1920 United States presidential election in New York explained

See main article: 1920 United States presidential election.

Election Name:	1920 United States presidential election in New York
Country:	New York
Flag Image:	Flag of New York (1909–2020).svg
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	1916 United States presidential election in New York
Previous Year:	1916
Next Election:	1924 United States presidential election in New York
Next Year:	1924
Turnout:	56.4%^[1] 15.2 pp
Election Date:	November 2, 1920
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:	45
Popular Vote1:	1,871,167
Percentage1:	64.56%
Nominee2:	James M. Cox
Party2:	Democratic Party (United States)
Home State2:	Ohio
Running Mate2:	Franklin D. Roosevelt
Electoral Vote2:	0
Popular Vote2:	781,238
Percentage2:	26.95%
Image3:	Debs penitentiary.jpg
Nominee3:	Eugene V. Debs
Party3:	Socialist Party of America
Home State3:	Indiana
Running Mate3:	Seymour Stedman
Electoral Vote3:	0
Popular Vote3:	203,201
Percentage3:	7.01%
Map Size:	440px
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 New York took place on November 2, 1920. All contemporary 48 states were part of the 1920 United States presidential election. Voters chose 45 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.

New York was won by Republican Senator Warren G. Harding of Ohio, who was running against Democratic Ohio Governor James M. Cox. Harding's running mate was Governor Calvin Coolidge of Massachusetts, while Cox ran with Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York. Also running that year was Socialist candidate Eugene V. Debs of Indiana and his running mate Seymour Stedman of Illinois.

Harding won New York State with an overwhelming landslide of 64.56% of the vote to Cox's 26.95%, a victory margin of 37.61%. Socialist Party candidate Eugene Debs finished with a relatively strong showing for a third party candidate, taking 7.01% of the vote, more than twice his national vote share, making New York his third strongest state in the nation. The strongest county for Debs within the state was the New York City borough of the Bronx, where Debs broke 15% of the vote.

With the deeply unpopular Democratic administration of Woodrow Wilson as the backdrop for the 1920 campaign,^[2] Warren G. Harding promised a "return to normalcy" that appealed to many voters,^[3] while Cox was tied to the policies of the Wilson administration, which had even in 1916 been criticized for insensitivity to Irish-American wishes.^[4] Harding won nationally in one of the most decisive landslides in American history, and New York, already a fiercely Republican state during the Fourth Party System, went even harder for Harding than the nation, making New York a solid 12% more Republican than the national average.^[5] The Irish-Americans were offended by Cox' close ties to Wilson's proposed League of Nations;^[6] whilst Palatine Germans who had been the Democratic Party's other base in New York since before the Civil War were similarly offended by Wilson's pro-British policies. Schoharie County, which had been the only New York county to stay Democratic during the "free silver" election of 1896, went Republican for the first time ever^[7] and has only twice voted Democratic since.^[8]

Results

1920 United States presidential election in New York^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Republican	Warren G. Harding	1,871,167	64.56%	45
	Democratic	James Cox	781,238	26.95%	0
	Socialist	Eugene V. Debs	203,201	7.01%	0
	Prohibition	Aaron S. Watkins	19,653	0.68%	0
	Farmer-Labor	Parley P. Christensen	18,413	0.64%	0
	Socialist Labor	William Wesley Cox	4,841	0.17%	0
Totals			2,898,513	100.0%	45

New York City results

1920 Presidential Election in New York City			Manhattan	The Bronx	Brooklyn	Queens	Staten Island	Total
	Republican	Warren G. Harding	275,013	106,050	292,692	94,360	17,844	785,959	61.42%
			59.22%	56.61%	63.32%	68.71%	63.15%
	Democratic	James M. Cox	135,249	45,741	119,612	35,296	9,373	345,271	26.98%
			29.12%	24.42%	25.88%	25.70%	33.17%
	Socialist	Eugene V. Debs	46,049	32,923	45,100	6,143	712	130,927	10.23%
			9.92%	17.57%	9.76%	4.47%	2.52%
	Farmer-Labor	Parley P. Christensen	7,079	1,949	3,473	1,204	170	13,875	1.08%
			1.52%	1.04%	0.75%	0.88%	0.60%
	Socialist Labor	William W. Cox	567	452	638	179	48	1,884	0.15%
			0.12%	0.24%	0.14%	0.13%	0.17%
	Prohibition	Aaron S. Watkins	463	214	733	142	111	1,663	0.13%
			0.10%	0.11%	0.16%	0.10%	0.39%
TOTAL			464,420	187,329	462,248	137,324	28,258	1,279,579	100.00%

