1920 United States presidential election in South Dakota explained

See main article: 1920 United States presidential election.

Election Name:	1920 United States presidential election in South Dakota
Country:	South Dakota
Flag Year:	1909
Election Date:	November 2, 1920
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	1916 United States presidential election in South Dakota
Previous Year:	1916
Next Election:	1924 United States presidential election in South Dakota
Next Year:	1924
Image1:	Warren G Harding-Harris & Ewing crop.jpg
Nominee1:	Warren G. Harding
Party1:	Republican Party (United States)
Home State1:	Ohio
Running Mate1:	Calvin Coolidge
Electoral Vote1:	5
Popular Vote1:	110,692
Percentage1:	60.74%
Nominee2:	James M. Cox
Party2:	Democratic Party (United States)
Home State2:	Ohio
Running Mate2:	Franklin D. Roosevelt
Electoral Vote2:	0
Popular Vote2:	35,938
Percentage2:	19.72%
Image3:	Parley Parker Christensen circa 1920 (cropped).jpg
Nominee3:	Parley P. Christensen
Party3:	Nonpartisan League
Alliance3:	Farmer–Labor Party (US)
Home State3:	Illinois
Running Mate3:	Max S. Hayes
Electoral Vote3:	0
Popular Vote3:	34,707
Percentage3:	19.04%
Map Size:	300px
President
Before Election:	Woodrow Wilson
Before Party:	Democratic Party (United States)
After Election:	Warren G. Harding
After Party:	Republican Party (United States)

The 1920 United States presidential election in South Dakota took place on November 2, 1920, as part of the 1920 United States presidential election in which all contemporary forty-eight states participated. Voters chose five electors, or representatives to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

The 1918 mid-term elections had seen the Midwestern farming community largely desert the Democratic Party due to supposed preferential treatment of Southern farmers:^[1] Democratic seats in the Midwest fell from thirty-four to seventeen,^[2] whilst Scandinavian-Americans were also vigorously opposed to entering the war.^[3] Moreover, Democratic fear of Communism seen in the Palmer Raids and "Red Scare" led to Cox, then Governor of Ohio, to ban German-language instruction in public schools in 1919.^[2] Much more critical for German-Americans was the view that outgoing President Woodrow Wilson was deliberately trying to punish Germany and Austria for starting the war, especially via his disregard for the United Kingdom's continuing blockade of Germany.^[4] Stressing Harding's German ancestry, the German press drummed up the view that "a vote for Harding is a vote against the persecutions suffered by German-Americans during the war."^[5]

As the campaign began after the Republican Party had nominated U.S. Senator Warren G. Harding of Ohio and the Democratic Party former Ohio governor James M. Cox, a further blow to the Democrats occurred when the national economy suffered a major downturn following the wartime boom, resulting in plummeting agricultural prices that were especially problematic in the Midwest.^[6] Whereas Cox travelled throughout the nation apart from the "Solid South" during September,^[7] Harding, despite having four times the budget, campaigned from his home in Marion, Ohio. A poll by the giant Rexall drug store chain – which in 1916 had been accurate enough to predict Wilson's razor-thin wins in New Hampshire and California^[8] – suggested Harding would win 382 electoral votes,^[9] and at the end of October, although no more opinion polls had been published, most observers were even more convinced that the Republicans would take complete control of all branches of government.^[10]

The late-October predictions of a complete takeover of the federal government by the Republican Party were entirely born out. So unpopular was Wilson that – although South Dakota was the only Plains state Wilson had lost in 1916 – Cox lost over half the Wilson vote from that election, and lost every county. In fact, Non Partisan League candidate Parley Parker Christensen finished second ahead of Cox in twenty-nine counties and was only 1,231 votes behind the Democratic candidate in South Dakota as a whole. Aided by German Lutheran hostility towards Prohibition, Christensen gained over 41 percent in Hutchinson County, and over thirty percent in three other East River counties.

Results

Presidential Candidate	Running Mate	Party	Electoral Vote (EV)	Popular Vote (PV)
Warren G. Harding	Calvin Coolidge	Republican	5^[11]	110,692	60.74%
James M. Cox	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Democratic	0	35,938	19.72%
Parley P. Christensen	Max S. Hayes	Non Partisan League	0	34,707	19.04%
Aaron S. Watkins	D. Leigh Colvin	Independent	0	900	0.49%

