1908 United States presidential election in California explained

See main article: 1908 United States presidential election.

Election Name:	1908 United States presidential election in California
Country:	California
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	1904 United States presidential election in California
Previous Year:	1904
Next Election:	1912 United States presidential election in California
Next Year:	1912
Election Date:	November 3, 1908
Image1:	William Howard Taft, Bain bw photo portrait, 1908.jpg
Nominee1:	William Howard Taft
Party1:	Republican Party (United States)
Home State1:	Ohio
Running Mate1:	James S. Sherman
Electoral Vote1:	10
Popular Vote1:	214,398
Percentage1:	55.46%
Nominee2:	William Jennings Bryan
Party2:	Democratic Party (United States)
Home State2:	Nebraska
Running Mate2:	John W. Kern
Electoral Vote2:	0
Popular Vote2:	127,492
Percentage2:	32.98%
Image3:	EugeneVDebs.png
Nominee3:	Eugene V. Debs
Party3:	Socialist Party of America
Home State3:	Indiana
Running Mate3:	Ben Hanford
Electoral Vote3:	0
Popular Vote3:	28,659
Percentage3:	7.41%
Map Size:	300px
President
Before Election:	Theodore Roosevelt
Before Party:	Republican Party (United States)
After Election:	William Howard Taft
After Party:	Republican Party (United States)
Flag Year:	1846

The 1908 United States presidential election in California took place on November 3, 1908, as part of the 1908 United States presidential election. State voters chose 10 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

California voted for the Republican nominee, former War Secretary William Howard Taft and his running mate James S. Sherman of New York. They defeated the Democratic nominees, former representative and the 1896 and 1900 nominee, William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska and his running with John W. Kern, a former Indiana state senator. Taft won the state by a margin of 22.48%. This was the first presidential election in which more votes were cast in Los Angeles County than in San Francisco, although this had also previously occurred in the 1906 gubernatorial election.

Bryan had previously lost California to William McKinley in both 1896 and 1900.

Results

+ General Election Results^[1]	Party		Pledged to	Elector	Votes
	Republican Party	William Howard Taft	Ulysses S. Grant, Jr.	214,398
	Republican Party	William Howard Taft	Samuel M. Shortridge	213,598
	Republican Party	William Howard Taft	Francis M. Smith	213,552
	Republican Party	William Howard Taft	Alden Anderson	213,533
	Republican Party	William Howard Taft	G. W. Dwinnell	213,532
	Republican Party	William Howard Taft	Thomas J. Field	213,292
	Republican Party	William Howard Taft	H. G. W. Dinkelspiel	213,225
	Republican Party	William Howard Taft	Delos O. Druffel	213,071
	Republican Party	William Howard Taft	Byron Erkenbrecher	212,931
	Republican Party	William Howard Taft	Lyman M. King	212,314
bgcolor=		Democratic Party	William Jennings Bryan	James D. Phelan	127,492
bgcolor=		Democratic Party	William Jennings Bryan	Harry P. Flannery	126,796
bgcolor=		Democratic Party	William Jennings Bryan	Eugene German	126,696
bgcolor=		Democratic Party	William Jennings Bryan	W. B. Shearer	126,617
bgcolor=		Democratic Party	William Jennings Bryan	D. W. Carmichael	126,527
bgcolor=		Democratic Party	William Jennings Bryan	Charles Edelman	126,483
bgcolor=		Democratic Party	William Jennings Bryan	A. W. Maltby	126,465
bgcolor=		Democratic Party	William Jennings Bryan	E. E. Bush	126,393
bgcolor=		Democratic Party	William Jennings Bryan	Thomas E. Gibbon	126,312
bgcolor=		Democratic Party	William Jennings Bryan	John W. Martin	126,190
bgcolor=		Socialist Party	Eugene V. Debs	Mary E. Garbutt	28,659
bgcolor=		Socialist Party	Eugene V. Debs	G. W. Woodbey	28,572
bgcolor=		Socialist Party	Eugene V. Debs	Benjamin Chambers	28,547
bgcolor=		Socialist Party	Eugene V. Debs	Oliver Everett	28,534
bgcolor=		Socialist Party	Eugene V. Debs	J. H. Wilder	28,533
bgcolor=		Socialist Party	Eugene V. Debs	J. C. Weybright	28,532
bgcolor=		Socialist Party	Eugene V. Debs	Mary F. Merrill	28,518
bgcolor=		Socialist Party	Eugene V. Debs	Henry Meyer	28,507
bgcolor=		Socialist Party	Eugene V. Debs	F. C. Wheeler	28,500
bgcolor=		Socialist Party	Eugene V. Debs	Bertha W. Starkweather	28,351
	Prohibition Party	Eugene W. Chafin	Frederick Heard	11,770
	Prohibition Party	Eugene W. Chafin	Ray T. Kimball	11,735
	Prohibition Party	Eugene W. Chafin	Albert K. Nash	11,674
	Prohibition Party	Eugene W. Chafin	William H. Dorman	11,663
	Prohibition Party	Eugene W. Chafin	Adolph R. Buckman	11,654
	Prohibition Party	Eugene W. Chafin	Horace A. Johnson	11,653
	Prohibition Party	Eugene W. Chafin	Henry C. Weisenburger	11,648
	Prohibition Party	Eugene W. Chafin	Granville P. Hurst	11,644
	Prohibition Party	Eugene W. Chafin	Christopher C. Crowell	11,616
	Prohibition Party	Eugene W. Chafin	John H. Allin	11,597
	Independence League	Thomas L. Hisgen	Al Murphy	4,278
	Independence League	Thomas L. Hisgen	Frank R. Wehe	4,122
	Independence League	Thomas L. Hisgen	Richard Kinsella	4,075
	Independence League	Thomas L. Hisgen	J. D. McGaughey	4,065
	Independence League	Thomas L. Hisgen	R. H. Norton	4,060
	Independence League	Thomas L. Hisgen	Raymond E. Fair	4,058
	Independence League	Thomas L. Hisgen	C. K. Lambie	4,055
	Independence League	Thomas L. Hisgen	Z. W. Craig	4,047
	Independence League	Thomas L. Hisgen	T. E. Amlin	4,043
	Independence League	Thomas L. Hisgen	Henry E. Mills	4,042
	Write-in		Scattering	28
Votes cast				386,625

