1908 United States presidential election in Michigan explained

See main article: 1908 United States presidential election.

Election Name:	1908 United States presidential election in Michigan
Country:	Michigan
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	1904 United States presidential election in Michigan
Previous Year:	1904
Next Election:	1912 United States presidential election in Michigan
Next Year:	1912
Votes For Election:	All 14 Michigan votes to the Electoral College
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:	14
Popular Vote1:	335,580
Percentage1:	61.93%
Nominee2:	William Jennings Bryan
Party2:	Democratic Party (United States)
Home State2:	Nebraska
Running Mate2:	John W. Kern
Electoral Vote2:	0
Popular Vote2:	175,771
Percentage2:	32.44%
Map Size:	375px
President
Before Election:	Theodore Roosevelt
Before Party:	Republican Party (United States)
After Election:	William Howard Taft
After Party:	Republican Party (United States)

The 1908 United States presidential election in Michigan took place on November 3, 1908, as part of the 1908 United States presidential election. Voters chose 14^[1] representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Following the Panic of 1893 and the Populist movement, Michigan would turn from a competitive Republican-leaning state into a rigidly one-party polity dominated by the Republican Party.^[2] The dominance of the culture of the Lower Peninsula by anti-slavery Yankees^[3] 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.^[4] The state Democratic Party was further crippled via the Populist movement severing its critical financial ties with business and commerce in Michigan as in other Northern states.^[5] A brief turn of the strongly evangelical Cabinet Counties toward the Populist movement in the 1896 presidential election would reverse itself following the return to prosperity under President William McKinley, so that these joined in Republican hegemony until the Great Depression. McKinley would also later beat Bryan in the state again four years later.

In the 1894 elections, the Democratic Party lost all but one seat in the Michigan legislature,^[6] and the party would only make minor gains there for the next third of a century. 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]

With Michigan's solid one-party GOP status not threatened, neither William Howard Taft nor Bryan campaigned in the state, and the only straw vote suggested that Republican nominee Taft from Ohio would carry the state over third-time Democratic candidate Nebraskan William Jennings Bryan by between fifty and one hundred thousand votes^[8] — still a halving of the huge margin Theodore Roosevelt had gained over Alton B. Parker four years previously. However, the Santa Ana Register estimate proved extremely conservative, for the Republican ticket received nearly 62 percent of the vote, while the Democrats received only 32 percent.^[9]

With 61.93 percent of the popular vote, Michigan would be Taft's third strongest victory in terms of popular vote percentage after Vermont and Maine.^[10] This was the second time, after the previous election, that any party carried every county in the state.

