The U.S. presidential election of 1908 was held on November 3, 1908. It was not a close race. Popular incumbent President Theodore Roosevelt, honoring a promise not to seek a third term, anointed William Howard Taft as his successor. The Democrats nominated a candidate, William Jennings Bryan, who had been defeated in two previous outings against Republican William McKinley. Taft defeated Bryan in the election.
Nominations
Republican Party nomination
The 1908 Republican Convention was held in Chicago from 16 June to 19 June. Prominent Republican candidates included House Speaker Joseph Gurney Cannon of Illinois, Charles Evans Hughes of New York, and Robert M. La Follette of Wisconsin, but William Howard Taft, the Secretary of War, prevailed with the backing of outgoing President Theodore Roosevelt.
Democratic Party nomination
The 1908 Democratic Convention was held in Denver from 7 July to 10 July. Despite a challenge by Minnesota governor John Albert Johnson, two time previous nominee William Jennings Bryan quickly won the overwhelming support of his party.
General election
Campaign
With the silver issue no longer dominant, Bryan campaigned on a progressive platform attacking "government by privilege". Taft also took many reform positions, and Bryan's support for many of Roosevelt's policies blurred the distinctions between the parties. Business continued to support Taft, and Bryan failed to secure labor. As a result, Bryan ended up with the second worst of his three defeats, losing almost all the Northern states to Taft and losing the popular vote by eight points.
Results
| Presidential candidate | Party | Home state | Popular vote | Electoral vote |
Running mate | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | Percentage | Vice-presidential candidate | Home state | Electoral vote | ||||
| William Howard Taft | Republican | Ohio | 7,678,395 | 51.6% | 321 | James Schoolcraft Sherman | New York | 321 |
| William Jennings Bryan | Democratic | Nebraska | 6,408,984 | 43.0% | 162 | John Worth Kern | Indiana | 162 |
| Eugene Victor Debs | Socialist | Indiana | 420,852 | 2.8% | 0 | Benjamin Hanford | New York | 0 |
| Eugene Wilder Chafin | Prohibition | Illinois | 254,087 | 1.7% | 0 | Aaron Sherman Watkins | Ohio | 0 |
| Thomas Louis Hisgen | Independence | Massachusetts | 82,571 | 0.6% | 0 | John Temple Graves | Georgia | 0 |
| Thomas Edward Watson | Populist | Georgia | 28,822 | 0.2% | 0 | Samuel Williams | Indiana | 0 |
| Other | 15,550 | 0.1% | — | Other | — | |||
| Total | 14,889,261 | 100% | 483 | 483 | ||||
| Needed to win | 242 | 242 | ||||||
Source (Popular Vote): Leip, David. "1908 Presidential Election Results". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved July 28, 2005. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
Source (Electoral Vote): "Electoral College Box Scores 1789–1996". National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved July 31, 2005. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
See also
Further reading
- Daniels, Josephus (1908). "Mr. Bryan's Third Campaign". Review of Reviews. 38: 423–31.
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