1928 United States presidential election in Georgia explained

See main article: 1928 United States presidential election.

Election Name:	1928 United States presidential election in Georgia
Country:	Georgia (U.S. state)
Flag Year:	1920
Type:	presidential
Vote Type:	Popular
Ongoing:	no
Alliance Name:	no
Previous Election:	1924 United States presidential election in Georgia
Previous Year:	1924
Next Election:	1932 United States presidential election in Georgia
Next Year:	1932
Image1:	Unsuccessful 1928.jpg
Nominee1:	Al Smith
Party1:	Democratic Party (United States)
Home State1:	New York
Running Mate1:	Joseph T. Robinson
Electoral Vote1:	14
Popular Vote1:	129,602
Percentage1:	56.56%
Nominee2:	Herbert Hoover
Party2:	Republican Party (United States)
Alliance2:	Anti-Smith Democratic
Home State2:	California
Running Mate2:	Charles Curtis
Electoral Vote2:	0
Popular Vote2:	99,368
Percentage2:	43.36%
Map Size:	300x300px
President
Before Election:	Calvin Coolidge
Before Party:	Republican Party (United States)
Posttitle:	Elected President
After Election:	Herbert Hoover
After Party:	Republican Party (United States)

The 1928 United States presidential election in Georgia took place on November 6, 1928, as part of the wider United States presidential election. Voters chose 14 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

With the exception of a handful of historically Unionist North Georgia counties – chiefly Fannin but also to a lesser extent Pickens, Gilmer and Towns – Georgia since the 1880s had been a one-party state dominated by the Democratic Party. Disfranchisement of virtually all African-Americans and most poor whites had made the Republican Party virtually nonexistent outside of local governments in those few upcountry counties,^[1] and the national Democratic Party served as the guardian of white supremacy against a Republican Party historically associated with memories of Reconstruction. The only competitive elections were Democratic primaries, which state laws restricted to whites on the grounds of the Democratic Party being legally a private club.^[2]

However, with all other prominent Democrats sitting the election out,^[3] the party nominated Alfred E. Smith, four-term Governor of New York as its nominee for 1928, with little opposition. Smith had been the favorite for the 1924 nomination, but had lost due to opposition to his Catholic faith and "wet" views on Prohibition: he wished to repeal or modify the Volstead Act.

Once Smith was nominated – despite his attempt to dispel fears by nominating "dry" Southern Democrat Joseph T. Robinson as his running mate^[4] – extreme fear ensued in the South, which had no experience of the Southern and Eastern European Catholic immigrants who were Smith's local constituency. Southern fundamentalist Protestants believed that Smith would allow papal and priestly leadership in the United States, which Protestantism was a reaction against.^[5]

Prior to this election, Georgia was, along with Texas, the only state that had never voted Republican for president, even during Reconstruction. In Georgia, many Protestant ministers were strongly opposed to Smith.^[6] However, with the state's large number of majority-black counties, there was great opposition to Hoover because of the strong Republican association with Reconstruction and black political power.^[7]

The Smith/Robinson ticket carried the state of Georgia on election day, making Georgia– with Texas simultaneously voting Republican for the first time– now the only state to have never voted for a Republican presidential candidate. Nonetheless, Hoover did fare better than any other GOP presidential nominee in Georgia history,^[8] and his vote percentage would not be beaten until Barry Goldwater carried the state in 1964, by when the national Democratic Party had become firmly linked with black civil rights. As in the rest of the South, Hoover's gains were largely confined to areas with few blacks, where he gained up to fifty percent in Forsyth and Wilkes counties, and in other northern upcountry counties he gained over forty percent. Nevertheless, unlike most Black Belt areas where there was no pro-Hoover trend,^[9] in some heavily black counties like Long, Effingham, and McDuffie, where the white voting population was substantially German Lutheran and intensely hostile to Catholicism, Hoover did make large gains,^[7] meaning that Georgia was one of only two states where any counties with nonvoting black majorities deserted Smith. Hoover also made large gains from the newly developing urban middle class in Atlanta and Augusta,^[9] where his gains on Coolidge were comparable to the most anti-Catholic upcountry areas.