Results by county

County	Warren G. Harding Republican		James M. Cox Democratic		Eugene V. Debs Socialist		Aaron Watkins Prohibition		Parley P. Christensen Farmer-Labor		William W. Cox Socialist Labor		Margin		Total votes cast^[10]
		%		%		%		%		%		%		%
	Albany		48,750		61.72%		28,376		35.92%		1,438		1.82%		244		0.31%		118		0.15%		63		0.08%		20,374		25.79%		78,989
	Allegany		10,898		74.15%		2,799		19.04%		513		3.49%		441		3.00%		22		0.15%		24		0.16%		8,099		55.11%		14,697
	Bronx		106,050		56.61%		45,741		24.42%		32,923		17.57%		214		0.11%		1,949		1.04%		452		0.24%		60,309		32.19%		187,329
	Broome		24,759		68.96%		9,251		25.77%		1,120		3.12%		623		1.74%		90		0.25%		60		0.17%		15,508		43.19%		35,903
	Cattaraugus		16,083		66.93%		6,693		27.85%		658		2.74%		481		2.00%		75		0.31%		39		0.16%		9,390		39.08%		24,029
	Cayuga		15,234		67.68%		6,343		28.18%		639		2.84%		191		0.85%		33		0.15%		70		0.31%		8,891		39.50%		22,510
	Chautauqua		27,618		71.57%		6,781		17.57%		3,143		8.15%		869		2.25%		62		0.16%		114		0.30%		20,837		54.00%		38,587
	Chemung		17,864		68.53%		7,060		27.08%		431		1.65%		633		2.43%		46		0.18%		34		0.13%		10,804		41.45%		26,068
	Chenango		10,116		71.12%		3,735		26.26%		68		0.48%		282		1.98%		14		0.10%		9		0.06%		6,381		44.86%		14,224
	Clinton		9,062		67.70%		4,110		30.71%		29		0.22%		166		1.24%		11		0.08%		7		0.05%		4,952		37.00%		13,385
	Columbia		9,284		62.63%		5,203		35.10%		211		1.42%		95		0.64%		15		0.10%		15		0.10%		4,081		27.53%		14,823
	Cortland		9,606		76.75%		2,541		20.30%		136		1.09%		218		1.74%		6		0.05%		9		0.07%		7,065		56.45%		12,516
	Delaware		11,719		70.17%		4,528		27.11%		150		0.90%		269		1.61%		27		0.16%		8		0.05%		7,191		43.06%		16,701
	Dutchess		21,152		65.60%		9,938		30.82%		882		2.74%		167		0.52%		71		0.22%		36		0.11%		11,214		34.78%		32,246
	Erie		99,762		63.22%		40,436		25.63%		15,111		9.58%		1,430		0.91%		521		0.33%		536		0.34%		59,326		37.60%		157,796
	Essex		8,042		77.48%		2,218		21.37%		47		0.45%		61		0.59%		9		0.09%		2		0.02%		5,824		56.11%		10,379
	Franklin		9,786		70.58%		3,825		27.59%		62		0.45%		178		1.28%		12		0.09%		2		0.01%		5,961		42.99%		13,865
	Fulton		10,946		70.44%		3,192		20.54%		888		5.71%		436		2.81%		35		0.23%		42		0.27%		7,754		49.90%		15,539
	Genesee		9,628		74.50%		2,570		19.89%		539		4.17%		152		1.18%		13		0.10%		21		0.16%		7,058		54.62%		12,923
	Greene		6,323		61.50%		3,498		34.02%		264		2.57%		160		1.56%		20		0.19%		17		0.17%		2,825		27.48%		10,282
	Hamilton		881		62.66%		516		36.70%		3		0.21%		4		0.28%		2		0.14%		0		0.00%		365		25.96%		1,406
	Herkimer		14,310		65.27%		6,507		29.68%		793		3.62%		264		1.20%		25		0.11%		25		0.11%		7,803		35.59%		21,924
	Jefferson		22,072		70.74%		7,925		25.40%		252		0.81%		406		1.30%		510		1.63%		36		0.12%		14,147		45.34%		31,201
	Kings		292,692		63.32%		119,612		25.88%		45,100		9.76%		733		0.16%		3,473		0.75%		638		0.14%		173,080		37.44%		462,248
	Lewis		5,906		67.95%		2,673		30.75%		24		0.28%		76		0.87%		10		0.12%		3		0.03%		3,233		37.20%		8,692
	Livingston		9,488		68.84%		3,571		25.91%		497		3.61%		192		1.39%		17		0.12%		18		0.13%		5,917		42.93%		13,783
	Madison		11,094		72.28%		3,797		24.74%		230		1.50%		182		1.19%		22		0.14%		23		0.15%		7,297		47.54%		15,348
	Monroe		73,809		63.78%		28,523		24.65%		11,089		9.58%		1,324		1.14%		678		0.59%		298		0.26%		45,286		39.13%		115,721
	Montgomery		12,835		66.07%		5,911		30.43%		476		2.45%		134		0.69%		26		0.13%		43		0.22%		6,924		35.64%		19,425
	Nassau		33,099		76.39%		8,595		19.84%		1,254		2.89%		155		0.36%		182		0.42%		46		0.11%		24,504		56.55%		43,331
