1916 United States presidential election in Oklahoma explained

See main article: 1916 United States presidential election.

Election Name:	1916 United States presidential election in Oklahoma
Country:	Oklahoma
Flag Year:	1911
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	1912 United States presidential election in Oklahoma
Previous Year:	1912
Next Election:	1920 United States presidential election in Oklahoma
Next Year:	1920
Election Date:	November 7, 1916
Image1:	Thomas Woodrow Wilson, Harris & Ewing bw photo portrait, 1919 (cropped 3x4).jpg
Nominee1:	Woodrow Wilson
Party1:	Democratic Party (United States)
Home State1:	New Jersey
Running Mate1:	Thomas R. Marshall
Electoral Vote1:	10
Popular Vote1:	148,133
Percentage1:	50.65%
Nominee2:	Charles Evans Hughes
Party2:	Republican Party (United States)
Home State2:	New York
Running Mate2:	Charles W. Fairbanks
Electoral Vote2:	0
Popular Vote2:	97,233
Percentage2:	33.25%
Image3:	Allan Louis Benson (1871–1940) circa 1915 (cropped_closein).jpg
Nominee3:	Allan L. Benson
Party3:	Socialist Party of America
Home State3:	New York
Running Mate3:	George R. Kirkpatrick
Electoral Vote3:	0
Popular Vote3:	45,091
Percentage3:	15.43%
Map Size:	400px
President
Before Election:	Woodrow Wilson
Before Party:	Democratic Party (United States)
After Election:	Woodrow Wilson
After Party:	Democratic Party (United States)

The 1916 United States presidential election in Oklahoma took place on November 7, 1916, as part of the 1916 United States presidential election.

In its early years, Oklahoma was a “Solid South” Democratic state whose founding fathers like "Alfalfa Bill" Murray and Charles N. Haskell had disfranchised most of its black population via literacy tests and grandfather clauses,^[1] the latter of which would be declared unconstitutional in Guinn v. United States.^[2] Partly owing to the absence of the poll taxes found in other Southern states due to the strength of populism amongst the state’s white settlers,^[3] the state became a stronghold of the Socialist Party in the 1910s, especially in the southeast and the northwestern Plains.

Oklahoma voters overwhelmingly voted for Democratic incumbent Wilson, over the Republican nominee, Associate Justice Charles Evans Hughes.^[4]

Despite a strong showing from the Socialist candidate Allan L. Benson, the state was won handily by President Wilson. He garnered 50.65 percent of the vote, compared to Justice Hughes who won 33.25 percent of the vote. Wilson carries the state by a margin of 17.4 percent. Oklahoma proved to be the best showing for Benson of any state in this election, where he gained 15.45 percent the vote.^[5]

This election continued the Democratic trend in the state. Oklahoma would only vote Republican in the elections of 1920 and 1928 until the trend flipped after the 1952 presidential election.

Results

1916 United States presidential election in Oklahoma^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Democratic	Woodrow Wilson (incumbent)	148,123	50.67%	10
	Republican	Charles Evans Hughes	97,233	33.26%	0
	Socialist	Allan L. Benson	45,091	15.43%	0
	Prohibition	J. Franklin Hanley	1,646	0.56%	0
	No candidate		187	0.02%	0
Invalid or blank votes					—
Totals			292,327	100.00%	10
Voter turnout					—

