1924 United States presidential election in Wisconsin

The 1924 United States presidential election in Wisconsin was held on November 4, 1924 as part of the 1924 United States presidential election. State voters chose thirteen electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

1924 United States presidential election in Wisconsin

November 4, 1924
 
Nominee Robert M. La Follette Calvin Coolidge John W. Davis
Party Independent Republican Democratic
Home state Wisconsin Massachusetts West Virginia
Running mate Burton K. Wheeler Charles G. Dawes Charles W. Bryan
Electoral vote 13 0 0
Popular vote 453,678 311,614 68,115
Percentage 54.0% 37.1% 8.1%

County Results

President before election

Calvin Coolidge
Republican

Elected President

Calvin Coolidge
Republican

Background

Wisconsin had since the decline of the Populist movement been substantially a one-party state dominated by the Republican Party.[1] The Democratic Party became entirely uncompetitive outside certain German Catholic counties adjoining Lake Michigan as the upper classes, along with the majority of workers who followed them, completely fled from William Jennings Bryan’s agrarian and free silver sympathies.[2] As Democratic strength weakened severely after 1894 – although the state did develop a strong Socialist Party to provide opposition to the GOP – Wisconsin developed the direct Republican primary in 1903 and this ultimately created competition between the “League” under Robert M. La Follette, and the conservative “Regular” faction.[3]

The beginning of the 1910s would see a minor Democratic revival as many La Follette progressives endorsed Woodrow Wilson,[4] but this flirtation would not be long-lasting as Wilson’s “Anglophile” foreign policies were severely opposed by Wisconsin’s largely German- and Scandinavian-American populace.[5] The 1918 mid-term elections saw the Midwestern farming community largely desert the Democratic Party due to supposed preferential treatment of Southern farmers:[6] Democratic seats in the Midwest fell from thirty-four to seventeen,[7] and in 1920 Wisconsin’s status as a one-party Republican state was solidified as James M. Cox won less than a sixth of the state’s presidential vote and Democrats claimed only four state legislative seats, all but one of which would be lost in 1922.

At the same time, the Republican Party both at the state and national levels was severely divided between an ascendant conservative faction and a progressive faction, whose leader was Wisconsin’s own veteran senator Robert M. La Follette.[8] After a fierce debate the Democratic Party nominated former Congressman John W. Davis of West Virginia,[9] who although West Virginia was a border state whose limited African-American population had not been disenfranchised as happened in all former Confederate States,[10] shared the extreme social conservatism of Southern Democrats of the time. Davis supported poll taxes, opposed women's suffrage, and believed in strictly limited government with no expansion in nonmilitary fields.[11]

The conservatism of the major-party nominees made La Follette mount a third-party challenge, which he had planned even beforehand.[12] Wisconsin’s Senator was formally nominated on July 4 by the "Conference for Progressive Political Action" and developed a platform dedicated to eliminating child labor and American interference in Latin American political affairs, along with a formal denunciation of the Ku Klux Klan.[13] La Follette also proposed major judicial reforms including amendments allowing congress to override judicial review and to re-enact laws declared unconstitutional.[14] La Follette also called for election of federal judges for ten-year terms.[15]

Vote

At the beginning of the campaign in July, La Follette listed nine states as “in” for him, including Wisconsin.[16] Although early opinion polls showed La Follette attracting large numbers of those German and Scandinavian-Americans who completely deserted Cox in 1920,[17] newer polls later in the fall showed Wisconsin as the only state La Follette was certain to carry.[18] These later polls proved correct, with La Follette carrying Wisconsin with 53.96 percent of the popular vote, but winning no other state.[19]

La Follette carried 62 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties, with Coolidge gaining majorities only in the heavily Yankee and pro-establishment counties bordering Illinois, in Pepin County on the western border, and in Marinette and Florence Counties bordering Michigan.