	New York		275,013		59.22%		135,249		29.12%		46,049		9.92%		463		0.10%		7,079		1.52%		567		0.12%		139,764		30.09%		464,420
	Niagara		21,193		68.29%		7,416		23.90%		1,872		6.03%		380		1.22%		104		0.34%		67		0.22%		13,777		44.40%		31,032
	Oneida		36,311		66.27%		15,560		28.40%		2,297		4.19%		412		0.75%		78		0.14%		133		0.24%		20,751		37.87%		54,791
	Onondaga		57,008		66.25%		23,308		27.09%		4,707		5.47%		640		0.74%		163		0.19%		221		0.26%		33,700		39.16%		86,047
	Ontario		13,361		66.20%		5,678		28.13%		914		4.53%		186		0.92%		24		0.12%		21		0.10%		7,683		38.06%		20,184
	Orange		24,558		66.13%		10,567		28.46%		1,573		4.24%		292		0.79%		93		0.25%		52		0.14%		13,991		37.68%		37,135
	Orleans		8,305		72.79%		2,266		19.86%		620		5.43%		176		1.54%		30		0.26%		13		0.11%		6,039		52.93%		11,410
	Oswego		17,905		66.37%		8,045		29.82%		491		1.82%		474		1.76%		36		0.13%		28		0.10%		9,860		36.55%		26,979
	Otsego		12,112		63.88%		6,275		33.09%		134		0.71%		391		2.06%		36		0.19%		13		0.07%		5,837		30.78%		18,961
	Putnam		3,447		70.19%		1,405		28.61%		23		0.47%		20		0.41%		8		0.16%		8		0.16%		2,042		41.58%		4,911
	Queens		94,360		68.71%		35,296		25.70%		6,143		4.47%		142		0.10%		1,204		0.88%		179		0.13%		59,064		43.01%		137,324
	Rensselaer		28,810		56.08%		20,224		39.37%		1,849		3.60%		278		0.54%		116		0.23%		94		0.18%		8,586		16.71%		51,371
	Richmond		17,844		63.15%		9,373		33.17%		712		2.52%		111		0.39%		170		0.60%		48		0.17%		8,471		29.98%		28,258
	Rockland		11,169		66.10%		5,057		29.93%		498		2.95%		80		0.47%		67		0.40%		26		0.15%		6,112		36.17%		16,897
	Saratoga		16,222		67.99%		6,905		28.94%		351		1.47%		290		1.22%		73		0.31%		17		0.07%		9,317		39.05%		23,858
	Schenectady		19,208		57.20%		8,741		26.03%		4,941		14.71%		509		1.52%		66		0.20%		117		0.35%		10,467		31.17%		33,582
	Schoharie		5,572		58.43%		3,697		38.76%		30		0.31%		215		2.25%		12		0.13%		11		0.12%		1,875		19.66%		9,537
	Schuyler		3,827		71.29%		1,231		22.93%		151		2.81%		138		2.57%		9		0.17%		12		0.22%		2,596		48.36%		5,368
	Seneca		6,260		64.56%		3,023		31.18%		250		2.58%		135		1.39%		12		0.12%		16		0.17%		3,237		33.38%		9,696
	St. Lawrence		24,651		75.60%		7,213		22.12%		372		1.14%		282		0.86%		56		0.17%		32		0.10%		17,438		53.48%		32,606
	Steuben		18,335		65.79%		7,401		26.56%		1,217		4.37%		784		2.81%		52		0.19%		79		0.28%		10,934		39.23%		27,868
	Suffolk		26,737		73.10%		8,852		24.20%		596		1.63%		233		0.64%		118		0.32%		38		0.10%		17,885		48.90%		36,574
	Sullivan		8,029		64.45%		3,623		29.08%		671		5.39%		98		0.79%		26		0.21%		11		0.09%		4,406		35.37%		12,458
	Tioga		6,772		71.20%		2,406		25.30%		83		0.87%		223		2.34%		16		0.17%		11		0.12%		4,366		45.90%		9,511
	Tompkins		9,508		70.05%		3,487		25.69%		288		2.12%		250		1.84%		21		0.15%		19		0.14%		6,021		44.36%		13,573
	Ulster		19,001		66.41%		8,759		30.61%		301		1.05%		455		1.59%		76		0.27%		20		0.07%		10,242		35.80%		28,612
	Warren		9,009		71.76%		3,227		25.70%		189		1.51%		101		0.80%		20		0.16%		9		0.07%		5,782		46.05%		12,555
	Washington		13,647		75.43%		4,124		22.79%		162		0.90%		123		0.68%		24		0.13%		13		0.07%		9,523		52.63%		18,093
	Wayne		13,333		73.24%		4,289		23.56%		304		1.67%		241		1.32%		18		0.10%		20		0.11%		9,044		49.68%		18,205
	Westchester		76,020		68.28%		28,060		25.20%		6,097		5.48%		435		0.39%		485		0.44%		238		0.21%		47,960		43.08%		111,335
	Wyoming		9,134		75.48%		2,442		20.18%		294		2.43%		194		1.60%		21		0.17%		16		0.13%		6,692		55.30%		12,101
	Yates		5,638		76.28%		1,571		21.26%		52		0.70%		122		1.65%		6		0.08%		2		0.03%		4,067		55.03%		7,391
Totals	1,871,167	64.56%	781,238	26.95%	203,201	7.01%	19,653	0.68%	18,413	0.64%	4,841	0.17%	1,089,929	37.60%	2,898,513