Results

Results by county

1908 United States presidential election in Michigan by county

County	William Howard Taft^[11] Republican		William Jennings Bryan Democratic		Eugene Wilder Chafin Prohibition		Eugene Victor Debs Socialist		Various candidates Other parties		Margin		Total votes cast
		%		%		%		%		%		%
	Alcona		824		76.37%		175		16.22%		24		2.22%		54		5.00%		2		0.19%		649		60.15%		1,079
	Alger		997		75.59%		231		17.51%		22		1.67%		60		4.55%		9		0.68%		766		58.07%		1,319
	Allegan		5,422		67.32%		2,186		27.14%		285		3.54%		135		1.68%		26		0.32%		3,236		40.18%		8,054
	Alpena		2,358		68.07%		949		27.40%		33		0.95%		116		3.35%		8		0.23%		1,409		40.68%		3,464
	Antrim		2,020		73.21%		574		20.80%		99		3.59%		59		2.14%		7		0.25%		1,446		52.41%		2,759
	Arenac		1,081		56.19%		714		37.11%		59		3.07%		67		3.48%		3		0.16%		367		19.07%		1,924
	Baraga		765		73.98%		232		22.44%		19		1.84%		14		1.35%		4		0.39%		533		51.55%		1,034
	Barry		3,247		57.46%		2,126		37.62%		244		4.32%		21		0.37%		13		0.23%		1,121		19.84%		5,651
	Bay		6,760		58.22%		4,223		36.37%		180		1.55%		403		3.47%		45		0.39%		2,537		21.85%		11,611
	Benzie		1,437		62.97%		551		24.15%		205		8.98%		77		3.37%		12		0.53%		886		38.83%		2,282
	Berrien		7,260		58.07%		4,598		36.78%		274		2.19%		276		2.21%		95		0.76%		2,662		21.29%		12,503
	Branch		3,715		57.48%		2,402		37.17%		187		2.89%		131		2.03%		28		0.43%		1,313		20.32%		6,463
	Calhoun		6,848		55.99%		4,240		34.67%		473		3.87%		530		4.33%		140		1.14%		2,608		21.32%		12,231
	Cass		3,082		52.72%		2,466		42.18%		149		2.55%		128		2.19%		21		0.36%		616		10.54%		5,846
	Charlevoix		2,530		68.92%		801		21.82%		147		4.00%		176		4.79%		17		0.46%		1,729		47.10%		3,671
	Cheboygan		2,053		58.94%		1,205		34.60%		126		3.62%		83		2.38%		16		0.46%		848		24.35%		3,483
	Chippewa		2,418		64.19%		1,175		31.19%		129		3.42%		37		0.98%		8		0.21%		1,243		33.00%		3,767
	Clare		1,345		68.14%		567		28.72%		36		1.82%		22		1.11%		4		0.20%		778		39.41%		1,974
	Clinton		3,490		59.63%		2,188		37.38%		146		2.49%		23		0.39%		6		0.10%		1,302		22.25%		5,853
	Crawford		590		67.82%		237		27.24%		12		1.38%		28		3.22%		3		0.34%		353		40.57%		870
	Delta		3,243		71.70%		1,097		24.25%		81		1.79%		80		1.77%		22		0.49%		2,146		47.45%		4,523
	Dickinson		2,507		76.18%		544		16.53%		176		5.35%		44		1.34%		20		0.61%		1,963		59.65%		3,291
	Eaton		4,364		55.92%		3,131		40.12%		204		2.61%		89		1.14%		16		0.21%		1,233		15.80%		7,804
	Emmet		2,313		62.08%		1,012		27.16%		204		5.48%		184		4.94%		13		0.35%		1,301		34.92%		3,726
	Genesee		7,211		64.31%		3,234		28.84%		437		3.90%		303		2.70%		28		0.25%		3,977		35.47%		11,213
	Gladwin		1,168		71.35%		386		23.58%		47		2.87%		31		1.89%		5		0.31%		782		47.77%		1,637
	Gogebic		2,256		72.96%		614		19.86%		147		4.75%		60		1.94%		15		0.49%		1,642		53.10%		3,092
	Grand Traverse		2,811		65.88%		1,289		30.21%		133		3.12%		27		0.63%		7		0.16%		1,522		35.67%		4,267
	Gratiot		4,158		61.65%		2,372		35.17%		176		2.61%		32		0.47%		6		0.09%		1,786		26.48%		6,744
	Hillsdale		4,463		60.98%		2,516		34.38%		279		3.81%		44		0.60%		17		0.23%		1,947		26.60%		7,319
	Houghton		9,352		73.04%		2,424		18.93%		629		4.91%		371		2.90%		28		0.22%		6,928		54.11%		12,804
	Huron		3,565		67.66%		1,477		28.03%		161		3.06%		57		1.08%		9		0.17%		2,088		39.63%		5,269
	Ingham		6,723		53.69%		5,016		40.06%		582		4.65%		157		1.25%		43		0.34%		1,707		13.63%		12,521
	Ionia		4,584		54.77%		3,232		38.61%		450		5.38%		92		1.10%		12		0.14%		1,352		16.15%		8,370
	Iosco		1,224		63.03%		668		34.40%		40		2.06%		9		0.46%		1		0.05%		556		28.63%		1,942
	Iron		2,055		85.63%		260		10.83%		40		1.67%		22		0.92%		23		0.96%		1,795		74.79%		2,400
	Isabella		3,171		63.18%		1,658		33.03%		132		2.63%		53		1.06%		5		0.10%		1,513		30.15%		5,019
	Jackson		6,770		54.12%		5,226		41.77%		331		2.65%		161		1.29%		22		0.18%		1,544		12.34%		12,510
	Kalamazoo		6,511		54.63%		4,477		37.57%		448		3.76%		425		3.57%		57		0.48%		2,034		17.07%		11,918
	Kalkaska		1,153		69.33%		356		21.41%		105		6.31%		46		2.77%		3		0.18%		797		47.93%		1,663