Results

At the time, Georgia voters technically voted on their ballots for a slate of presidential electors, not for the candidates themselves, with each party selecting one elector to represent each of the state's 12 congressional districts, plus two at-large electors, for a total slate of 14 electors. Therefore, the vote totals for each presidential candidate here are equal to that of the individual elector who received the highest number of votes for their respective party.

1928 United States presidential election in Georgia^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Democratic	Al Smith	129,602	56.56%	14
	Republican	Herbert Hoover	99,368	43.36%	0
	Socialist	Norman Thomas	124	0.05%	0
	Workers (Communist)	William Foster	64	0.03%	0

Results by individual elector

Candidate! Party! Votes! %

bgcolor=		John S. Candler	Democratic Party	129,602	28.28
bgcolor=		C. C. Brantley	Democratic Party	129,595	28.28
	Charles Adamson	Republican Party	63,498	13.85
Anti-Smith Democratic		35,870	7.83
Total		99,368	21.68
	Mary Harris Armor	Republican Party	63,495	13.85
Anti-Smith Democratic		35,871	7.83
Total		99,366	21.68
bgcolor=		James M. Elder	Socialist Party of America	124	0.03
bgcolor=		M. Raoul Millis	Socialist Party of America	124	0.03
bgcolor=		L. W. War	Workers (Communist) Party	64	0.01
bgcolor=		C. S. Knight	Workers (Communist) Party	64	0.01
Total			458,307	100.00
Source:^[11]

Candidate! Party! Votes! %

bgcolor=		Samuel B. Adams	Democratic Party	129,593	56.57
	Frank Durden	Republican Party	63,449	27.70
Anti-Smith Democratic		35,850	15.65
Total		99,299	43.35
bgcolor=		Henry Applebaum	Socialist Party of America	124	0.05
bgcolor=		Ernest Carl Fullerton	Workers (Communist) Party	64	0.03
Total			229,080	100.00
Source:

Candidate! Party! Votes! %

bgcolor=		L. D. Passmore	Democratic Party	129,587	56.57
	J. M. Patterson	Republican Party	63,452	27.70
Anti-Smith Democratic		35,851	15.65
Total		99,303	43.35
bgcolor=		Mildred Hicks	Socialist Party of America	124	0.05
bgcolor=		Max Singer	Workers (Communist) Party	64	0.03
Total			229,078	100.00
Source:

Candidate! Party! Votes! %

bgcolor=		E. A. Rogers	Democratic Party	129,588	56.57
	Charles E. Brown	Republican Party	63,452	27.70
Anti-Smith Democratic		35,850	15.65
Total		99,302	43.35
bgcolor=		D. J. Eddridge	Socialist Party of America	124	0.05
bgcolor=		Denny G. Katz	Workers (Communist) Party	64	0.03
Total			229,078	100.00
Source:

Candidate! Party! Votes! %

bgcolor=		W. R. Jones	Democratic Party	129,598	56.57
	Henry O. Lovvorn	Republican Party	63,494	27.72
Anti-Smith Democratic		35,867	15.66
Total		99,361	43.37
bgcolor=		J. F. Ligon	Socialist Party of America	124	0.05
bgcolor=		S. J. Letheis	Workers (Communist) Party	64	0.03
Total			229,147	100.00
Source:

Candidate! Party! Votes! %

bgcolor=		Edgar Watkins Sr.	Democratic Party	129,591	56.57
	Mrs. Marvin Williams	Republican Party	63,450	27.70
Anti-Smith Democratic		35,853	15.65
Total		99,303	43.35
bgcolor=		Mary Krause	Socialist Party of America	124	0.05
bgcolor=		Nathan Mazer	Workers (Communist) Party	64	0.03
Total			229,082	100.00
Source:

Candidate! Party! Votes! %

bgcolor=		Edgar Blalock	Democratic Party	129,592	56.57
	George S. Jones	Republican Party	63,452	27.70
Anti-Smith Democratic		35,850	15.65
Total		99,302	43.35
bgcolor=		T. J. Herrington	Socialist Party of America	124	0.05
bgcolor=		Adam Wehmer	Workers (Communist) Party	64	0.03
Total			229,082	100.00
Source:

Candidate! Party! Votes! %

bgcolor=		N. A. Morris	Democratic Party	129,591	56.57
	Fred D. Noble	Republican Party	63,450	27.70
Anti-Smith Democratic		35,851	15.65
Total		99,301	43.35
bgcolor=		Frederick Tippens	Socialist Party of America	124	0.05
bgcolor=		Sam Nasson	Workers (Communist) Party	64	0.03
Total			229,080	100.00
Source:

Candidate! Party! Votes! %

bgcolor=		Ernest Camp	Democratic Party	129,592	56.57
	Mrs. C. A. Vernoy	Republican Party	63,450	27.70
Anti-Smith Democratic		35,853	15.65
Total		99,303	43.35
bgcolor=		Emily Hay	Socialist Party of America	124	0.05
bgcolor=		H. C. Boatner	Workers (Communist) Party	64	0.03
Total			229,083	100.00
Source:

Candidate! Party! Votes! %

bgcolor=		B. P. Gaillard	Democratic Party	129,591	56.57
	W. A. Carlisle	Republican Party	63,452	27.70
Anti-Smith Democratic		35,850	15.65
Total		99,302	43.35
bgcolor=		W. W. Edwards	Socialist Party of America	124	0.05
bgcolor=		Harry Harains	Workers (Communist) Party	64	0.03
Total			229,081	100.00
Source:

Candidate! Party! Votes! %

bgcolor=		E. A. Tigner	Democratic Party	129,592	56.57
	E. J. Forrester	Republican Party	63,460	27.70
Anti-Smith Democratic		35,853	15.65
Total		99,313	43.35
bgcolor=		W. B. Wall	Socialist Party of America	124	0.05
bgcolor=		W. G. McCoy	Workers (Communist) Party	64	0.03
Total			229,093	100.00
Source:

Candidate! Party! Votes! %

bgcolor=		John W. Bennett	Democratic Party	129,591	56.57
	Dan T. Cowart	Republican Party	63,451	27.70
Anti-Smith Democratic		35,851	15.65
Total		99,302	43.35
bgcolor=		T. H. Blizzard	Socialist Party of America	124	0.05
bgcolor=		O. R. Hutchinson	Workers (Communist) Party	64	0.03
Total			229,081	100.00
Source:

Candidate! Party! Votes! %

bgcolor=		J. W. Palmer	Democratic Party	129,592	56.57
	J. H. Rush	Republican Party	63,452	27.70
Anti-Smith Democratic		35,845	15.65
Total		99,297	43.35
bgcolor=		S. A. Alexander	Socialist Party of America	124	0.05
bgcolor=		J. K. Eiseler	Workers (Communist) Party	64	0.03
Total			229,077	100.00
Source:

Results by county

County	Alfred Emmanuel Smith Democratic		Herbert Clark Hoover Republican/“Anti-Smith”		Margin		Total votes cast^[12]
County	data-sort-type="number"		data-sort-type="number"	%	data-sort-type="number"		Total votes cast^[12]	data-sort-type="number"	%	data-sort-type="number"		data-sort-type="number"	%
	Appling		415		41.75%		579		58.25%		-164		-16.50%	994
	Atkinson		350		74.31%		121		25.69%		229		48.62%	471
	Bacon		305		60.04%		203		39.96%		102		20.08%	508
	Baker		462		82.35%		99		17.65%		363		64.71%	561
	Baldwin		712		72.51%		270		27.49%		442		45.01%	982
	Banks		422		53.76%		363		46.24%		59		7.52%	785
	Barrow		479		41.19%		684		58.81%		-205		-17.63%	1,163
	Bartow		830		49.76%		838		50.24%		-8		-0.48%	1,668
	Ben Hill		1,006		68.62%		460		31.38%		546		37.24%	1,466
	Berrien		735		87.50%		105		12.50%		630		75.00%	840
	Bibb		2,289		52.42%		2,078		47.58%		211		4.83%	4,367
	Bleckley		641		90.03%		71		9.97%		570		80.06%	712
	Brantley		166		49.11%		172		50.89%		-6		-1.78%	338
	Brooks		770		80.04%		192		19.96%		578		60.08%	962
	Bryan		219		59.19%		151		40.81%		68		18.38%	370
	Bulloch		1,258		76.47%		387		23.53%		871		52.95%	1,645
	Burke		687		72.54%		260		27.46%		427		45.09%	947
	Butts		846		85.11%		148		14.89%		698		70.22%	994
	Calhoun		571		86.25%		91		13.75%		480		72.51%	662
	Camden		274		50.65%		267		49.35%		7		1.29%	541
	Campbell		425		56.52%		327		43.48%		98		13.03%	752
	Candler		411		75.55%		133		24.45%		278		51.10%	544
	Carroll		1,913		47.53%		2,112		52.47%		-199		-4.94%	4,025
	Catoosa		562		48.16%		605		51.84%		-43		-3.68%	1,167
	Charlton		415		72.17%		160		27.83%		255		44.35%	575
	Chatham		5,534		51.14%		5,288		48.86%		246		2.27%	10,822
	Chattahoochee		141		88.68%		18		11.32%		123		77.36%	159
	Chattooga		920		45.63%		1,096		54.37%		-176		-8.73%	2,016
	Cherokee		581		25.71%		1,679		74.29%		-1,098		-48.58%	2,260
	Clarke		1,407		66.03%		724		33.97%		683		32.05%	2,131
	Clay		405		87.85%		56		12.15%		349		75.70%	461
	Clayton		612		49.72%		619		50.28%		-7		-0.57%	1,231
	Clinch		717		83.37%		143		16.63%		574		66.74%	860
	Cobb		1,426		45.46%		1,711		54.54%		-285		-9.09%	3,137
	Coffee		1,176		66.55%		591		33.45%		585		33.11%	1,767
	Colquitt		970		54.93%		796		45.07%		174		9.85%	1,766
	Columbia		279		54.39%		234		45.61%		45		8.77%	513
	Cook		689		74.41%		237		25.59%		452		48.81%	926
	Coweta		1,656		87.85%		229		12.15%		1,427		75.70%	1,885
	Crawford		358		88.18%		48		11.82%		310		76.35%	406
	Crisp		523		56.54%		402		43.46%		121		13.08%	925
	Dade		453		58.00%		328		42.00%		125		16.01%	781
	Dawson		332		53.38%		290		46.62%		42		6.75%	622
	Decatur		734		38.84%		1,156		61.16%		-422		-22.33%	1,890
	DeKalb		2,293		49.09%		2,378		50.91%		-85		-1.82%	4,671
	Dodge		677		71.26%		273		28.74%		404		42.53%	950
	Dooly		744		82.67%		156		17.33%		588		65.33%	900
	Dougherty		982		72.15%		379		27.85%		603		44.31%	1,361
	Douglas		452		42.72%		606		57.28%		-154		-14.56%	1,058
	Early		674		74.48%		231		25.52%		443		48.95%	905
	Echols		314		91.55%		29		8.45%		285		83.09%	343
	Effingham		163		20.63%		627		79.37%		-464		-58.73%	790
	Elbert		1,052		53.05%		931		46.95%		121		6.10%	1,983
	Emanuel		1,076		75.19%		355		24.81%		721		50.38%	1,431
	Evans		489		71.81%		192		28.19%		297		43.61%	681
	Fannin		811		31.92%		1,730		68.08%		-919		-36.17%	2,541
	Fayette		367		65.89%		190		34.11%		177		31.78%	557
