1916 United States presidential election in Indiana

Main article: 1916 United States presidential election

1916 United States presidential election in Indiana

←  1912 November 7, 1916 1920  →

Nominee Charles Evans Hughes Woodrow Wilson Party Republican Democratic Home state New York New Jersey Running mate Charles W. Fairbanks Thomas R. Marshall Electoral vote 15 0 Popular vote 341,005 334,063 Percentage 47.44% 46.47%

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

President before election Woodrow Wilson Democratic Elected President Woodrow Wilson Democratic

The 1916 United States presidential election in Indiana took place on November 7, 1916, as part of the 1916 United States presidential election which was held throughout all contemporary 48 states. Voters chose 15 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Ever since the Civil War, partisan alliances in Indiana had been related to history of White settlement, with most of Southern Indiana and German-settled counties voting strongly Democratic, opposed to Yankee-settled Northern Indiana which voted Republican. ^[1] Between the end of the Civil War and the end of the Third Party System, elections in the state were always very close; although the state become more Republican when William Jennings Bryan’s free silver policy drove conservative Democrats to the Republican party for the following two decades. ^[2] However, only Alton B. Parker would lose the state by more than five percentage points as its strong Southern leanings meant its Democratic counties remained very loyal. ^[3]

After being won by Woodrow Wilson and running mate Thomas R. Marshall over divided Republican opposition in 1912, Indiana would be won by the Republican nominee, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Hughes of New York, and his running mate Senator Charles W. Fairbanks of Indiana. Hughes and Fairbanks defeated the Democratic nominees, incumbent Democratic President Wilson and Vice President Marshall by a narrow margin of 0.97 percentage points.

Indiana was the home state of Marshall, and alongside Wilson's loss in New Jersey, this election, along with 1968, is the only time a winning presidential and vice presidential candidate lost both of their home states.

This was the first time since 1876 that Indiana voted for the losing candidate, and the first since 1836 that a Democrat won without the state. The election marked the beginning of a trend in which the state was more Republican than the nation as a whole. Before 1916, all but one winning Democrat as well as one losing Democrat had carried the state. Beginning with 1916, the Democratic party has won 14 elections as of 2022, and in only four of these elections did it carry Indiana. Furthermore, three of those four victories were in landslide elections with double-digit margins: 1932, 1936, and 1964.

Results

1916 United States presidential election in Indiana [4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Republican	Charles Evans Hughes	341,005	47.44%	15
	Democratic	Woodrow Wilson (incumbent)	334,063	46.47%	0
	Socialist	Allan L. Benson	21,855	3.04%	0
	Prohibition	Frank Hanly	16,368	2.28%	0
	Progressive	No candidate	3,998	0.54%	0
	Socialist Labor	Arthur E. Reimer	1,659	0.23%	0
Totals			718,848	100.00%	15

