Jump to content

1908 United States presidential election in New Jersey

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1908 United States presidential election in New Jersey

← 1904 November 3, 1908 1912 →
 
Nominee William Howard Taft William Jennings Bryan
Party Republican Democratic
Home state Ohio Nebraska
Running mate James S. Sherman John W. Kern
Electoral vote 12 0
Popular vote 265,298 182,522
Percentage 56.80% 39.07%

County Results

President before election

Theodore Roosevelt
Republican

Elected President

William Howard Taft
Republican

The 1908 United States presidential election in New Jersey took place on November 3, 1908. All contemporary 46 states were part of the 1908 United States presidential election. Voters chose 14 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.

New Jersey was won by the Republican nominees, United States Secretary of War William Howard Taft of Ohio and his running mate Congressman James S. Sherman of New York. Taft and Sherman defeated the Democratic nominees, former Congressman and two-time prior presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska and his running mate Senator John W. Kern of Indiana. Also in the running was the Socialist Party candidate, Eugene V. Debs, who ran with Ben Hanford.

Taft carried New Jersey comfortably with 56.80 percent of the vote to Bryan's 39.07 percent, a victory margin of 17.72 percent.[1]

Eugene Debs came in a distant third, with 2.19 percent.

Like much of the Northeast, New Jersey in the early decades of the 20th century was a staunchly Republican state, having not given a majority of the vote to a Democratic presidential candidate since 1892. While winning a comfortable victory nationwide, Taft easily held New Jersey in the Republican column in 1908. On the county-level map, Taft carried 18 of the state's 21 counties, breaking 60% of the vote in 8 counties. Bryan won only the three rural counties in western North Jersey, Warren, Sussex, and Hunterdon, which had long been non-Yankee Democratic enclaves in the otherwise Republican Northeast.[2]

New Jersey's election result in 1908 made the state over 9% more Republican than the national average. This is the last time a Republican won the election without Hunterdon, Warren, and Sussex counties.

Bryan had previously lost New Jersey twice to William McKinley in 1896 and 1900.

Results

[edit]
1908 United States presidential election in New Jersey
Party Candidate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Republican William Howard Taft 265,298 56.80% 12
Democratic William Jennings Bryan 182,522 39.07% 0
Socialist Eugene V. Debs 10,249 2.19% 0
Prohibition Eugene W. Chafin 4,930 1.06% 0
Independence League Thomas L. Hisgen 2,916 0.62% 0
Socialist Labor August Gillhaus 1,196 0.26% 0
Totals 467,111 100.0% 12

Results by county

[edit]
County William Howard Taft[3]
Republican
William Jennings Bryan[3]
Democratic
Eugene Victor Debs[3]
Socialist
Eugene Wilder Chafin[3]
Prohibition
Various candidates[3]
Other parties
Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # % # % # %
Atlantic 8,822 63.71% 4,577 33.05% 76 0.55% 342 2.47% 30 0.22% 4,245 30.66% 13,847
Bergen 14,042 61.51% 7,628 33.42% 575 2.52% 219 0.96% 364 1.59% 6,414 28.10% 22,828
Burlington 9,020 57.16% 6,274 39.76% 140 0.89% 299 1.89% 46 0.29% 2,746 17.40% 15,779
Camden 18,999 61.32% 10,469 33.79% 697 2.25% 711 2.29% 107 0.35% 8,530 27.53% 30,983
Cape May 2,937 63.27% 1,553 33.46% 33 0.71% 111 2.39% 8 0.17% 1,384 29.81% 4,642
Cumberland 6,770 56.56% 4,521 37.77% 158 1.32% 476 3.98% 45 0.38% 2,249 18.79% 11,970
Essex 53,687 61.71% 30,191 34.70% 2,205 2.53% 317 0.36% 604 0.69% 23,496 27.01% 87,004
Gloucester 5,318 56.37% 3,707 39.29% 72 0.76% 322 3.41% 15 0.16% 1,611 17.08% 9,434
Hudson 41,967 48.91% 39,637 46.20% 2,776 3.24% 172 0.20% 1,244 1.45% 2,330 2.72% 85,796
Hunterdon 3,733 43.04% 4,737 54.62% 29 0.33% 140 1.61% 34 0.39% -1,004 -11.58% 8,673
Mercer 14,941 58.99% 9,289 36.67% 687 2.71% 284 1.12% 128 0.51% 5,652 22.31% 25,329
Middlesex 11,261 57.57% 7,940 40.59% 98 0.50% 134 0.69% 127 0.65% 3,321 16.98% 19,560
Monmouth 12,519 56.29% 9,252 41.60% 137 0.62% 204 0.92% 127 0.57% 3,267 14.69% 22,239
Morris 9,089 61.16% 5,026 33.82% 367 2.47% 243 1.64% 137 0.92% 4,063 27.34% 14,862
Ocean 3,326 65.15% 1,634 32.01% 22 0.43% 89 1.74% 34 0.67% 1,692 33.14% 5,105
Passaic 17,635 55.96% 11,961 37.96% 1,086 3.45% 241 0.76% 588 1.87% 5,674 18.01% 31,511
Salem 3,713 52.91% 3,173 45.22% 36 0.51% 88 1.25% 7 0.10% 540 7.70% 7,017
Somerset 5,043 59.43% 3,271 38.55% 24 0.28% 94 1.11% 53 0.62% 1,772 20.88% 8,485
Sussex 2,653 44.25% 3,214 53.61% 36 0.60% 70 1.17% 22 0.37% -561 -9.36% 5,995
Union 15,919 60.90% 8,806 33.69% 912 3.49% 132 0.50% 370 1.42% 7,113 27.21% 26,139
Warren 3,904 39.38% 5,662 57.12% 83 0.84% 242 2.44% 22 0.22% -1,758 -17.73% 9,913
Totals 265,298 56.80% 182,522 39.07% 10,249 2.19% 4,930 1.06% 4,112 0.88% 82,776 17.72% 467,111

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "1908 Presidential General Election Results – New Jersey". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
  2. ^ Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, pp. 121-134 ISBN 978-0-691-16324-6
  3. ^ a b c d e Géoelections; Popular Vote at the Presidential Election for 1908 (.xlsx file for €30 including full minor party figures)