	Kent		16,576		55.44%		11,445		38.28%		848		2.84%		949		3.17%		83		0.28%		5,131		17.16%		29,901
	Keweenaw		1,026		90.56%		63		5.56%		16		1.41%		25		2.21%		3		0.26%		963		85.00%		1,133
	Lake		673		68.88%		253		25.90%		14		1.43%		31		3.17%		6		0.61%		420		42.99%		977
	Lapeer		3,426		63.49%		1,644		30.47%		288		5.34%		34		0.63%		4		0.07%		1,782		33.02%		5,396
	Leelanau		1,258		66.35%		566		29.85%		46		2.43%		23		1.21%		3		0.16%		692		36.50%		1,896
	Lenawee		6,607		56.22%		4,704		40.03%		398		3.39%		28		0.24%		15		0.13%		1,903		16.19%		11,752
	Livingston		2,740		50.82%		2,418		44.84%		218		4.04%		10		0.19%		6		0.11%		322		5.97%		5,392
	Luce		354		70.66%		108		21.56%		31		6.19%		4		0.80%		4		0.80%		246		49.10%		501
	Mackinac		1,156		58.89%		769		39.17%		22		1.12%		10		0.51%		6		0.31%		387		19.71%		1,963
	Macomb		4,472		56.78%		3,138		39.84%		224		2.84%		34		0.43%		8		0.10%		1,334		16.94%		7,876
	Manistee		2,706		56.79%		1,799		37.75%		109		2.29%		139		2.92%		12		0.25%		907		19.03%		4,765
	Marquette		5,613		74.78%		1,275		16.99%		259		3.45%		332		4.42%		27		0.36%		4,338		57.79%		7,506
	Mason		2,577		65.71%		1,132		28.86%		149		3.80%		52		1.33%		12		0.31%		1,445		36.84%		3,922
	Mecosta		2,723		65.84%		1,179		28.51%		149		3.60%		80		1.93%		5		0.12%		1,544		37.33%		4,136
	Menominee		2,843		65.00%		1,299		29.70%		125		2.86%		79		1.81%		28		0.64%		1,544		35.30%		4,374
	Midland		1,987		66.97%		875		29.49%		53		1.79%		43		1.45%		9		0.30%		1,112		37.48%		2,967
	Missaukee		1,570		74.98%		445		21.25%		50		2.39%		19		0.91%		10		0.48%		1,125		53.72%		2,094
	Monroe		4,206		53.07%		3,451		43.54%		212		2.67%		50		0.63%		7		0.09%		755		9.53%		7,926
	Montcalm		4,558		69.05%		1,715		25.98%		197		2.98%		116		1.76%		15		0.23%		2,843		43.07%		6,601
	Montmorency		580		75.23%		179		23.22%		3		0.39%		8		1.04%		1		0.13%		401		52.01%		771
	Muskegon		5,070		69.25%		1,794		24.50%		149		2.04%		273		3.73%		35		0.48%		3,276		44.75%		7,321
	Newaygo		2,677		69.37%		956		24.77%		147		3.81%		69		1.79%		10		0.26%		1,721		44.60%		3,859
	Oakland		6,267		58.18%		3,950		36.67%		422		3.92%		107		0.99%		25		0.23%		2,317		21.51%		10,771
	Oceana		2,445		68.51%		799		22.39%		251		7.03%		57		1.60%		17		0.48%		1,646		46.12%		3,569
	Ogemaw		1,218		68.47%		454		25.52%		78		4.38%		25		1.41%		4		0.22%		764		42.95%		1,779
	Ontonagon		1,249		71.37%		425		24.29%		18		1.03%		47		2.69%		11		0.63%		824		47.09%		1,750
	Osceola		2,718		74.38%		767		20.99%		143		3.91%		5		0.14%		21		0.57%		1,951		53.39%		3,654
	Oscoda		331		72.75%		112		24.62%		9		1.98%		3		0.66%		0		0.00%		219		48.13%		455
	Otsego		864		72.48%		276		23.15%		34		2.85%		15		1.26%		3		0.25%		588		49.33%		1,192
	Ottawa		5,642		66.25%		2,429		28.52%		247		2.90%		164		1.93%		34		0.40%		3,213		37.73%		8,516
	Presque Isle		1,706		81.39%		301		14.36%		18		0.86%		57		2.72%		14		0.67%		1,405		67.03%		2,096
	Roscommon		427		69.43%		147		23.90%		18		2.93%		18		2.93%		5		0.81%		280		45.53%		615
	Saginaw		9,447		54.41%		7,019		40.42%		244		1.41%		558		3.21%		96		0.55%		2,428		13.98%		17,364
	Sanilac		4,173		68.96%		1,474		24.36%		356		5.88%		43		0.71%		5		0.08%		2,699		44.60%		6,051
	Schoolcraft		1,360		79.44%		289		16.88%		41		2.39%		16		0.93%		6		0.35%		1,071		62.56%		1,712
	Shiawassee		4,199		57.96%		2,339		32.28%		524		7.23%		171		2.36%		12		0.17%		1,860		25.67%		7,245
	St. Clair		7,287		62.23%		3,756		32.08%		327		2.79%		295		2.52%		44		0.38%		3,531		30.16%		11,709
	St. Joseph		3,466		52.93%		2,770		42.30%		172		2.63%		108		1.65%		32		0.49%		696		10.63%		6,548
	Tuscola		4,430		68.84%		1,563		24.29%		388		6.03%		46		0.71%		8		0.12%		2,867		44.55%		6,435
	Van Buren		4,531		62.80%		2,313		32.06%		193		2.67%		129		1.79%		49		0.68%		2,218		30.74%		7,215
	Washtenaw		5,845		54.58%		4,441		41.47%		305		2.85%		88		0.82%		30		0.28%		1,404		13.11%		10,709
	Wayne		49,580		63.69%		24,128		31.00%		1,401		1.80%		2,400		3.08%		331		0.43%		25,452		32.70%		77,840
	Wexford		2,886		71.95%		831		20.72%		238		5.93%		40		1.00%		16		0.40%		2,055		51.23%		4,011
Totals	333,313	61.94%	174,619	32.45%	16,785	3.12%	11,527	2.14%	1,891	0.35%	158,694	29.49%	538,135