Results by county

1916 United States presidential election in Indiana by county

County	Charles Evans Hughes Republican		Thomas Woodrow Wilson Democratic		Allan Louis Benson Socialist		James Franklin Hanly Prohibition		Various candidates Other parties		Margin		Total votes cast [5]
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Adams	1,796	36.83%	2,875	58.96%	23	0.47%	171	3.51%	11	0.23%	-1,079	-22.13%	4,876
Allen	10,169	46.03%	9,470	42.87%	1,003	4.54%	421	1.91%	1,027	4.65%	699	3.16%	22,090
Bartholomew	3,287	47.08%	3,441	49.29%	66	0.95%	145	2.08%	42	0.60%	-154	-2.21%	6,981
Benton	1,872	54.17%	1,502	43.46%	23	0.67%	53	1.53%	6	0.17%	370	10.71%	3,456
Blackford	1,595	43.04%	1,867	50.38%	105	2.83%	126	3.40%	13	0.35%	-272	-7.34%	3,706
Boone	3,333	46.97%	3,513	49.51%	82	1.16%	125	1.76%	43	0.61%	-180	-2.54%	7,096
Brown	506	31.72%	1,046	65.58%	10	0.63%	31	1.94%	2	0.13%	-540	-33.86%	1,595
Carroll	2,468	49.09%	2,401	47.75%	34	0.68%	118	2.35%	7	0.14%	67	1.33%	5,028
Cass	4,879	47.08%	5,140	49.60%	121	1.17%	200	1.93%	23	0.22%	-261	-2.52%	10,363
Clark	3,173	46.15%	3,572	51.95%	73	1.06%	43	0.63%	15	0.22%	-399	-5.80%	6,876
Clay	3,102	42.82%	3,435	47.42%	562	7.76%	119	1.64%	26	0.36%	-333	-4.60%	7,244
Clinton	3,638	47.76%	3,662	48.07%	119	1.56%	184	2.42%	15	0.20%	-24	-0.32%	7,618
Crawford	1,201	41.05%	1,508	51.54%	58	1.98%	152	5.19%	7	0.24%	-307	-10.49%	2,926
Daviess	3,191	47.56%	3,143	46.84%	210	3.13%	128	1.91%	38	0.57%	48	0.72%	6,710
Dearborn	2,318	42.18%	3,010	54.78%	62	1.13%	97	1.77%	8	0.15%	-692	-12.59%	5,495
Decatur	2,717	51.39%	2,374	44.90%	69	1.31%	109	2.06%	18	0.34%	343	6.49%	5,287
DeKalb	2,898	43.53%	3,372	50.65%	136	2.04%	232	3.49%	19	0.29%	-474	-7.12%	6,657
Delaware	6,919	50.24%	5,946	43.18%	432	3.14%	407	2.96%	67	0.49%	973	7.07%	13,771
Dubois	1,492	32.07%	3,072	66.02%	19	0.41%	55	1.18%	15	0.32%	-1,580	-33.96%	4,653
Elkhart	5,850	45.21%	5,723	44.22%	708	5.47%	603	4.66%	57	0.44%	127	0.98%	12,941
Fayette	2,360	51.51%	2,074	45.26%	58	1.27%	64	1.40%	26	0.57%	286	6.24%	4,582
Floyd	3,200	43.99%	3,850	52.92%	140	1.92%	68	0.93%	17	0.23%	-650	-8.93%	7,275
Fountain	2,634	48.36%	2,437	44.74%	130	2.39%	88	1.62%	158	2.90%	197	3.62%	5,447
Franklin	1,495	37.24%	2,426	60.42%	8	0.20%	73	1.82%	13	0.32%	-931	-23.19%	4,015
Fulton	2,325	48.72%	2,231	46.75%	33	0.69%	63	1.32%	120	2.51%	94	1.97%	4,772
Gibson	3,576	45.84%	3,765	48.26%	201	2.58%	226	2.90%	33	0.42%	-189	-2.42%	7,801
Grant	6,059	43.38%	5,827	41.72%	1,019	7.30%	980	7.02%	82	0.59%	232	1.66%	13,967
Greene	3,878	43.33%	3,990	44.59%	833	9.31%	199	2.22%	49	0.55%	-112	-1.25%	8,949
Hamilton	3,951	54.78%	2,799	38.81%	72	1.00%	362	5.02%	28	0.39%	1,152	15.97%	7,212
Hancock	2,138	41.56%	2,779	54.02%	47	0.91%	166	3.23%	14	0.27%	-641	-12.46%	5,144
Harrison	2,086	44.97%	2,373	51.15%	64	1.38%	98	2.11%	18	0.39%	-287	-6.19%	4,639