As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last time a third-party presidential candidate has carried a state outside the former Confederacy.[lower-alpha 1]

Results

1924 United States presidential election in Wisconsin[20]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Independent Robert M. La Follette 453,678 53.96% 13
Republican Calvin Coolidge 311,614 37.06% 0
Democratic John W. Davis 68,115 8.10% 0
Independent William Z. Foster 3,773 0.45% 0
Prohibition Herman Faris 2,918 0.35% 0
Independent Frank Tetes Johns 458 0.05% 0
Independent William J. Wallace 270 0.03% 0
Totals 840,826 100.00% 13

Results by county

County John Calvin Coolidge
Republican
John William Davis
Democratic
Robert Marion La Follette, Sr.
Independent
Various candidates
Other parties
Margin[lower-alpha 2] Total votes cast[21]
# % # % # % # % # %
Adams 779 28.99% 173 6.44% 1,724 64.16% 11 0.41% -945 -35.17% 2,687
Ashland 2,272 32.44% 449 6.41% 4,204 60.02% 79 1.13% -1,932 -27.58% 7,004
Barron 2,703 29.44% 377 4.11% 6,010 65.47% 90 0.98% -3,307 -36.02% 9,180
Bayfield 1,675 36.41% 205 4.46% 2,601 56.54% 119 2.59% -926 -20.13% 4,600
Brown 7,611 37.90% 2,328 11.59% 10,024 49.92% 117 0.58% -2,413 -12.02% 20,080
Buffalo 1,324 33.05% 176 4.39% 2,474 61.76% 32 0.80% -1,150 -28.71% 4,006
Burnett 958 30.34% 76 2.41% 2,088 66.12% 36 1.14% -1,130 -35.78% 3,158
Calumet 938 18.59% 569 11.28% 3,503 69.42% 36 0.71% -2,565 -50.83% 5,046
Chippewa 5,135 41.72% 560 4.55% 6,517 52.95% 96 0.78% -1,382 -11.23% 12,308
Clark 3,130 31.27% 552 5.51% 6,208 62.02% 120 1.20% -3,078 -30.75% 10,010
Columbia 4,724 40.41% 907 7.76% 5,968 51.05% 91 0.78% -1,244 -10.64% 11,690
Crawford 1,687 29.82% 936 16.54% 2,977 52.62% 58 1.03% -1,290 -22.80% 5,658
Dane 12,280 31.32% 2,081 5.31% 24,595 62.73% 252 0.64% -12,315 -31.41% 39,208
Dodge 5,167 30.45% 2,019 11.90% 9,610 56.63% 175 1.03% -4,443 -26.18% 16,971
Door 1,891 38.56% 235 4.79% 2,715 55.36% 63 1.28% -824 -16.80% 4,904
Douglas 5,887 39.14% 638 4.24% 8,255 54.89% 259 1.72% -2,368 -15.75% 15,039
Dunn 3,177 40.13% 284 3.59% 4,385 55.39% 70 0.88% -1,208 -15.26% 7,916
Eau Claire 5,149 46.46% 629 5.68% 5,222 47.12% 83 0.75% -73 -0.66% 11,083
Florence 594 50.21% 49 4.14% 523 44.21% 17 1.44% 71 6.00% 1,183
Fond du Lac 8,516 41.62% 2,222 10.86% 9,576 46.80% 146 0.71% -1,060 -5.18% 20,460
Forest 1,104 40.74% 299 11.03% 1,259 46.46% 48 1.77% -155 -5.72% 2,710
Grant 5,714 40.33% 1,518 10.71% 6,825 48.17% 112 0.79% -1,111 -7.84% 14,169
Green 2,922 35.07% 423 5.08% 4,885 58.64% 101 1.21% -1,963 -23.56% 8,331
Green Lake 1,988 37.45% 1,090 20.53% 2,187 41.19% 44 0.83% -199 -3.75% 5,309
Iowa 3,291 40.07% 689 8.39% 4,133 50.32% 100 1.22% -842 -10.25% 8,213
Iron 1,058 40.17% 84 3.19% 1,400 53.15% 92 3.49% -342 -12.98% 2,634
Jackson 1,662 32.24% 255 4.95% 3,167 61.44% 71 1.38% -1,505 -29.19% 5,155
Jefferson 4,250 31.22% 1,374 10.09% 7,885 57.93% 102 0.75% -3,635 -26.71% 13,611
Juneau 1,917 31.10% 403 6.54% 3,785 61.40% 59 0.96% -1,868 -30.30% 6,164
Kenosha 10,341 55.45% 1,517 8.13% 6,695 35.90% 96 0.51% 3,646 19.55% 18,649
Kewaunee 1,018 23.90% 395 9.27% 2,804 65.82% 43 1.01% -1,786 -41.92% 4,260
