1928 United States presidential election in Wyoming explained

See main article: article and 1928 United States presidential election.

Election Name:1928 United States presidential election in Wyoming
Country:Wyoming
Flag Year:1923
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:1924 United States presidential election in Wyoming
Previous Year:1924
Next Election:1932 United States presidential election in Wyoming
Next Year:1932
Election Date:November 6, 1928
Image1:Herbert Hoover - NARA - 532049.jpg
Nominee1:Herbert Hoover
Party1:Republican Party (United States)
Home State1:Iowa
Running Mate1:Charles Curtis
Electoral Vote1:3
Popular Vote1:52,748
Percentage1:63.68%
Nominee2:Al Smith
Party2:Democratic Party (United States)
Home State2:New York
Running Mate2:Joseph Robinson
Electoral Vote2:0
Popular Vote2:29,299
Percentage2:35.37%
Map Size:290px
President
Before Election:Calvin Coolidge
Before Party:Republican Party (United States)
Before Color:FF3333
After Election:Herbert Hoover
After Party:Republican Party (United States)
After Color:FF3333

The 1928 United States presidential election in Wyoming took place on November 6, 1928, as part of the 1928 United States presidential election. State voters chose three representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Wyoming was won by the Republican candidate, former Secretary of Commerce and mining engineer Herbert Hoover. from the state of California, running with Senator Charles Curtis, with 63.68 percent of the popular vote, against the Democratic candidate, Governor of New York Al Smith, running with Arkansas Senator and former Governor Joseph Robinson, with 35.37 percent, a 28.3% margin of victory.[1] Hoover won all but one of the state's twenty-three counties, but Smith's victory in Sweetwater County – which had defied the 1924 GOP landslide by voting for Robert La Follette– would with the aid of extensive unionization create a run of Democratic wins in that county extending to 1968.[2]

Just 4 years earlier, Hoover's predecessor, fellow Republican Calvin Coolidge, had carried Wyoming by 20.9% against his nearest rival, Progressive Robert M. La Follette, however in that election the vote was split, with the combined Progressive and Democratic vote total equaling 47.6%, thus giving Coolidge, who received 52.4% of the vote, a victory margin of 4.8%. Hoover's 28.3 point victory marked a swing to the right of 23.5 points, and Wyoming voted 10.9% to the right of the nation in this election.

Voters associated the booming economy of The Roaring Twenties under Coolidge with Republicans, thus giving Hoover a significant edge in the campaign. In addition to facing an uphill battle to convince voters to abandon the popular Republican policies, Smith, a Roman Catholic, also dealt with significant anti-Catholic prejudice, with many protestants believing he would take orders from The Pope, with some even believing the Pope would move to Washington D.C. if Smith won. Additionally, Smith's opposition to Prohibition, which was the ban on alcoholic beverages, and his association with the corruption of Tammany Hall all but ensured his defeat. His performance was the second worst for a Democrat in Wyoming's history at that time, being surpassed only by James Cox's defeat to Warren Harding in 1920, and would remain the second worst until George McGovern's landslide defeat in 1972.

Despite his strong performance, over the course of his presidency, the economic boom of the 1920s that had propelled Republicans to success would transform into The Great Depression, which voters associated with Hoover, and he would go on to lose the state by 16 points to Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932. Hoover's raw vote total was the highest for a Republican in Wyoming's history up until that point, and would remain so until Dwight Eisenhower surpassed it in 1952.

Results

Results by county

CountyHerbert Clark Hoover
Republican
Alfred Emmanuel Smith
Democratic
Norman Mattoon Thomas
Socialist
MarginTotal votes cast[3]
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"%
Albany2,94164.13%1,61835.28%270.59%1,32328.85%4,586
Big Horn2,64673.58%93325.95%170.47%1,71347.63%3,596
Campbell1,52866.52%74432.39%251.09%78434.13%2,297
Carbon3,01964.85%1,60934.56%270.58%1,41030.29%4,655
Converse2,04070.52%84529.21%80.28%1,19541.31%2,893
Crook1,46671.41%58228.35%50.24%88443.06%2,053
Fremont2,26760.65%1,44938.76%220.59%81821.89%3,738
Goshen2,48375.29%77723.56%381.15%1,70651.73%3,298
Hot Springs1,22055.33%94042.63%452.04%28012.70%2,205
Johnson1,36969.25%59029.84%180.91%77939.41%1,977
Laramie5,86265.33%3,02933.76%820.91%2,83331.57%8,973
Lincoln2,21756.57%1,68743.05%150.38%53013.52%3,919
Natrona7,14164.78%3,81834.64%640.58%3,32330.14%11,023
Niobrara1,42474.21%46924.44%261.35%95549.77%1,919
Park2,17566.72%1,06232.58%230.71%1,11334.14%3,260
Platte2,20667.75%93228.62%1183.62%1,27439.13%3,256
Sheridan3,61657.86%2,56341.01%711.14%1,05316.85%6,250
Sublette57359.69%31632.92%717.40%25726.77%960
Sweetwater2,52845.15%2,97453.12%971.73%-446-7.97%5,599
Teton49564.29%27035.06%50.65%22529.23%770
Uinta1,43958.31%1,01241.00%170.69%42717.31%2,468
Washakie96670.72%39228.70%80.59%57442.02%1,366
Weston1,12761.28%68837.41%241.31%43923.87%1,839
Totals52,74863.68%29,29935.37%7880.95%23,44928.31%82,835

Counties that flipped from Progressive to Democratic

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 1928 Presidential Election Results – Wyoming.
  2. Menendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004, pp. 342-343
  3. Scammon, Richard M. (compiler); America at the Polls: A Handbook of Presidential Election Statistics 1920-1964; p. 515