Results by county

County	William Howard Taft Republican		William Jennings Bryan Democratic		Eugene V. Debs Socialist		Eugene W. Chafin Prohibition		Thomas L. Hisgen Independence		Margin		Total votes cast
		%		%		%		%		%		%
	Alameda		21,380		64.24%		7,110		21.36%		3,462		10.40%		608		1.83%		723		2.17%		14,270		42.87%		33,283
	Alpine		75		87.21%		11		12.79%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		64		74.42%		86
	Amador		1,035		51.88%		874		43.81%		38		1.90%		25		1.25%		23		1.15%		161		8.07%		1,995
	Butte		3,094		52.74%		2,146		36.58%		384		6.55%		199		3.39%		43		0.73%		948		16.16%		5,866
	Calaveras		1,323		55.54%		833		34.97%		167		7.01%		17		0.71%		42		1.76%		490		20.57%		2,382
	Colusa		730		38.58%		1,064		56.24%		52		2.75%		33		1.74%		13		0.69%		-334		-17.65%		1,892
	Contra Costa		3,336		60.61%		1,599		29.05%		438		7.96%		71		1.29%		60		1.09%		1,737		31.56%		5,504
	Del Norte		450		59.29%		202		26.61%		71		9.35%		28		3.69%		8		1.05%		248		32.67%		759
	El Dorado		986		44.74%		1,019		46.23%		148		6.72%		22		1.00%		29		1.32%		-33		-1.50%		2,204
	Fresno		6,384		50.89%		4,743		37.81%		868		6.92%		508		4.05%		42		0.33%		1,641		13.08%		12,545
	Glenn		618		44.72%		711		51.45%		19		1.37%		28		2.03%		6		0.43%		-93		-6.73%		1,382
	Humboldt		4,221		65.02%		1,206		18.58%		865		13.32%		138		2.13%		62		0.96%		3,015		46.44%		6,492
	Imperial		909		47.64%		675		35.38%		204		10.69%		102		5.35%		18		0.94%		234		12.26%		1,908
	Inyo		583		40.94%		618		43.40%		158		11.10%		37		2.60%		28		1.97%		-35		-2.46%		1,424
	Kern		2,270		45.60%		2,215		44.50%		380		7.63%		57		1.15%		56		1.12%		55		1.10%		4,978
	Kings		1,198		53.22%		859		38.16%		112		4.98%		70		3.11%		12		0.53%		339		15.06%		2,251
	Lake		625		42.84%		628		43.04%		110		7.54%		64		4.39%		32		2.19%		-3		-0.21%		1,459
	Lassen		551		54.61%		361		35.78%		81		8.03%		9		0.89%		7		0.69%		190		18.83%		1,009
	Los Angeles		41,483		56.77%		22,076		30.21%		4,702		6.43%		4,033		5.52%		783		1.07%		19,407		26.56%		73,077
	Madera		596		44.85%		574		43.19%		121		9.10%		21		1.58%		17		1.28%		22		1.66%		1,329
	Marin		2,732		68.25%		983		24.56%		219		5.47%		28		0.70%		41		1.02%		1,749		43.69%		4,003
	Mariposa		352		36.86%		480		50.26%		86		9.01%		14		1.47%		23		2.41%		-128		-13.40%		955
	Mendocino		2,746		55.56%		1,752		35.45%		293		5.93%		88		1.78%		63		1.27%		994		20.11%		4,942
	Merced		1,107		44.58%		1,100		44.30%		152		6.12%		104		4.19%		20		0.81%		7		0.28%		2,483
	Modoc		620		49.92%		574		46.22%		24		1.93%		12		0.97%		12		0.97%		46		3.70%		1,242
	Mono		224		59.89%		121		32.35%		25		6.68%		0		0.00%		4		1.07%		103		27.54%		374
	Monterey		2,486		53.64%		1,616		34.87%		211		4.55%		265		5.72%		57		1.23%		870		18.77%		4,635
	Napa		2,405		59.08%		1,336		32.82%		206		5.06%		100		2.46%		24		0.59%		1,069		26.26%		4,071
	Nevada		1,825		50.86%		1,368		38.13%		296		8.25%		76		2.12%		23		0.64%		457		12.74%		3,588
	Orange		3,244		53.74%		1,911		31.65%		375		6.21%		451		7.47%		56		0.93%		1,333		22.08%		6,037