Analysis

Harding swept every county in the state of New York, winning every upstate county as well as winning all five boroughs of New York City and Long Island. All but five of New York State's 62 counties went Republican with more than 60% of the vote.

Harding won heavily populated New York City as a whole with a commanding majority, sweeping all 5 boroughs. Harding received over 60% of the vote in the boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island, and also won majorities in Manhattan and the Bronx.^[11] 1920 was the first of only two occasions in which a Republican presidential candidate won all 5 boroughs of New York City since the city's incorporation in 1898, the other occasion being 1924. 1920 remains the only election ever in which a Republican presidential candidate has won an absolute majority of the vote in all five boroughs as well as in New York City as a whole. In 1924, Calvin Coolidge would win New York City for the GOP once more, but with a plurality in every borough sans Queens. This is the second of three elections in which Republicans won New York City as a whole (along with 1908 and 1924).

Likewise, this was the first of only two occasions (the other being 1924) in which a Republican has won the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx since they took their modern forms with the creation of Bronx County in 1914.^[12]

Harding also won decisive majorities in upstate New York in rural and urban counties. Harding won over 60% in Albany County, home to the state capital of Albany, as well as in Erie County, home to the city of Buffalo, and in Monroe County, home to the city of Rochester. 1920 made Warren G. Harding the first of three presidential candidates of either party who has been able to sweep every county in New York State, the only others being Republican Calvin Coolidge in 1924 and Democrat Lyndon Johnson in 1964. As of 2020, this is the most recent election where New York's most Democratic county was not one of the five boroughs of New York City, as Cox had his best performance in Upstate Rensselaer County.

Harding's 64.56% of the vote in New York State remains the highest vote share any Republican presidential candidate has ever received in the state, and the second-highest vote share any candidate of either party has ever gotten in the state, beaten only by Democrat Lyndon Johnson's 68.56% in the Democratic landslide of 1964. Harding's landslide victory margin of 37.61% remains the widest margin by which any candidate of either party has ever won New York State, beating even Lyndon Johnson's 37.25% in 1964.^[13]

See also

• United States presidential elections in New York
• Presidency of Warren G. Harding
• Presidency of Calvin Coolidge

Notes and References

1. Bicentennial Edition: Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970, part 2, p. 1072.
2. McGerr, Michael E.; The Decline of Popular Politics: The American North, 1865-1928; p. 169
3. Carr, Richard and Hart, Bradley W.; The Global 1920s: Politics, Economics and Society, p. 143
4. Lichtman, Allan J.; Prejudice and the Old Politics: The Presidential Election of 1928, p. 103
5. Counting the Votes; New York
6. Yanoso, Nicole Anderson; The Irish and the American Presidency, p. 143
7. Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, p. 121
8. These were for Lyndon Johnson against Barry Goldwater in 1964 and for Bill Clinton against Bob Dole in 1996.
9. Web site: 1920 Presidential Election Results - New York. 2013-07-27 . Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas.
10. New York State Board of Elections; 'Vote for Electors of President in 1920'; New York Red Book (1921) p. 530
11. Keuchtenberg, William E.; The Perils of Prosperity, 1914-1932; p. 88
12. Sullivan, Robert David; 'How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century'; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
13. Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections; Presidential General Election Results Comparison – New York