Results by county

County	Thomas Woodrow Wilson Democratic		Charles Evans Hughes Republican		Allan Louis Benson Socialist		James Franklin Hanly Prohibition		No Candidate Progressive "Bull Moose"		Margin		Total votes cast^[7]
		%		%		%		%		%		%
	Adair		1,190		49.15%		1,010		41.72%		212		8.76%		7		0.29%		2		0.08%		180		7.43%		2,421
	Alfalfa		1,390		41.94%		1,378		41.58%		471		14.21%		68		2.05%		7		0.21%		12		0.36%		3,314
	Atoka		1,479		50.31%		925		31.46%		524		17.82%		9		0.31%		3		0.10%		554		18.84%		2,940
	Beaver		1,382		49.82%		913		32.91%		433		15.61%		43		1.55%		3		0.11%		469		16.91%		2,774
	Beckham		1,850		56.49%		527		16.09%		889		27.15%		7		0.21%		2		0.06%		961		29.34%		3,275
	Blaine		1,214		37.15%		1,339		40.97%		678		20.75%		36		1.10%		1		0.03%		-125		-3.82%		3,268
	Bryan		2,974		59.40%		1,267		25.30%		757		15.12%		8		0.16%		1		0.02%		1,707		34.09%		5,007
	Caddo		2,735		44.25%		2,272		36.76%		1,112		17.99%		56		0.91%		6		0.10%		463		7.49%		6,181
	Canadian		2,200		51.66%		1,590		37.33%		422		9.91%		43		1.01%		4		0.09%		610		14.32%		4,259
	Carter		2,949		60.09%		1,013		20.64%		935		19.05%		6		0.12%		5		0.10%		1,936		39.45%		4,908
	Cherokee		1,594		48.97%		1,379		42.37%		273		8.39%		8		0.25%		1		0.03%		215		6.61%		3,255
	Choctaw		1,945		55.11%		957		27.12%		614		17.40%		11		0.31%		2		0.06%		988		28.00%		3,529
	Cimarron		387		50.19%		238		30.87%		138		17.90%		8		1.04%		0		0.00%		149		19.33%		771
	Cleveland		1,753		54.19%		885		27.36%		579		17.90%		18		0.56%		0		0.00%		868		26.83%		3,235
	Coal		1,418		50.11%		824		29.12%		566		20.00%		18		0.64%		4		0.14%		594		20.99%		2,830
	Comanche		2,130		51.13%		1,221		29.31%		790		18.96%		20		0.48%		5		0.12%		909		21.82%		4,166
	Cotton		1,500		58.71%		685		26.81%		366		14.32%		4		0.16%		0		0.00%		815		31.90%		2,555
	Craig		1,901		50.77%		1,647		43.99%		189		5.05%		6		0.16%		1		0.03%		254		6.78%		3,744
	Creek		3,496		45.77%		2,820		36.92%		1,281		16.77%		32		0.42%		10		0.13%		676		8.85%		7,639
	Custer		1,771		45.22%		1,507		38.48%		595		15.19%		40		1.02%		3		0.08%		264		6.74%		3,916
	Delaware		1,227		53.42%		837		36.44%		221		9.62%		7		0.30%		5		0.22%		390		16.98%		2,297
	Dewey		992		36.59%		796		29.36%		891		32.87%		26		0.96%		6		0.22%		101		3.73%		2,711
	Ellis		960		37.46%		983		38.35%		590		23.02%		28		1.09%		2		0.08%		-23		-0.90%		2,563
	Garfield		2,347		39.81%		2,854		48.41%		632		10.72%		56		0.95%		6		0.10%		-507		-8.60%		5,895
	Garvin		2,697		59.62%		804		17.77%		1,001		22.13%		19		0.42%		3		0.07%		1,696		37.49%		4,524
	Grady		3,243		60.55%		1,272		23.75%		819		15.29%		18		0.34%		4		0.07%		1,971		36.80%		5,356
	Grant		1,700		47.42%		1,517		42.32%		294		8.20%		72		2.01%		2		0.06%		183		5.10%		3,585
	Greer		1,675		66.28%		369		14.60%		480		18.99%		3		0.12%		0		0.00%		1,195		47.29%		2,527
	Harmon		1,091		73.03%		147		9.84%		255		17.07%		1		0.07%		0		0.00%		836		55.96%		1,494
	Harper		798		42.29%		662		35.08%		408		21.62%		15		0.79%		4		0.21%		136		7.21%		1,887
	Haskell		1,486		50.44%		976		33.13%		477		16.19%		5		0.17%		2		0.07%		510		17.31%		2,946
	Hughes		2,187		52.00%		1,219		28.98%		791		18.81%		2		0.05%		7		0.17%		968		23.01%		4,206
	Jackson		2,096		65.44%		409		12.77%		684		21.35%		13		0.41%		1		0.03%		1,412		44.08%		3,203
	Jefferson		1,739		60.76%		493		17.23%		621		21.70%		8		0.28%		1		0.03%		1,118		39.06%		2,862
	Johnston		1,727		54.63%		756		23.92%		671		21.23%		5		0.16%		2		0.06%		971		30.72%		3,161
	Kay		2,340		44.00%		2,482		46.67%		373		7.01%		115		2.16%		8		0.15%		-142		-2.67%		5,318
	Kingfisher		1,364		38.60%		1,728		48.90%		417		11.80%		24		0.68%		1		0.03%		-364		-10.30%		3,534
	Kiowa		2,279		51.49%		1,017		22.98%		1,101		24.88%		24		0.54%		5		0.11%		1,178		26.62%		4,426
	Latimer		950		48.49%		663		33.84%		335		17.10%		10		0.51%		1		0.05%		287		14.65%		1,959
	Le Flore		2,576		49.77%		1,944		37.56%		643		12.42%		9		0.17%		4		0.08%		632		12.21%		5,176
	Lincoln		2,258		39.43%		2,387		41.69%		1,047		18.29%		31		0.54%		3		0.05%		-129		-2.25%		5,726
	Logan		1,701		37.00%		2,270		49.38%		552		12.01%		63		1.37%		11		0.24%		-569		-12.38%		4,597