Results by county

County^[12]	Warren Gamaliel Harding Republican		James Middleton Cox Democratic		Parley Parker Christensen Nonpartisan League		Aaron Sherman Watkins Independent		Margin		Total votes cast
		%		%		%		%		%
	Aurora		1,004		49.19%		445		21.80%		589		28.86%		3		0.15%		415		20.33%		2,041
	Beadle		2,852		56.54%		925		18.34%		1,240		24.58%		27		0.54%		1,612		31.96%		5,044
	Bennett		220		48.67%		199		44.03%		30		6.64%		3		0.66%		21		4.65%		452
	Bon Homme		1,872		53.23%		960		27.30%		676		19.22%		9		0.26%		912		25.93%		3,517
	Brookings		2,743		68.64%		564		14.11%		613		15.34%		76		1.90%		2,130		53.30%		3,996
	Brown		5,581		56.54%		1,364		13.82%		2,893		29.31%		33		0.33%		2,688		27.23%		9,871
	Brule		1,036		51.03%		671		33.05%		310		15.27%		13		0.64%		365		17.98%		2,030
	Buffalo		200		59.70%		101		30.15%		30		8.96%		4		1.19%		99		29.55%		335
	Butte		1,722		54.51%		672		21.27%		741		23.46%		24		0.76%		981		31.05%		3,159
	Campbell		1,128		71.26%		67		4.23%		383		24.19%		5		0.32%		745		47.06%		1,583
	Charles Mix		2,021		50.17%		1,305		32.40%		696		17.28%		6		0.15%		716		17.78%		4,028
	Clark		1,753		60.24%		437		15.02%		692		23.78%		28		0.96%		1,061		36.46%		2,910
	Clay		1,885		61.88%		907		29.78%		248		8.14%		6		0.20%		978		32.11%		3,046
	Codington		2,706		59.84%		867		19.17%		929		20.54%		20		0.44%		1,777		39.30%		4,522
	Corson		1,448		60.89%		484		20.35%		424		17.83%		22		0.93%		964		40.54%		2,378
	Custer		784		60.82%		383		29.71%		116		9.00%		6		0.47%		401		31.11%		1,289
	Davison		2,605		54.16%		1,105		22.97%		1,073		22.31%		27		0.56%		1,500		31.19%		4,810
	Day		2,739		59.82%		436		9.52%		1,378		30.09%		26		0.57%		1,361		29.72%		4,579
	Deuel		1,569		69.95%		159		7.09%		498		22.20%		17		0.76%		1,071		47.75%		2,243
	Dewey		880		63.31%		335		24.10%		172		12.37%		3		0.22%		545		39.21%		1,390
	Douglas		1,247		63.49%		386		19.65%		325		16.55%		6		0.31%		861		43.84%		1,964
	Edmunds		1,486		60.36%		283		11.49%		681		27.66%		12		0.49%		805		32.70%		2,462
	Fall River		1,236		61.01%		680		33.56%		106		5.23%		4		0.20%		556		27.44%		2,026
	Faulk		1,341		65.51%		346		16.90%		353		17.24%		7		0.34%		988		48.27%		2,047
	Grant		1,813		59.99%		350		11.58%		856		28.33%		3		0.10%		957		31.67%		3,022
	Gregory		1,833		57.61%		744		23.38%		601		18.89%		4		0.13%		1,089		34.22%		3,182
	Haakon		713		49.65%		393		27.37%		321		22.35%		9		0.63%		320		22.28%		1,436
	Hamlin		1,322		63.68%		337		16.23%		398		19.17%		19		0.92%		924		44.51%		2,076
	Hand		1,511		61.08%		655		26.48%		291		11.76%		17		0.69%		856		34.60%		2,474
	Hanson		1,001		51.87%		418		21.66%		508		26.32%		3		0.16%		493		25.54%		1,930
	Harding		648		58.43%		213		19.21%		241		21.73%		7		0.63%		407		36.70%		1,109
	Hughes		1,313		68.31%		433		22.53%		172		8.95%		4		0.21%		880		45.79%		1,922
	Hutchinson		1,873		51.15%		243		6.64%		1,528		41.73%		18		0.49%		345		9.42%		3,662
	Hyde		710		68.53%		233		22.49%		92		8.88%		1		0.10%		477		46.04%		1,036
	Jackson		595		70.58%		206		24.44%		42		4.98%		0		0.00%		389		46.14%		843
	Jerauld		1,038		57.03%		357		19.62%		397		21.81%		28		1.54%		641		35.22%		1,820
	Jones		609		62.33%		255		26.10%		110		11.26%		3		0.31%		354		36.23%		977
	Kingsbury		2,344		71.66%		481		14.70%		429		13.12%		17		0.52%		1,863		56.96%		3,271
	Lake		2,333		69.98%		398		11.94%		590		17.70%		13		0.39%		1,743		52.28%		3,334
	Lawrence		2,986		68.50%		1,201		27.55%		151		3.46%		21		0.48%		1,785		40.95%		4,359
	Lincoln		2,790		73.54%		441		11.62%		555		14.63%		8		0.21%		2,235		58.91%		3,794
	Lyman		1,050		59.63%		463		26.29%		244		13.86%		4		0.23%		587		33.33%		1,761
	Marshall		1,557		55.97%		266		9.56%		954		34.29%		5		0.18%		603		21.68%		2,782
	McCook		1,864		60.52%		565		18.34%		623		20.23%		28		0.91%		1,241		40.29%		3,080
	McPherson		1,470		72.92%		112		5.56%		415		20.59%		19		0.94%		1,055		52.33%		2,016
	Meade		1,894		58.37%		894		27.55%		436		13.44%		21		0.65%		1,000		30.82%		3,245
	Mellette		533		63.53%		261		31.11%		44		5.24%		1		0.12%		272		32.42%		839
	Miner		1,450		56.73%		651		25.47%		448		17.53%		7		0.27%		799		31.26%		2,556
	Minnehaha		8,290		63.15%		2,534		19.30%		2,220		16.91%		83		0.63%		5,756		43.85%		13,127
	Moody		1,667		63.55%		371		14.14%		570		21.73%		15		0.57%		1,097		41.82%		2,623
	Pennington		2,568		64.23%		1,205		30.14%		212		5.30%		13		0.33%		1,363		34.09%		3,998
	Perkins		1,326		60.41%		417		19.00%		441		20.09%		11		0.50%		885		40.32%		2,195
	Potter		1,073		72.30%		255		17.18%		140		9.43%		16		1.08%		818		55.12%		1,484
	Roberts		2,335		49.73%		447		9.52%		1,889		40.23%		24		0.51%		446		9.50%		4,695
	Sanborn		1,125		49.89%		517		22.93%		594		26.34%		19		0.84%		531		23.55%		2,255
	Spink		2,923		65.09%		785		17.48%		760		16.92%		23		0.51%		2,138		47.61%		4,491
	Stanley		598		56.79%		394		37.42%		58		5.51%		3		0.28%		204		19.37%		1,053
	Sully		542		62.95%		147		17.07%		170		19.74%		2		0.23%		372		43.21%		861
	Tripp		1,819		59.33%		968		31.57%		275		8.97%		4		0.13%		851		27.76%		3,066
	Turner		2,703		67.59%		604		15.10%		689		17.23%		3		0.08%		2,014		50.36%		3,999
	Union		1,942		66.17%		841		28.65%		142		4.84%		10		0.34%		1,101		37.51%		2,935
	Walworth		1,411		61.40%		478		20.80%		398		17.32%		11		0.48%		933		40.60%		2,298
	Yankton		2,555		61.80%		1,147		27.75%		420		10.16%		12		0.29%		1,408		34.06%		4,134
	Ziebach		507		65.42%		177		22.84%		87		11.23%		4		0.52%		330		42.58%		775
Totals	110,692	60.74%	35,938	19.72%	34,707	19.04%	900	0.49%	74,754	41.02%	182,237

