democratic Party lost all but one seat in the Michigan legislature, ^[3] and over the four ensuing decades the party would never make major gains there. ^[2]

The dominance of the culture of the Lower Peninsula by anti-slavery Yankees ^[4] would be augmented by the turn of formerly Democratic-leaning German Catholics away from that party as a result of the remodelled party’s agrarian and free silver sympathies, which became rigidly opposed by both the upper class and workers who followed them, ^[5] while the Populist movement eliminated Democratic ties with business and commerce of Michigan and other Northern states. ^[6] Unlike the other states of the Upper Midwest, the Yankee influence on the culture of the Lower Peninsula was so strong that left-wing third parties did not provide significant opposition to the Republicans, nor was there more than a moderate degree of coordinated factionalism within the hegemonic Michigan Republican Party. ^[7]

Although by taking a substantial proportion of the 1912 “Bull Moose” vote, incumbent president Woodrow Wilson had managed the best performance in Michigan by a Democrat since Grover Cleveland in 1888, ^[8] 1918 saw a major reaction against Wilson throughout the Midwest, due to supposed preferential treatment of Southern farmers: ^[9] Republicans would hold every seat in the State Senate for over a decade after the fall election, ^[10] as they had between 1895 and 1897 and between 1905 and 1911.

During the 1920 election campaign Michigan gained almost no attention because it had been so firmly Republican over the past quarter century. A poll of four university students showed three voting for Republican candidate Warren G. Harding and one for Democratic opponent James M. Cox. ^[11] A later poll in October showed that the very small August poll was not inaccurate, with Harding leading by slightly less than three-to-one. ^[12] The Post-Crescent’s expectations were fulfilled, as Harding won in a landslide, with almost 73 percent of the vote to only 22.27 percent for Cox. Harding nearly swept all of Michigan's 83 counties, only losing Manistee County by a mere five votes, and carried more than 60% of the vote in every other county in the state.

Results

1920 United States presidential election in Michigan ^{[13] [14]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Warren G. Harding	762,865	72.76%
	Democratic	James M. Cox	233,450	22.27%
	Socialist	Eugene Debs	28,947	2.76%
	Farmer–Labor	Parley P. Christensen	10,480	1.00%
	Prohibition	Aaron S. Watkins	9,646	0.92%
	Socialist Labor	William Wesley Cox	2,539	0.24%
	Single Tax	Robert Macauley	484	0.05%
Total votes			1,048,411	100%