	Love		1,125		64.07%		266		15.15%		363		20.67%		2		0.11%		0		0.00%		762		43.39%		1,756
	Major		762		31.99%		946		39.71%		636		26.70%		33		1.39%		5		0.21%		-184		-7.72%		2,382
	Marshall		1,352		55.78%		449		18.52%		618		25.50%		5		0.21%		0		0.00%		734		30.28%		2,424
	Mayes		1,574		51.93%		1,229		40.55%		226		7.46%		0		0.00%		2		0.07%		345		11.38%		3,031
	McClain		1,541		56.74%		680		25.04%		492		18.11%		2		0.07%		1		0.04%		861		31.70%		2,716
	McCurtain		1,763		54.89%		795		24.75%		643		20.02%		9		0.28%		2		0.06%		968		30.14%		3,212
	McIntosh		1,743		54.43%		898		28.04%		552		17.24%		8		0.25%		1		0.03%		845		26.39%		3,202
	Murray		1,305		61.59%		458		21.61%		350		16.52%		5		0.24%		1		0.05%		847		39.97%		2,119
	Muskogee		4,004		58.23%		2,532		36.82%		324		4.71%		14		0.20%		2		0.03%		1,472		21.41%		6,876
	Noble		1,346		47.68%		1,243		44.03%		214		7.58%		17		0.60%		3		0.11%		103		3.65%		2,823
	Nowata		1,355		47.36%		1,322		46.21%		178		6.22%		6		0.21%		0		0.00%		33		1.15%		2,861
	Okfuskee		1,337		52.80%		670		26.46%		516		20.38%		8		0.32%		1		0.04%		667		26.34%		2,532
	Oklahoma		7,971		54.73%		5,291		36.33%		1,215		8.34%		77		0.53%		10		0.07%		2,680		18.40%		14,564
	Okmulgee		2,406		47.75%		1,860		36.91%		754		14.96%		15		0.30%		4		0.08%		546		10.84%		5,039
	Osage		2,052		51.22%		1,524		38.04%		420		10.48%		7		0.17%		3		0.07%		528		13.18%		4,006
	Ottawa		1,875		50.07%		1,642		43.85%		215		5.74%		13		0.35%		0		0.00%		233		6.22%		3,745
	Pawnee		1,491		43.19%		1,396		40.44%		528		15.30%		33		0.96%		4		0.12%		95		2.75%		3,452
	Payne		2,140		44.50%		1,767		36.74%		833		17.32%		60		1.25%		9		0.19%		373		7.76%		4,809
	Pittsburg		3,441		55.42%		1,879		30.26%		866		13.95%		22		0.35%		1		0.02%		1,562		25.16%		6,209
	Pontotoc		2,418		56.39%		913		21.29%		936		21.83%		16		0.37%		5		0.12%		1,482		34.56%		4,288
	Pottawatomie		3,276		50.61%		2,042		31.55%		1,119		17.29%		29		0.45%		7		0.11%		1,234		19.06%		6,473
	Pushmataha		1,059		49.10%		645		29.90%		449		20.82%		4		0.19%		0		0.00%		414		19.19%		2,157
	Roger Mills		1,148		50.77%		538		23.79%		565		24.99%		7		0.31%		3		0.13%		583		25.79%		2,261
	Rogers		1,900		48.96%		1,435		36.98%		531		13.68%		15		0.39%		0		0.00%		465		11.98%		3,881
	Seminole		1,444		44.42%		872		26.82%		921		28.33%		11		0.34%		3		0.09%		523		16.09%		3,251
	Sequoyah		1,632		48.89%		1,179		35.32%		515		15.43%		8		0.24%		4		0.12%		453		13.57%		3,338
	Stephens		2,343		57.88%		607		15.00%		1,077		26.61%		17		0.42%		4		0.10%		1,266		31.27%		4,048
	Texas		1,349		54.64%		807		32.69%		295		11.95%		17		0.69%		1		0.04%		542		21.95%		2,469
	Tillman		2,250		69.08%		625		19.19%		367		11.27%		13		0.40%		2		0.06%		1,625		49.89%		3,257
	Tulsa		4,497		48.67%		3,857		41.74%		849		9.19%		27		0.29%		10		0.11%		640		6.93%		9,240
	Wagoner		1,040		49.71%		749		35.80%		299		14.29%		3		0.14%		1		0.05%		291		13.91%		2,092
	Washington		1,839		46.85%		1,727		44.00%		317		8.08%		41		1.04%		1		0.03%		112		2.85%		3,925
	Washita		2,107		55.68%		958		25.32%		703		18.58%		14		0.37%		2		0.05%		1,149		30.36%		3,784
	Woods		1,417		42.93%		1,358		41.14%		473		14.33%		51		1.54%		2		0.06%		59		1.79%		3,301
	Woodward		1,130		38.65%		1,092		37.35%		665		22.74%		35		1.20%		2		0.07%		38		1.30%		2,924
Totals	148,113	50.65%	97,233	33.25%	45,190	15.45%	1,646	0.56%	234	0.08%	50,880	17.40%	292,416

See also

• United States presidential elections in Oklahoma

Notes and References

1. Ewing, Cortez Arthur Milton; An Introduction to the Government of Oklahoma (1939), p. 72. Published by Americanism Committee, American Legion, Department of Oklahoma
2. Fairclough, Adam; Better Day Coming: Blacks and Equality, 1890-2000, p. 82
3. Finkelman, Paul; African-Americans and the right to vote (Garland Publishing, 1992), pp. 418, 438
4. Web site: Election of 1916: Now just two parties, but same results as 1912.
5. Web site: 1916 Presidential General Election Results – Oklahoma. Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Elections.
6. Web site: OK US President.
7. [Oklahoma State Archives]