Hendricks	3,046	53.13%	2,453	42.79%	88	1.53%	118	2.06%	28	0.49%	593	10.34%	5,733
Henry	4,386	50.01%	3,560	40.59%	265	3.02%	378	4.31%	182	2.08%	826	9.42%	8,771
Howard	4,777	47.38%	3,934	39.02%	840	8.33%	456	4.52%	75	0.74%	843	8.36%	10,082
Huntington	3,761	45.73%	3,833	46.60%	149	1.81%	450	5.47%	32	0.39%	-72	-0.88%	8,225
Jackson	2,422	40.65%	3,312	55.59%	74	1.24%	139	2.33%	11	0.18%	-890	-14.94%	5,958
Jasper	1,995	56.50%	1,488	42.14%	10	0.28%	33	0.93%	5	0.14%	507	14.36%	3,531
Jay	3,075	46.49%	3,070	46.41%	109	1.65%	348	5.26%	13	0.20%	5	0.08%	6,615
Jefferson	2,675	49.76%	2,518	46.84%	56	1.04%	113	2.10%	14	0.26%	157	2.92%	5,376
Jennings	1,791	50.01%	1,686	47.08%	34	0.95%	60	1.68%	10	0.28%	105	2.93%	3,581
Johnson	2,428	42.32%	3,108	54.17%	53	0.92%	107	1.87%	41	0.71%	-680	-11.85%	5,737
Knox	4,805	42.28%	5,380	47.34%	923	8.12%	142	1.25%	114	1.00%	-575	-5.06%	11,364
Kosciusko	4,025	51.18%	3,447	43.83%	134	1.70%	232	2.95%	27	0.34%	578	7.35%	7,865
LaGrange	1,958	54.09%	1,512	41.77%	43	1.19%	93	2.57%	14	0.39%	446	12.32%	3,620
Lake	13,262	55.00%	9,946	41.25%	651	2.70%	108	0.45%	144	0.60%	3,316	13.75%	24,111
LaPorte	5,726	50.29%	5,276	46.33%	240	2.11%	83	0.73%	62	0.54%	450	3.95%	11,387
Lawrence	3,813	52.55%	3,108	42.83%	246	3.39%	66	0.91%	23	0.32%	705	9.72%	7,256
Madison	7,449	41.96%	8,106	45.66%	1,579	8.89%	484	2.73%	134	0.75%	-657	-3.70%	17,752
Marion	40,699	51.50%	35,043	44.34%	2,224	2.81%	744	0.94%	320	0.40%	5,656	7.16%	79,030
Marshall	2,855	44.64%	3,221	50.36%	77	1.20%	216	3.38%	27	0.42%	-366	-5.72%	6,396
Martin	1,534	48.93%	1,549	49.41%	26	0.83%	22	0.70%	4	0.13%	-15	-0.48%	3,135
Miami	3,390	43.16%	3,854	49.07%	303	3.86%	214	2.72%	93	1.18%	-464	-5.91%	7,854
Monroe	3,033	50.31%	2,796	46.38%	58	0.96%	105	1.74%	37	0.61%	237	3.93%	6,029
Montgomery	4,300	49.36%	4,107	47.15%	147	1.69%	106	1.22%	51	0.59%	193	2.22%	8,711
Morgan	2,860	50.06%	2,616	45.79%	113	1.98%	94	1.65%	30	0.53%	244	4.27%	5,713
Newton	1,377	47.58%	1,278	44.16%	36	1.24%	43	1.49%	160	5.53%	99	3.42%	2,894
Noble	3,417	51.33%	3,069	46.10%	35	0.53%	130	1.95%	6	0.09%	348	5.23%	6,657
Ohio	597	47.46%	632	50.24%	3	0.24%	25	1.99%	1	0.08%	-35	-2.78%	1,258
Orange	2,481	52.94%	2,091	44.62%	52	1.11%	42	0.90%	20	0.43%	390	8.32%	4,686
Owen	1,585	44.67%	1,812	51.07%	95	2.68%	42	1.18%	14	0.39%	-227	-6.40%	3,548
Parke	2,598	48.52%	2,329	43.50%	212	3.96%	184	3.44%	31	0.58%	269	5.02%	5,354
Perry	1,762	45.11%	2,089	53.48%	28	0.72%	15	0.38%	12	0.31%	-327	-8.37%	3,906
Pike	2,172	46.71%	2,212	47.57%	187	4.02%	59	1.27%	20	0.43%	-40	-0.86%	4,650
Porter	2,913	59.22%	1,871	38.04%	76	1.55%	37	0.75%	22	0.45%	1,042	21.18%	4,919
Posey	2,291	42.97%	2,922	54.80%	26	0.49%	86	1.61%	7	0.13%	-631	-11.83%	5,332
Pulaski	1,474	46.79%	1,387	44.03%	27	0.86%	58	1.84%	204	6.48%	87	2.76%	3,150
Putnam	2,453	43.28%	2,965	52.31%	132	2.33%	86	1.52%	32	0.56%	-512	-9.03%	5,668