Results by county

1920 United States presidential election in Michigan by county

County	Warren Gamail Harding Republican		James Middleton Cox Democratic		Eugene Victor Debs Socialist		Parley Parker Christensen Farmer–Labor		Various candidates Other parties		Margin		Total votes cast [15]
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Alcona	1,043	75.85%	264	19.20%	39	2.84%	5	0.36%	24	1.75%	779	56.65%	1,375
Alger	1,263	66.09%	468	24.49%	143	7.48%	23	1.20%	14	0.73%	795	41.60%	1,911
Allegan	7,825	75.89%	2,154	20.89%	127	1.23%	29	0.28%	176	1.71%	5,671	55.00%	10,311
Alpena	3,467	63.38%	1,893	34.61%	84	1.54%	7	0.13%	19	0.35%	1,574	28.78%	5,470
Antrim	2,260	77.53%	518	17.77%	63	2.16%	9	0.31%	65	2.23%	1,742	59.76%	2,915
Arenac	1,521	66.36%	669	29.19%	55	2.40%	12	0.52%	35	1.53%	852	37.17%	2,292
Baraga	1,368	74.67%	304	16.59%	120	6.55%	25	1.36%	15	0.82%	1,064	58.08%	1,832
Barry	5,154	70.69%	1,874	25.70%	44	0.60%	14	0.19%	205	2.81%	3,280	44.99%	7,291
Bay	13,933	64.93%	7,011	32.67%	180	0.84%	207	0.96%	129	0.60%	6,922	32.26%	21,460
Benzie	1,520	72.00%	422	19.99%	88	4.17%	28	1.33%	53	2.51%	1,098	52.01%	2,111
Berrien	15,748	74.06%	4,855	22.83%	368	1.73%	87	0.41%	207	0.97%	10,893	51.23%	21,265
Branch	5,704	69.72%	2,181	26.66%	76	0.93%	18	0.22%	202	2.47%	3,523	43.06%	8,181
Calhoun	16,722	69.12%	6,291	26.00%	540	2.23%	171	0.71%	469	1.94%	10,431	43.12%	24,193
Cass	4,498	74.25%	1,286	21.23%	153	2.53%	23	0.38%	98	1.62%	3,212	53.02%	6,058
Charlevoix	3,079	77.07%	704	17.62%	135	3.38%	12	0.30%	65	1.63%	2,375	59.45%	3,995
Cheboygan	2,472	63.47%	1,281	32.89%	61	1.57%	43	1.10%	38	0.98%	1,191	30.58%	3,895
Chippewa	4,732	74.36%	1,266	19.89%	180	2.83%	78	1.23%	108	1.70%	3,466	54.46%	6,364
Clare	1,762	73.48%	511	21.31%	77	3.21%	4	0.17%	44	1.83%	1,251	52.17%	2,398
Clinton	6,019	78.91%	1,464	19.19%	39	0.51%	13	0.17%	93	1.22%	4,555	59.71%	7,628
Crawford	726	64.42%	361	32.03%	26	2.31%	5	0.44%	9	0.80%	365	32.39%	1,127
Delta	4,938	65.40%	1,985	26.29%	348	4.61%	199	2.64%	80	1.06%	2,953	39.11%	7,550
Dickinson	3,539	76.65%	580	12.56%	352	7.62%	38	0.82%	108	2.34%	2,959	64.09%	4,617
Eaton	7,343	70.99%	2,727	26.36%	92	0.89%	28	0.27%	154	1.49%	4,616	44.62%	10,344
Emmet	3,059	68.88%	1,070	24.09%	188	4.23%	23	0.52%	101	2.27%	1,989	44.79%	4,441
Genesee	24,543	74.66%	7,408	22.54%	538	1.64%	85	0.26%	299	0.91%	17,135	52.12%	32,873
Gladwin	1,687	78.68%	313	14.60%	81	3.78%	6	0.28%	57	2.66%	1,374	64.09%	2,144
Gogebic	5,486	79.72%	823	11.96%	364	5.29%	70	1.02%	139	2.02%	4,663	67.76%	6,882
Grand Traverse	4,056	74.04%	1,158	21.14%	155	2.83%	20	0.37%	89	1.62%	2,898	52.90%	5,478
Gratiot	6,578	77.41%	1,846	21.72%	41	0.48%	15	0.18%	18	0.21%	4,732	55.68%	8,498
Hillsdale	6,690	71.12%	2,467	26.23%	57	0.61%	13	0.14%	179	1.90%	4,223	44.90%	9,406
Houghton	14,938	80.20%	3,088	16.58%	381	2.05%	117	0.63%	101	0.54%	11,850	63.62%	18,625
Huron	8,354	82.57%	1,581	15.63%	93	0.92%	20	0.20%	69	0.68%	6,773	66.95%	10,117
Ingham	18,437	69.63%	7,061	26.67%	508	1.92%	88	0.33%	386	1.46%	11,376	42.96%	26,480
Ionia	7,977	67.59%	3,395	28.77%	93	0.79%	23	0.19%	314	2.66%	4,582	38.82%	11,802
Iosco	2,013	76.71%	548	20.88%	39	1.49%	14	0.53%	10	0.38%	1,465	55.83%	2,624
Iron	3,515	82.80%	497	11.71%	172	4.05%	18	0.42%	43	1.01%	3,018	71.10%	4,245
Isabella	5,089	73.82%	1,627	23.60%	73	1.06%	10	0.15%	95	1.38%	3,462	50.22%	6,894
Jackson	15,922	64.90%	7,789	31.75%	294	1.20%	89	0.36%	440	1.79%	8,133	33.15%	24,534
Kalamazoo	13,765	67.53%	5,271	25.86%	548	2.69%	521	2.56%	279	1.37%	8,494	41.67%	20,384
Kalkaska	890	73.19%	224	18.42%	38	3.13%	9	0.74%	55	4.52%	666	54.77%	1,216
