1916 United States presidential election in Maryland explained

See main article: 1916 United States presidential election.

Election Name:1916 United States presidential election in Maryland
Election Date:November 7, 1916
Country:Maryland
Previous Year:1912
Previous Election:1912 United States presidential election in Maryland
Next Year:1920
Next Election:1920 United States presidential election in Maryland
Party1:Democratic Party (United States)
Image1:Thomas Woodrow Wilson, Harris & Ewing bw photo portrait, 1919 (cropped 3x4).jpg
Type:presidential
Nominee1:Woodrow Wilson
Running Mate1:Thomas R. Marshall
Home State1:New Jersey
Popular Vote1:138,359
Percentage1:52.80%
Electoral Vote1:8
Party2:Republican Party (United States)
Nominee2:Charles Evans Hughes
Running Mate2:Charles W. Fairbanks
Home State2:New York
Popular Vote2:117,347
Percentage2:44.78%
Electoral Vote2:0
Map Size:390px
President
Before Party:Democratic Party (United States)
Before Election:Woodrow Wilson
After Party:Democratic Party (United States)
After Election:Woodrow Wilson
Ongoing:No

The 1916 United States presidential election in Maryland 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 eight representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

With its history as a slave state and substantial historic secessionist support, Maryland had been strongly Democratic during the Third Party System despite having Federalist and Whig tendencies under previous systems.[1] However, hostility towards William Jennings Bryan’s free silver and Populist tendencies in the cities meant that the state shifted Republican in 1896[2] and became very close in subsequent elections during the “System of 1896”. Unlike former Confederate states and Oklahoma, Maryland did not succeed in disenfranchising its large black population despite several attempts,[3] which helped the Republicans remain highly competitive in early twentieth-century state elections.

The previous three elections had seen Maryland as the strongest Democratic state outside the former Confederacy. Despite this, and the fact that four members of the state’s Progressive Party committee refused to endorse the reunified Republicans under Charles Evans Hughes,[4] leading GOP Senator Reed Smoot said late in September that he was confident Maryland could go Republican, although the poll still suggested Wilson would win narrowly.[5] Wilson did not campaign in the state at all, but Hughes’ campaign made a brief visit during the second week of October, which was not regarded as successful.[6]

Two days before the poll, Maryland was regarded as doubtful,[7] although there had been reports of a continued swing to Wilson a week previously.[8] As it turned out, the earlier prediction proved the better guide, with Wilson winning by 8.02 percent for his strongest performance in any antebellum Union state, and becoming the first Democrat to win an absolute majority in Maryland since Grover Cleveland in 1892.[9] In this election, Maryland voted 4.9% more Democratic than the nation at-large.[10]

Results

Presidential CandidateRunning MatePartyElectoral Vote (EV)Popular Vote (PV)
Woodrow Wilson of New Jersey (incumbent)Thomas R. Marshall (incumbent)Democratic8[11] 138,35952.80%
Charles Evans HughesCharles W. FairbanksRepublican0117,34744.78%
Frank HanlyIra LandrithProhibition02,9031.11%
Allan L. BensonGeorge Ross KirkpatrickSocialist02,6741.02%
Arthur E. ReimerCaleb HarrisonLabor07560.29%