See also

• United States presidential elections in Michigan

Notes and References

1. Web site: 1908 Election for the Thirty-First Term (1909-1913). 2018-04-03.
2. Book: Burnham, Walter Dean. The System of 1896: An Analysis. The Evolution of American Electoral Systems. 178–179. 0313213798.
3. English, Gustavus P.; Proceedings of the Ninth Republican National Convention (1888), p. 234
4. Book: Sundquist, James. Politics and Policy: The Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson Years. 526. 0815719094.
5. Book: Rogowski, Ronald. Commerce and Coalitions: How Trade Affects Domestic Political Alignments. 0691219435. Princeton University Press. 2020.
6. News: Swamped! The Democrats Drowned Out by a Tremendous Republican Tidal Wave. The L'Anse Sentinel. November 10, 1894. L'Anse. 1.
7. Book: Hansen. John Mark. Shigeo. Hirano. Snyder Jr. James M.. Parties within Parties: Parties, Factions, and Coordinated Politics, 1900-1980. Gerber. Alan S.. Schickler. Eric. Governing in a Polarized Age: Elections, Parties, and Political Representation in America. 165–168. 978-1-107-09509-0.
8. News: Taft Will Get Michigan. Santa Ana Register. Santa Ana, California. October 22, 1908. 1.
9. Web site: 1908 Presidential General Election Results — Michigan. 2018-04-03.
10. Web site: 1908 Presidential Election Statistics. Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. 2018-03-05.
11. Web site: Géoelections. Popular Vote at the Presidential Election for 1908. (.xlsx file for €30 including full minor party figures)