La Crosse 5,733 32.49% 1,252 7.09% 10,543 59.74% 119 0.67% -4,810 -27.26% 17,647
Lafayette 2,671 34.69% 1,265 16.43% 3,681 47.81% 82 1.07% -1,010 -13.12% 7,699
Langlade 2,572 35.98% 926 12.95% 3,578 50.05% 73 1.02% -1,006 -14.07% 7,149
Lincoln 1,857 26.84% 503 7.27% 4,465 64.54% 93 1.34% -2,608 -37.70% 6,918
Manitowoc 4,828 29.54% 1,599 9.78% 9,814 60.04% 104 0.64% -4,986 -30.50% 16,345
Marathon 5,577 29.22% 1,109 5.81% 12,193 63.88% 209 1.09% -6,616 -34.66% 19,088
Marinette 4,911 54.68% 571 6.36% 3,411 37.98% 88 0.98% 1,500 16.70% 8,981
Marquette 1,109 31.19% 587 16.51% 1,820 51.18% 40 1.12% -711 -19.99% 3,556
Milwaukee 50,730 34.27% 14,510 9.80% 81,697 55.19% 1,092 0.74% -30,967 -20.92% 148,029
Monroe 2,661 26.70% 428 4.30% 6,747 67.71% 129 1.29% -4,086 -41.00% 9,965
Oconto 2,562 33.12% 602 7.78% 4,506 58.25% 65 0.84% -1,944 -25.13% 7,735
Oneida 1,769 33.07% 324 6.06% 3,196 59.74% 61 1.14% -1,427 -26.67% 5,350
Outagamie 6,426 35.39% 1,255 6.91% 10,357 57.03% 122 0.67% -3,931 -21.65% 18,160
Ozaukee 1,015 20.71% 592 12.08% 3,264 66.61% 29 0.59% -2,249 -45.90% 4,900
Pepin 1,226 55.88% 206 9.39% 737 33.59% 25 1.14% 489 22.29% 2,194
Pierce 2,788 40.97% 298 4.38% 3,661 53.80% 58 0.85% -873 -12.83% 6,805
Polk 2,793 37.57% 317 4.26% 4,251 57.18% 73 0.98% -1,458 -19.61% 7,434
Portage 2,854 27.76% 2,010 19.55% 5,347 52.01% 69 0.67% -2,493 -24.25% 10,280
Price 1,754 32.81% 323 6.04% 3,151 58.94% 118 2.21% -1,397 -26.13% 5,346
Racine 13,040 50.21% 1,463 5.63% 11,298 43.51% 168 0.65% 1,742 6.71% 25,969
Richland 2,669 42.11% 898 14.17% 2,660 41.97% 111 1.75% 9 0.14% 6,338
Rock 14,815 60.92% 1,453 5.97% 7,923 32.58% 129 0.53% 6,892 28.34% 24,320
Rusk 1,932 39.11% 272 5.51% 2,677 54.19% 59 1.19% -745 -15.08% 4,940
St. Croix 3,600 39.68% 718 7.91% 4,693 51.72% 62 0.68% -1,093 -12.05% 9,073
Sauk 3,935 35.60% 555 5.02% 6,400 57.91% 162 1.47% -2,465 -22.30% 11,052
Sawyer 990 37.53% 135 5.12% 1,487 56.37% 26 0.99% -497 -18.84% 2,638
Shawano 2,063 23.01% 471 5.25% 6,337 70.69% 94 1.05% -4,274 -47.67% 8,965
Sheboygan 6,974 34.56% 1,350 6.69% 11,714 58.04% 143 0.71% -4,740 -23.49% 20,181
Taylor 1,389 29.49% 185 3.93% 3,079 65.37% 57 1.21% -1,690 -35.88% 4,710
Trempealeau 2,083 31.26% 373 5.60% 4,148 62.24% 60 0.90% -2,065 -30.99% 6,664
Vernon 2,670 30.41% 406 4.62% 5,599 63.78% 104 1.18% -2,929 -33.36% 8,779
Vilas 873 42.11% 119 5.74% 1,038 50.07% 43 2.07% -165 -7.96% 2,073
Walworth 7,484 57.22% 1,162 8.88% 4,335 33.14% 99 0.76% 3,149 24.07% 13,080
Washburn 1,422 38.91% 158 4.32% 2,043 55.90% 32 0.88% -621 -16.99% 3,655
Washington 1,987 24.44% 980 12.05% 5,081 62.49% 83 1.02% -3,094 -38.05% 8,131
Waukesha 7,026 45.45% 1,965 12.71% 6,348 41.06% 120 0.78% 678 4.39% 15,459
Waupaca 3,654 33.89% 665 6.17% 6,395 59.32% 67 0.62% -2,741 -25.42% 10,781
Waushara 1,602 35.43% 249 5.51% 2,606 57.63% 65 1.44% -1,004 -22.20% 4,522
Winnebago 11,239 48.70% 1,801 7.80% 9,891 42.86% 147 0.64% 1,348 5.84% 23,078
Wood 3,469 30.32% 548 4.79% 7,303 63.83% 122 1.07% -3,834 -33.51% 11,442
Totals311,61437.06%68,1158.10%453,67853.96%7,4190.88%-142,064-16.90%840,826