Results by county

CountyThomas Woodrow Wilson
Democratic
Charles Evans Hughes
Republican
James Franklin Hanly
Prohibition
Allan Louis Benson
Socialist
Arthur Elmer Reimer
Labor
MarginTotal votes cast[12]
data-sort-type="number" data-sort-type="number" %data-sort-type="number" data-sort-type="number" %data-sort-type="number" data-sort-type="number" %data-sort-type="number" data-sort-type="number" %data-sort-type="number" data-sort-type="number" %data-sort-type="number" data-sort-type="number" %
Allegany4,85943.49%5,76051.56%1471.32%3773.37%290.26%-901-8.06%11,172
Anne Arundel4,11157.77%2,70538.01%1341.88%1371.93%290.41%1,40619.76%7,116
Baltimore15,22653.60%12,63344.47%3361.18%1580.56%530.19%2,5939.13%28,406
Baltimore City60,22653.58%49,80544.31%8360.74%1,2161.08%3300.29%10,4219.27%112,413
Calvert91046.50%97549.82%371.89%271.38%80.41%-65-3.32%1,957
Caroline1,96552.94%1,66644.88%551.48%70.19%190.51%2998.05%3,712
Carroll4,01651.66%3,60246.33%1081.39%160.21%320.41%4145.33%7,774
Cecil2,58755.91%1,95942.34%420.91%130.28%260.56%62813.57%4,627
Charles1,36347.67%1,37448.06%802.80%90.31%331.15%-11-0.38%2,859
Dorchester2,75051.69%2,46846.39%761.43%110.21%150.28%2825.30%5,320
Frederick6,09450.67%5,72547.61%1190.99%750.62%130.11%3693.07%12,026
Garrett1,03134.90%1,80861.21%351.18%672.27%130.44%-777-26.30%2,954
Harford3,34558.36%2,30240.16%601.05%160.28%90.16%1,04318.20%5,732
Howard1,91357.57%1,34640.51%351.05%110.33%180.54%56717.06%3,323
Kent1,88652.29%1,67346.38%200.55%120.33%160.44%2135.91%3,607
Montgomery3,80555.52%2,91342.50%851.24%430.63%80.12%89213.01%6,854
Prince George's3,49351.87%3,05845.41%761.13%831.23%240.36%4356.46%6,734
Queen Anne's2,20663.05%1,24235.50%431.23%30.09%50.14%96427.55%3,499
Somerset1,88542.81%2,36453.69%1052.38%380.86%110.25%-479-10.88%4,403
St. Mary's1,44355.27%1,06440.75%572.18%331.26%140.54%37914.52%2,611
Talbot2,18053.29%1,75342.85%1313.20%190.46%80.20%42710.44%4,091
Washington5,64250.83%5,09345.88%910.82%2672.41%70.06%5494.95%11,100
Wicomico3,28555.47%2,53942.87%881.49%50.08%50.08%74612.60%5,922
Worcester2,13855.87%1,52039.72%1072.80%310.81%310.81%61816.15%3,827
Totals138,35952.80%117,34744.78%2,9031.11%2,6741.02%7560.29%21,0128.02%262,039

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Counties that flipped from Progressive to Republican

See also

Notes and References

  1. Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, pp. 30, 130
  2. Diamond, William; ‘Urban and Rural Voting in 1896’; The American Historical Review, vol. 46, no. 2 (January 1941), pp. 281-305
  3. Shufelt, Gordeon H.; 'Jim Crow among strangers: The growth of Baltimore's Little Italy and Maryland's disfranchisement campaigns'; Journal of American Ethnic History; vol. 19, issue 4 (Summer 2000), pp. 49-78
  4. ‘Maryland Moose for Hughes: Four Members of State Committee Dissent From I[E]ndorsement’; The Washington Post, September 17, 1916, p. 4
  5. ‘Wilson Making Gains: Nation-wide Poll Shows Swing Toward the President’; Washington Post, October 8, 1916, p. 8
  6. ‘Prosperity Blocked Way of Hughes in Maryland’; New York Times, October 11, 1916, p. 1
  7. ‘Maryland, as Usual, Close Doubtful State, With Prophets Guessing Hughes’; Washington Post, November 5, 1916, p. A16
  8. ‘Maryland Continues Its Swing to Wilson’; The Washington Post, October 29, 1916, p. 16
  9. Web site: Presidential General Election Results Comparison – Maryland. Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas.
  10. Web site: Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections . 2023-03-12 . uselectionatlas.org.
  11. Web site: 1916 Presidential General Election Results – Maryland. Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas.
  12. Maryland State Board of Elections; Maryland Manual 1916-1917 pp. 262-266