Kent	40,802	70.14%	14,763	25.38%	973	1.67%	783	1.35%	854	1.47%	26,039	44.76%	58,175
Keweenaw	1,272	90.15%	89	6.31%	39	2.76%	1	0.07%	10	0.71%	1,183	83.84%	1,411
Lake	926	74.80%	261	21.08%	30	2.42%	11	0.89%	10	0.81%	665	53.72%	1,238
Lapeer	5,523	78.61%	1,298	18.47%	38	0.54%	20	0.28%	147	2.09%	4,225	60.13%	7,026
Leelanau	2,156	82.26%	406	15.49%	39	1.49%	4	0.15%	16	0.61%	1,750	66.77%	2,621
Lenawee	11,973	68.89%	5,095	29.32%	85	0.49%	19	0.11%	207	1.19%	6,878	39.58%	17,379
Livingston	4,639	64.10%	2,437	33.67%	12	0.17%	8	0.11%	141	1.95%	2,202	30.43%	7,237
Luce	708	76.54%	187	20.22%	6	0.65%	2	0.22%	22	2.38%	521	56.32%	925
Mackinac	1,685	62.87%	932	34.78%	37	1.38%	8	0.30%	18	0.67%	753	28.10%	2,680
Macomb	9,735	73.97%	3,023	22.97%	183	1.39%	68	0.52%	152	1.15%	6,712	51.00%	13,161
Manistee	2,179	47.68%	2,184	47.79%	150	3.28%	14	0.31%	43	0.94%	-5	-0.11%	4,570
Marquette	9,233	70.46%	3,012	22.99%	534	4.08%	207	1.58%	117	0.89%	6,221	47.48%	13,103
Mason	3,652	69.39%	1,338	25.42%	154	2.93%	21	0.40%	98	1.86%	2,314	43.97%	5,263
Mecosta	3,932	74.78%	1,145	21.78%	112	2.13%	7	0.13%	62	1.18%	2,787	53.00%	5,258
Menominee	5,045	72.41%	1,560	22.39%	239	3.43%	66	0.95%	57	0.82%	3,485	50.02%	6,967
Midland	4,115	78.88%	959	18.38%	79	1.51%	12	0.23%	52	1.00%	3,156	60.49%	5,217
Missaukee	1,801	82.46%	345	15.80%	14	0.64%	2	0.09%	22	1.01%	1,456	66.67%	2,184
Monroe	8,646	61.34%	5,224	37.06%	119	0.84%	12	0.09%	95	0.67%	3,422	24.28%	14,096
Montcalm	6,644	77.27%	1,695	19.71%	109	1.27%	18	0.21%	132	1.54%	4,949	57.56%	8,598
Montmorency	832	75.57%	199	18.07%	55	5.00%	5	0.45%	10	0.91%	633	57.49%	1,101
Muskegon	11,702	73.70%	3,468	21.84%	485	3.05%	56	0.35%	166	1.05%	8,234	51.86%	15,877
Newaygo	4,188	78.91%	929	17.51%	81	1.53%	11	0.21%	98	1.85%	3,259	61.41%	5,307
Oakland	19,321	70.98%	6,421	23.59%	916	3.37%	112	0.41%	450	1.65%	12,900	47.39%	27,220
Oceana	3,535	77.85%	785	17.29%	101	2.22%	22	0.48%	98	2.16%	2,750	60.56%	4,541
Ogemaw	1,687	75.55%	444	19.88%	43	1.93%	7	0.31%	52	2.33%	1,243	55.67%	2,233
Ontonagon	1,977	67.71%	657	22.50%	215	7.36%	37	1.27%	34	1.16%	1,320	45.21%	2,920
Osceola	3,603	80.84%	769	17.25%	33	0.74%	11	0.25%	41	0.92%	2,834	63.59%	4,457
Oscoda	439	83.78%	75	14.31%	5	0.95%	3	0.57%	2	0.38%	364	69.47%	524
Otsego	874	64.03%	466	34.14%	4	0.29%	10	0.73%	11	0.81%	408	29.89%	1,365
Ottawa	10,528	78.74%	2,391	17.88%	205	1.53%	41	0.31%	205	1.53%	8,137	60.86%	13,370
Presque Isle	2,522	80.76%	525	16.81%	36	1.15%	22	0.70%	18	0.58%	1,997	63.94%	3,123
Roscommon	652	75.29%	182	21.02%	21	2.42%	3	0.35%	8	0.92%	470	54.27%	866
Saginaw	20,425	68.24%	8,494	28.38%	578	1.93%	240	0.80%	195	0.65%	11,931	39.86%	29,932
Sanilac	7,256	84.66%	1,146	13.37%	59	0.69%	7	0.08%	103	1.20%	6,110	71.29%	8,571
Schoolcraft	1,776	71.33%	428	17.19%	226	9.08%	26	1.04%	34	1.37%	1,348	54.14%	2,490
Shiawassee	7,194	69.93%	2,595	25.23%	143	1.39%	36	0.35%	319	3.10%	4,599	44.71%	10,287
St. Clair	14,938	75.14%	4,566	22.97%	147	0.74%	84	0.42%	144	0.72%	10,372	52.18%	19,879
St. Joseph	6,035	66.59%	2,725	30.07%	121	1.34%	24	0.26%	158	1.74%	3,310	36.52%	9,063
Tuscola	7,282	82.67%	1,269	14.41%	62	0.70%	29	0.33%	167	1.90%	6,013	68.26%	8,809
Van Buren	6,904	75.11%	1,988	21.63%	162	1.76%	17	0.18%	121	1.32%	4,916	53.48%	9,192
Washtenaw	14,082	74.46%	4,468	23.63%	155	0.82%	9	0.05%	198	1.05%	9,614	50.84%	18,912
Wayne	220,482	74.75%	51,773	17.55%	14,531	4.93%	5,827	1.98%	2,330	0.79%	168,709	57.20%	294,943
Wexford	3,406	73.03%	1,095	23.48%	57	1.22%	22	0.47%	84	1.80%	2,311	49.55%	4,664
Totals	762,865	72.76%	233,450	22.27%	28,947	2.76%	10,480	1.00%	12,669	1.21%	529,415	50.50%	1,048,411