Notes

  1. Due to conflicts over black civil rights and to their disenfranchisement, third-party “states’ rights” candidates carried four Confederate states in 1948, two in 1960 and five in 1968.
  2. Because La Follette carried Wisconsin, and he and Coolidge were the top two candidates in the state and in every county, all margins given are Coolidge vote minus La Follette vote and all percentage margins Coolidge percentage minus La Follette percentage.

References

  1. Burnham, Walter Dean; 'The System of 1896: An Analysis'; in The Evolution of American Electoral Systems, pp. 178-179 ISBN 0313213798
  2. Sundquist, James; Politics and Policy: The Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson Years, p. 526 ISBN 0815719094
  3. Hansen, John Mark; Shigeo Hirano, and Snyder, James M. Jr.; ‘Parties within Parties: Parties, Factions, and Coordinated Politics, 1900-1980’; in Gerber, Alan S. and Schickler, Eric; Governing in a Polarized Age: Elections, Parties, and Political Representation in America, pp. 165-168 ISBN 978-1-107-09509-0
  4. Crews, Kenneth D.; ‘Woodrow Wilson, Wisconsin, and the Election of 1912’; Presidential Studies Quarterly, Vol. 12, No. 3: ‘Presidents, Vice Presidents and Political Parties: Performance and Prospects’ (Summer, 1982), pp. 369-376
  5. Leary, William M. (jr.); ‘Woodrow Wilson, Irish Americans, and the Election of 1916’; The Journal of American History, Vol. 54, No. 1 (June 1967), pp. 57-72
  6. Morello, John A.; Albert D. Lasker, Advertising, and the Election of Warren G. Harding, p. 64 ISBN 0275970302
  7. Hough, Jerry F.; Changing Party Coalitions: The Mystery of the Red State-Blue State Alignment, pp. 86-87 ISBN 0875864090
  8. Moore, John A.; ‘The Original Supply Siders: Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge’; The Independent Review, Vol. 18, No. 4 (Spring 2014), pp. 597-618
  9. Paulson, Arthur C.; Realignment and Party Revival: Understanding American Electoral Politics at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century, p. 51 ISBN 0275968650
  10. Ranney, Joseph A.; In the Wake of Slavery: Civil War, Civil Rights, and the Reconstruction of Southern Law; p. 141 ISBN 0275989720
  11. Newman, Roger K.; The Yale Biographical Dictionary of American Law, p. 153 ISBN 0300113005
  12. Richardson, Danny G.; Others: "Fighting Bob" La Follette and the Progressive Movement: Third-Party Politics in the 1920s, p. 180 ISBN 0595481264
  13. Richardson; Others, pp. 182-183
  14. Moreno, Paul D.; The American State from the Civil War to the New Deal: The Twilight of Constitutionalism and the Triumph of Progressivism, p. 205 ISBN 1107067715
  15. Parrish, Michael E.; Anxious Decades: America in Prosperity and Depression, 1920-1941, pp. 70-71 ISBN 0393311341
  16. ‘La Follette’s Managers Claiming Nine States’; The Ridgway News (Ridgway, Illinois), July 24, 1924, p. 1
  17. Tucker, Garland; High Tide of American Conservatism: Davis, Coolidge, and the 1924 Election, p. 191 ISBN 193711029X
  18. Tucker; High Tide of American Conservatism, p. 231
  19. "1924 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  20. "1924 Presidential General Election Results – Wisconsin". Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  21. Wisconsin State Election Board; ‘Summary Vote for Presidential Electors, November 4, 1924’; Wisconsin Blue Book 1925 pp. 506-517
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