1928 United States presidential election in New Mexico

The 1928 United States presidential election in New Mexico took place on November 6, 1928. All contemporary forty-eight states were part of the 1928 United States presidential election. State voters chose three electors to represent them in the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

1928 United States presidential election in New Mexico

November 6, 1928
 
Nominee Herbert Hoover Al Smith
Party Republican Democratic
Home state California New York
Running mate Charles Curtis Joseph T. Robinson
Electoral vote 3 0
Popular vote 69,645 48,211
Percentage 59.0% 40.9%

County Results

President before election

Calvin Coolidge
Republican

Elected President

Herbert Hoover
Republican

Background

New Mexico had in its early history as a state shown itself, like all of the West at the time, to be very much a swing state, having backed Woodrow Wilson twice in 1912 and 1916 and then backed Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge in their landslide 1920 and 1924 victories. During this era – and indeed since the 1870s – New Mexico was divided between largely Republican machine-run highland regions and its firmly Southern Democrat Baptist "Little Texas" region in its east.[1]

However, the nomination of Catholic Al Smith on the first ballot after almost all other Democrats sat the election out[2] challenged the status quo. 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.[3] At the same time, there existed potential for a pro-Catholic swing in the traditional GOP Spanish-American mountain counties of the North.

Polls in July regarded New Mexico as "doubtful",[4] although these had taken little account of the religious issues that were to dominate the election.

Vote

New Mexico was won by Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover over New York Governor Al Smith in a 18-point landslide.[5] In traditionally fiercely Democratic "Little Texas", anti-Catholic prejudice was identical to that which turned Texas and Oklahoma to Hoover[6] and Smith retained just one of the eleven counties that had voted for John W. Davis in 1924. In the mountain counties of traditional Republican strength, by contrast, Hoover losses proved minor, as the Catholic Hispanic areas could not identify with the urban New Yorker Smith.[7]

At this time the Republican Party was widely associated in the minds of many Americans with the economic success of the mid-1920s, although the post-Civil War Democratic stronghold in the Deep South was still evident by the time of this election.[8]

Results

Electoral results
Presidential candidate Party Home state Popular vote Electoral
vote
Running mate
Count Percentage Vice-presidential candidate Home state Electoral vote
Herbert Hoover Republican California 69,645 59.01% 3 Charles Curtis Kansas 3
Alfred E. Smith Democratic New York 48,211 40.85% 0 Joseph Taylor Robinson Arkansas 0
William Z. Foster Workers' Illinois 158 0.13% 0 Benjamin Gitlow New York 0
Total 118,014 100% 3 3
Needed to win 266 266

Results by county

County Herbert Clark Hoover[9]
Republican
Alfred Emmanuel Smith[9]
Democratic
William Z. Foster
Workers'
Margin
% # % # % # % #
Valencia 79.87% 3,500 20.10% 881 0.02% 1 59.77% 2,619
Chaves 69.48% 3,124 30.34% 1,364 0.18% 8 39.15% 1,760
San Juan 66.36% 1,436 33.46% 724 0.18% 4 32.90% 712
Catron 64.77% 774 35.15% 420 0.08% 1 29.62% 354
Torrance 64.54% 1,958 35.27% 1,070 0.20% 6 29.27% 888
Lincoln 64.32% 1,489 35.46% 821 0.22% 5 28.86% 668
Rio Arriba 62.67% 4,109 37.27% 2,444 0.06% 4 25.39% 1,665
McKinley 62.22% 2,075 37.39% 1,247 0.39% 13 24.83% 828
Union 61.21% 2,081 38.41% 1,306 0.38% 13 22.79% 775
Guadalupe 61.12% 1,718 38.88% 1,093 0.00% 0 22.23% 625
Santa Fe 60.25% 4,630 39.70% 3,051 0.05% 4 20.55% 1,579
Sandoval 59.44% 1,700 40.52% 1,159 0.03% 1 18.92% 541
San Miguel 59.26% 5,184 40.70% 3,560 0.05% 4 18.56% 1,624
Doña Ana 59.06% 3,141 40.79% 2,169 0.15% 8 18.28% 972
Eddy 57.11% 1,618 42.78% 1,212 0.11% 3 14.33% 406
Luna 56.80% 860 42.73% 647 0.46% 7 14.07% 213
Bernalillo 56.99% 8,725 42.92% 6,572 0.09% 14 14.06% 2,153
Taos 56.98% 2,441 43.00% 1,842 0.02% 1 13.98% 599
Colfax 56.29% 3,904 43.57% 3,022 0.14% 10 12.72% 882
Curry 56.16% 1,968 43.66% 1,530 0.17% 6 12.50% 438
Harding 55.72% 916 44.16% 726 0.12% 2 11.56% 190
Socorro 55.32% 1,940 44.60% 1,564 0.09% 3 10.72% 376
Sierra 53.79% 766 46.14% 657 0.07% 1 7.65% 109
Lea 52.96% 537 46.75% 474 0.30% 3 6.21% 63
Mora 52.62% 1,998 47.38% 1,799 0.00% 0 5.24% 199
Hidalgo 52.38% 561 47.53% 509 0.09% 1 4.86% 52
Otero 51.91% 1,250 47.67% 1,148 0.42% 10 4.24% 102
Roosevelt 51.10% 1,157 48.50% 1,098 0.40% 9 2.61% 59
Grant 50.69% 2,058 49.11% 1,994 0.20% 8 1.58% 64
Quay 50.26% 1,616 49.58% 1,594 0.16% 5 0.68% 22
De Baca 47.83% 474 51.87% 514 0.30% 3 -4.04% -40

References

  1. Chilton, Lance; New Mexico: A Guide to the Colorful State, p. 95 ISBN 0826307329
  2. Warren, Kenneth F.; Encyclopedia of U.S. campaigns, elections, and electoral behavior: A-M, Volume 1, p. 620 ISBN 1412954894
  3. Whisenhunt, Donald W.; President Herbert Hoover, p. 69 ISBN 1600214762
  4. 'National Election Possibilities: Sixteen States Classed as Doubtful'; Barron's, July 30, 1928
  5. "1928 Presidential General Election Results – New Mexico". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
  6. Garcia, F. Chris and Hain, Paul L.; New Mexico Government, p. 226 ISBN 0826305601
  7. Hodgson, Illa D. and Garthwaite, Eloyse M.; 'New Mexico's Early Elections: Statehood to New Deal'; New Mexico Historical Review, January 1, 1995; vol. 70, issue 1, pp. 29-46
  8. Rutland, Robert Allen (1996). The Republicans. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-8262-1090-6.
  9. Scammon, Richard M. (compiler); America at the Polls: A Handbook of Presidential Election Statistics 1920-1964; p. 305 ISBN 0405077114
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