Analysis

With 72.76 percent of the popular, Michigan would prove to be Harding third strongest state in the 1920 election terms of popular vote percentage after North Dakota and Vermont. ^[16]

Harding received the largest share of the popular vote in a presidential election for Michigan at the time, though that record would be broken four years later. Cox fell more than 3.5 percent below the previous worst Democratic showing by Alton B. Parker from 1904. This was the first of three consecutive elections where Michigan supported a Republican candidate with more than seventy percent of the vote and the only example of any presidential candidate receiving such a high share in the state. ^[8]

Concurrent with Harding’s triumph in the state, the Republicans would win every single seat in not just the State Senate, but also the State House of Representatives.

See also

• United States presidential elections in Michigan

References

1. "1920 Election for the Thirty-Fourth Term (1921-1925)" . Retrieved April 3, 2018.
2. Burnham, Walter Dean. "The System of 1896: An Analysis". The Evolution of American Electoral Systems. pp. 178–179. ISBN   0313213798.
3. "Swamped! The Democrats Drowned Out by a Tremendous Republican Tidal Wave". The L'Anse Sentinel. L'Anse. November 10, 1894. p. 1.
4. English, Gustavus P.; Proceedings of the Ninth Republican National Convention (1888), p. 234
5. Sundquist, James. Politics and Policy: The Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson Years. p. 526. ISBN   0815719094.
6. Rogowski, Ronald (2020). Commerce and Coalitions: How Trade Affects Domestic Political Alignments. Princeton University Press. ISBN   0691219435.
7. Hansen, John Mark; Shigeo, Hirano; Snyder Jr., James M. "Parties within Parties: Parties, Factions, and Coordinated Politics, 1900-1980". In Gerber, Alan S.; Schickler, Eric (eds.). Governing in a Polarized Age: Elections, Parties, and Political Representation in America. pp. 165–168. ISBN   978-1-107-09509-0.
8. "Presidential General Election Results Comparison — Michigan". Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas.
9. Morello, John A. Albert D. Lasker, Advertising, and the Election of Warren G. Harding. p. 64. ISBN   0275970302.
10. Kang, Michael S. (May 29, 2019). "Hyperpartisan Gerrymandering". Boston College Law Review . 69: 1395.
11. "Harding Elected By Students of N.Y. University — Practically Every State Is Represented in "Election" Held Recently: Many Women Vote for Him; Cox Runs Second and Debs Polls Nearly as Many as Democrat". The Lima Gazette and The Lima Republican. Lima, Ohio. August 22, 1920. p. 15.
12. "Women of Nation Vote for Harding: Rexall Returns Show that They Furnish One-Quarter of Voting Strength". The Post-Crescent . Appleton, Wisconsin. October 8, 1920. p. 8.
13. "1920 Presidential General Election Results — Michigan" . Retrieved April 3, 2018.
14. "The American Presidency Project — Election of 1920" . Retrieved April 3, 2018.
15. Michigan Department of State — Bureau of Elections; ‘Presidential Vote in Michigan From 1920 to 1932’; Michigan Manual, (1933), p. 387
16. "1920 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved March 5, 2018.