	Floyd		1,494		46.34%		1,730		53.66%		-236		-7.32%	3,224
	Forsyth		287		23.51%		934		76.49%		-647		-52.99%	1,221
	Franklin		770		49.01%		801		50.99%		-31		-1.97%	1,571
	Fulton		8,872		48.64%		9,368		51.36%		-496		-2.72%	18,240
	Gilmer		529		34.33%		1,012		65.67%		-483		-31.34%	1,541
	Glascock		123		35.34%		225		64.66%		-102		-29.31%	348
	Glynn		549		40.73%		799		59.27%		-250		-18.55%	1,348
	Gordon		740		41.60%		1,039		58.40%		-299		-16.81%	1,779
	Grady		1,172		72.75%		439		27.25%		733		45.50%	1,611
	Greene		627		71.90%		245		28.10%		382		43.81%	872
	Gwinnett		970		47.74%		1,062		52.26%		-92		-4.53%	2,032
	Habersham		1,105		44.04%		1,404		55.96%		-299		-11.92%	2,509
	Hall		1,523		49.19%		1,573		50.81%		-50		-1.61%	3,096
	Hancock		552		82.39%		118		17.61%		434		64.78%	670
	Haralson		690		30.84%		1,547		69.16%		-857		-38.31%	2,237
	Harris		551		79.28%		144		20.72%		407		58.56%	695
	Hart		919		60.38%		603		39.62%		316		20.76%	1,522
	Heard		493		55.83%		390		44.17%		103		11.66%	883
	Henry		763		67.94%		360		32.06%		403		35.89%	1,123
	Houston		323		77.83%		92		22.17%		231		55.66%	415
	Irwin		917		84.99%		162		15.01%		755		69.97%	1,079
	Jackson		859		51.22%		818		48.78%		41		2.44%	1,677
	Jasper		632		81.87%		140		18.13%		492		63.73%	772
	Jeff Davis		315		63.64%		180		36.36%		135		27.27%	495
	Jefferson		798		43.02%		1,057		56.98%		-259		-13.96%	1,855
	Jenkins		409		55.20%		332		44.80%		77		10.39%	741
	Johnson		632		69.00%		284		31.00%		348		37.99%	916
	Jones		414		80.54%		100		19.46%		314		61.09%	514
	Lamar		672		84.21%		126		15.79%		546		68.42%	798
	Lanier		303		68.71%		138		31.29%		165		37.41%	441
	Laurens		1,987		80.87%		470		19.13%		1,517		61.74%	2,457
	Lee		287		86.45%		45		13.55%		242		72.89%	332
	Liberty		201		49.75%		203		50.25%		-2		-0.50%	404
	Lincoln		445		51.86%		413		48.14%		32		3.73%	858
	Long		166		29.28%		401		70.72%		-235		-41.45%	567
	Lowndes		1,413		70.33%		596		29.67%		817		40.67%	2,009
	Lumpkin		560		59.51%		381		40.49%		179		19.02%	941
	Macon		819		76.04%		258		23.96%		561		52.09%	1,077
	Madison		474		47.35%		527		52.65%		-53		-5.29%	1,001
	Marion		365		76.20%		114		23.80%		251		52.40%	479
	McDuffie		304		44.38%		381		55.62%		-77		-11.24%	685
	McIntosh		141		43.93%		180		56.07%		-39		-12.15%	321
	Meriwether		1,515		84.07%		287		15.93%		1,228		68.15%	1,802
	Miller		322		76.12%		101		23.88%		221		52.25%	423
	Milton		183		29.19%		444		70.81%		-261		-41.63%	627
	Mitchell		1,358		90.47%		143		9.53%		1,215		80.95%	1,501
	Monroe		801		70.88%		329		29.12%		472		41.77%	1,130
	Montgomery		337		77.47%		98		22.53%		239		54.94%	435
	Morgan		803		79.43%		208		20.57%		595		58.85%	1,011
	Murray		982		47.03%		1,106		52.97%		-124		-5.94%	2,088
	Muscogee		2,098		57.14%		1,574		42.86%		524		14.27%	3,672
	Newton		873		55.57%		698		44.43%		175		11.14%	1,571
	Oconee		344		53.42%		300		46.58%		44		6.83%	644
	Oglethorpe		813		79.86%		205		20.14%		608		59.72%	1,018
	Paulding		690		34.66%		1,301		65.34%		-611		-30.69%	1,991
	Peach		572		73.33%		208		26.67%		364		46.67%	780
	Pickens		543		29.16%		1,319		70.84%		-776		-41.68%	1,862
	Pierce		523		64.73%		285		35.27%		238		29.46%	808
	Pike		714		75.00%		238		25.00%		476		50.00%	952
	Polk		886		37.73%		1,462		62.27%		-576		-24.53%	2,348
	Pulaski		639		85.89%		105		14.11%		534		71.77%	744
	Putnam		682		92.29%		57		7.71%		625		84.57%	739
	Quitman		174		80.93%		41		19.07%		133		61.86%	215