See also

• United States presidential elections in South Dakota

Notes and References

1. Morello, John A.; Albert D. Lasker, Advertising, and the Election of Warren G. Harding, p. 64
2. Hough, Jerry F.; Changing Party Coalitions: The Mystery of the Red State-Blue State Alignment, pp. 86-87
3. Saldin, Robert P., 'World War I and the System of 1896' (2010); Political Science Faculty Publications, Paper 1, pp. 825-836
4. Lichtman, Allan J.; Prejudice and the Old Politics: The Presidential Election of 1928, pp. 102, 115
5. Lubell, Samuel; The Future of American Politics, p. 135 Published 1952 by Harper and Brothers, New York
6. Goldberg, David Joseph; Discontented America: The United States in the 1920s, p. 47
7. Faykosh, Joseph D., Bowling Green State University; The Front Porch of the American People: James Cox and the Presidential Election of 1920 (thesis), p. 69
8. Pietrusza, David; 1920: The Year of the Six Presidents, p. 398
9. Bagby, Rexby; The Road to Normalcy: The Presidential Campaign and Election of 1920, pp. 158-159
10. 'Republicans Going to Win: Prospects of a Complete Victory'; The Observer, October 31, 1920, p. 13
11. Web site: 1920 Presidential General Election Results – South Dakota. Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas. Dave Leip.
12. South Dakota Secretary of State; Official Vote November, 1920 Presidential Electors (highest elector)