	Placer		1,865		51.45%		1,491		41.13%		171		4.72%		69		1.90%		29		0.80%		374		10.32%		3,625
	Plumas		659		57.91%		395		34.71%		59		5.18%		12		1.05%		13		1.14%		264		23.20%		1,138
	Riverside		3,229		57.24%		1,374		24.36%		565		10.02%		427		7.57%		46		0.82%		1,855		32.88%		5,641
	Sacramento		6,515		55.15%		4,533		38.37%		608		5.15%		106		0.90%		52		0.44%		1,982		16.78%		11,814
	San Benito		937		53.57%		684		39.11%		63		3.60%		52		2.97%		13		0.74%		253		14.47%		1,749
	San Bernardino		4,729		52.90%		2,685		30.03%		777		8.69%		618		6.91%		131		1.47%		2,044		22.86%		8,940
	San Diego		5,412		57.56%		2,393		25.45%		1,342		14.27%		212		2.25%		44		0.47%		3,019		32.11%		9,403
	San Francisco		33,184		55.19%		21,260		35.36%		4,523		7.52%		406		0.68%		751		1.25%		11,924		19.83%		60,124
	San Joaquin		4,470		52.20%		3,331		38.90%		547		6.39%		167		1.95%		49		0.57%		1,139		13.30%		8,564
	San Luis Obispo		2,008		50.76%		1,381		34.91%		370		9.35%		154		3.89%		43		1.09%		627		15.85%		3,956
	San Mateo		2,865		62.91%		1,314		28.85%		301		6.61%		29		0.64%		45		0.99%		1,551		34.06%		4,554
	Santa Barbara		2,713		55.19%		1,640		33.36%		376		7.65%		104		2.12%		83		1.69%		1,073		21.83%		4,916
	Santa Clara		7,950		58.88%		3,836		28.41%		883		6.54%		696		5.15%		137		1.01%		4,114		30.47%		13,502
	Santa Cruz		2,886		54.71%		1,643		31.15%		450		8.53%		237		4.49%		59		1.12%		1,243		23.56%		5,275
	Shasta		1,891		47.61%		1,389		34.97%		577		14.53%		69		1.74%		46		1.16%		502		12.64%		3,972
	Sierra		600		55.40%		510		37.86%		54		4.99%		11		1.02%		8		0.74%		190		17.54%		1,083
	Siskiyou		1,813		47.40%		1,657		43.32%		264		6.90%		39		1.02%		52		1.36%		156		4.08%		3,825
	Solano		3,115		54.72%		2,033		35.71%		402		7.06%		102		1.79%		41		0.72%		1,082		19.01%		5,693
	Sonoma		5,427		57.50%		3,168		33.56%		483		5.12%		285		3.02%		76		0.81%		2,259		23.93%		9,439
	Stanislaus		1,663		46.45%		1,390		38.83%		182		5.08%		315		8.80%		30		0.84%		273		7.63%		3,580
	Sutter		896		54.94%		652		39.98%		45		2.76%		28		1.72%		10		0.61%		244		14.96%		1,631
	Tehama		1,064		47.46%		894		39.88%		204		9.10%		62		2.77%		18		0.80%		170		7.58%		2,242
	Trinity		393		44.41%		331		37.40%		130		14.69%		14		1.58%		17		1.92%		62		7.01%		885
	Tulare		2,742		47.95%		2,329		40.73%		466		8.15%		143		2.50%		38		0.66%		413		7.22%		5,718
	Tuolumne		943		44.40%		878		41.34%		187		8.80%		72		3.39%		44		2.07%		65		3.06%		2,124
	Ventura		1,864		56.57%		1,181		35.84%		158		4.80%		48		1.46%		44		1.34%		683		20.73%		3,295
	Yolo		1,707		49.01%		1,553		44.59%		127		3.65%		74		2.12%		22		0.63%		154		4.42%		3,483
	Yuba		1,270		55.92%		902		39.72%		78		3.43%		11		0.48%		10		0.44%		368		16.20%		2,271
Total	214,398	55.45%	127,492	32.98%	28,659	7.41%	11,770	3.04%	4,278	1.11%	86,906	22.48%	386,597

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• El Dorado
• Glenn
• Inyo
• Lake

See also

• United States presidential elections in California

Notes and References

1. Book: Statement of the Vote of California at the General Election, Held November 3, 1908. Sacramento, California . 3-7 . 14 July 2024.