	Rabun		590		65.85%		306		34.15%		284		31.70%	896
	Randolph		803		81.94%		177		18.06%		626		63.88%	980
	Richmond		2,086		29.01%		5,104		70.99%		-3,018		-41.97%	7,190
	Rockdale		472		75.16%		156		24.84%		316		50.32%	628
	Schley		328		80.99%		77		19.01%		251		61.98%	405
	Screven		300		29.82%		706		70.18%		-406		-40.36%	1,006
	Seminole		371		77.13%		110		22.87%		261		54.26%	481
	Spalding		1,734		80.80%		412		19.20%		1,322		61.60%	2,146
	Stephens		438		61.86%		270		38.14%		168		23.73%	708
	Stewart		732		89.27%		88		10.73%		644		78.54%	820
	Sumter		1,237		80.80%		294		19.20%		943		61.59%	1,531
	Talbot		536		87.87%		74		12.13%		462		75.74%	610
	Taliaferro		446		88.49%		58		11.51%		388		76.98%	504
	Tattnall		460		36.77%		791		63.23%		-331		-26.46%	1,251
	Taylor		590		62.57%		353		37.43%		237		25.13%	943
	Telfair		2,057		86.10%		332		13.90%		1,725		72.21%	2,389
	Terrell		897		88.55%		116		11.45%		781		77.10%	1,013
	Thomas		1,240		60.37%		814		39.63%		426		20.74%	2,054
	Tift		736		59.02%		511		40.98%		225		18.04%	1,247
	Toombs		615		52.74%		551		47.26%		64		5.49%	1,166
	Towns		517		37.63%		857		62.37%		-340		-24.75%	1,374
	Treutlen		392		85.96%		64		14.04%		328		71.93%	456
	Troup		1,557		61.69%		967		38.31%		590		23.38%	2,524
	Turner		328		38.41%		526		61.59%		-198		-23.19%	854
	Twiggs		571		88.53%		74		11.47%		497		77.05%	645
	Union		623		17.82%		2,873		82.18%		-2,250		-64.36%	3,496
	Upson		721		76.54%		221		23.46%		500		53.08%	942
	Walker		1,053		37.09%		1,786		62.91%		-733		-25.82%	2,839
	Walton		1,135		72.80%		424		27.20%		711		45.61%	1,559
	Ware		1,416		51.40%		1,339		48.60%		77		2.79%	2,755
	Warren		247		49.20%		255		50.80%		-8		-1.59%	502
	Washington		1,142		70.76%		472		29.24%		670		41.51%	1,614
	Wayne		488		54.16%		413		45.84%		75		8.32%	901
	Webster		174		74.04%		61		25.96%		113		48.09%	235
	Wheeler		312		75.54%		101		24.46%		211		51.09%	413
	White		274		32.54%		568		67.46%		-294		-34.92%	842
	Whitfield		1,154		41.16%		1,650		58.84%		-496		-17.69%	2,804
	Wilcox		459		68.00%		216		32.00%		243		36.00%	675
	Wilkes		747		48.35%		798		51.65%		-51		-3.30%	1,545
	Wilkinson		487		68.21%		227		31.79%		260		36.41%	714
	Worth		952		75.44%		310		24.56%		642		50.87%	1,262
Totals	129,602	56.56%	99,368	43.36%	30,234	13.19%	229,158

Notes and References

[Kevin Phillips (political commentator)|Phillips, Kevin P.]
Springer, Melanie Jean; How the States Shaped the Nation: American Electoral Institutions and Voter Turnout, 1920-2000, p. 155
Warren, Kenneth F.; Encyclopedia of U.S. campaigns, elections, and electoral behavior: A-M, Volume 1, p. 620
Nelson, Michael (1991); Historic documents on presidential elections, 1787-1988, p. 296
Whisenhunt, Donald W.; President Herbert Hoover, p. 69
Orwat, Stephen F.; The 1928 Presidential Election in the South: The Question of Southern Conservative Values (1994), p. 62
Key, V.O. junior; Southern Politics in State and Nation; p. 329
Web site: Presidential General Election Results Comparison – Georgia. Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas.
Phillips, The Emerging Republican Majority, p. 212
Web site: Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas. 1928 Presidential General Election Results – Georgia.
Book: Georgia's Official Register, 1929 . Atlanta, Georgia . Stein Printing Company . 479–480 .
Web site: GA US President Race, November 06, 1928. Our Campaigns.