Randolph	4,054	54.31%	2,682	35.93%	128	1.71%	525	7.03%	75	1.00%	1,372	18.38%	7,464
Ripley	2,686	49.88%	2,549	47.34%	67	1.24%	67	1.24%	16	0.30%	137	2.54%	5,385
Rush	2,950	51.22%	2,569	44.60%	57	0.99%	160	2.78%	24	0.42%	381	6.61%	5,760
St. Joseph	7,961	43.02%	9,709	52.47%	24	0.13%	436	2.36%	375	2.03%	-1,748	-9.45%	18,505
Scott	802	41.99%	1,068	55.92%	4	0.21%	31	1.62%	5	0.26%	-266	-13.93%	1,910
Shelby	3,201	42.90%	3,900	52.27%	81	1.09%	242	3.24%	37	0.50%	-699	-9.37%	7,461
Spencer	2,560	50.34%	2,335	45.92%	50	0.98%	122	2.40%	18	0.35%	225	4.42%	5,085
Starke	1,550	52.21%	1,334	44.93%	44	1.48%	35	1.18%	6	0.20%	216	7.28%	2,969
Steuben	2,418	50.72%	1,427	29.93%	657	13.78%	255	5.35%	10	0.21%	991	20.79%	4,767
Sullivan	2,630	35.24%	3,880	51.99%	667	8.94%	205	2.75%	81	1.09%	-1,250	-16.75%	7,463
Switzerland	1,214	44.05%	1,446	52.47%	36	1.31%	58	2.10%	2	0.07%	-232	-8.42%	2,756
Tippecanoe	6,386	54.73%	4,918	42.15%	108	0.93%	208	1.78%	49	0.42%	1,468	12.58%	11,669
Tipton	2,166	45.32%	2,337	48.90%	62	1.30%	203	4.25%	11	0.23%	-171	-3.58%	4,779
Union	997	52.95%	826	43.87%	19	1.01%	38	2.02%	3	0.16%	171	9.08%	1,883
Vanderburgh	9,966	47.52%	10,028	47.81%	717	3.42%	185	0.88%	77	0.37%	-62	-0.30%	20,973
Vermillion	2,607	43.61%	2,343	39.19%	771	12.90%	133	2.22%	124	2.07%	264	4.42%	5,978
Vigo	8,934	39.71%	11,165	49.63%	1,677	7.45%	516	2.29%	204	0.91%	-2,231	-9.92%	22,496
Wabash	3,849	50.37%	3,168	41.46%	277	3.63%	293	3.83%	54	0.71%	681	8.91%	7,641
Warren	1,823	61.67%	1,011	34.20%	45	1.52%	67	2.27%	10	0.34%	812	27.47%	2,956
Warrick	2,396	48.41%	2,244	45.34%	57	1.15%	88	1.78%	164	3.31%	152	3.07%	4,949
Washington	1,871	42.80%	2,414	55.23%	29	0.66%	48	1.10%	9	0.21%	-543	-12.42%	4,371
Wayne	6,112	51.84%	5,007	42.46%	295	2.50%	303	2.57%	74	0.63%	1,105	9.37%	11,791
Wells	1,947	37.26%	2,928	56.03%	56	1.07%	285	5.45%	10	0.19%	-981	-18.77%	5,226
White	2,442	50.66%	2,262	46.93%	35	0.73%	71	1.47%	10	0.21%	180	3.73%	4,820
Whitley	2,191	44.69%	2,510	51.19%	26	0.53%	170	3.47%	6	0.12%	-319	-6.51%	4,903
Totals	341,005	47.44%	334,063	46.47%	21,855	3.04%	16,368	2.28%	5,557	0.77%	6,942	0.97%	718,848

See also

• United States presidential elections in Indiana

References

1. Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, p. 343 ISBN   9780691163246
2. Phillips; The Emerging Republican Majority, p. 352
3. Menendez, Albert J. (2005). The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004. p. 37. ISBN   0786422173.
4. "1916 Presidential General Election Results — Indiana". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
5. Indiana Secretary of State, ‘Vote by Counties for Presidential Electors First Elector,’ Biennial Report of Homer L. Cook Secretary of State of the State of Indiana for the Fiscal Term Ending September 30, 1916 (Indianapolis, 1916)