The 1928 United States presidential election in North Carolina was held on November 6, 1928. North Carolina voters chose twelve electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
1928 United States presidential election in North Carolina
As a former Confederate state, North Carolina had a history of Jim Crow laws, disfranchisement of its African-American population and dominance of the Democratic Party in state politics. However, unlike the Deep South, the Republican Party had sufficient historic Unionist White support from the mountains and northwestern Piedmont to gain a stable one-third of the statewide vote total in most general elections,[1] where turnout was higher than elsewhere in the former Confederacy due substantially to the state’s early abolition of the poll tax in 1920.[2] A rapid move following disenfranchisement to a completely “lily-white” state GOP also helped maintain Republican support amongst the state’s voters.[3] Like Virginia, Tennessee and Oklahoma, the relative strength of Republican opposition meant that North Carolina did not have statewide White primaries, although certain counties did use the White primary.[4]
At the beginning of October, polls were suggesting that despite the divide in the state’s Democrats, Smith would carry the state, and he visited Raleigh in mid-October.[5] This prediction of a Smith victory despite Protestant opposition to his Catholicism and his anti-Prohibition views seemed confirmed in the days before the poll.[6] However, with late counting, it became apparent that Smith had lost the state alongside Virginia, Florida and Texas.[7]
Hoover’s victory was due to a combination of anti-Catholicism – at its strongest in the fishing communities of the Outer Banks, where he carried several counties that had gone to John W. Davis in 1924 by four- or five-to-one margins – with increasing middle-class Republican voting in such cities as Charlotte, Durham and Greensboro.[8] Although the state’s Black Belt remained extremely loyal to Smith,[9] this was not enough to come close to holding the state against traditional Appalachian Republicanism alongside urban and Outer Banks trends against him. Overall, Hoover won North Carolina by 9.88 percent, which made it his second-best state in the former Confederacy after Florida, and the only occasion between 1876 and 1964 North Carolina would vote Republican. The state would subsequently vote solidly Democratic until Richard Nixon won the state in 1968.
With all other prominent Democrats sitting the election out,[13] the party nominated Alfred E. Smith, four-term Governor of New York as its nominee for 1928, with little opposition. The response in the South was one of anger, because Smith was a devout Catholic, opposed to Prohibition, linked with New York City's Tammany Hall political machine, and the son of Irish and Italian immigrants. Whilst it is generally thought that the South would have accepted a man possessing one of those characteristics,[14] the combination proved a bitter dose for many of North Carolina's loyal Democrats. Bishop James M. Cannon summoned a meeting of church leaders in Asheville on July 18 to
organize for the “defeat of the wet Tammany candidate for president”[15]
At this Asheville assembly Bishop Horace DuBose said that Smith’s candidacy posed
the greatest moral crisis in the nation's history and perhaps in the history of mankind.[15]
The loyalties of the state Democratic Party – less factionalized than other southern parties because of the consistent Republican opposition[16] – became further strained when long-serving Senator Furnifold McLendel Simmons refused to support the New York Governor. He argued firstly that Smith’s nomination would be extremely dangerous because it would produce a “vexatious” campaign unreasonably focused on religion and Prohibition, and secondly that Smith’s followers wanted to eliminate him.[17] With the aid of Frank R. McNich[18] and church leaders, Simmons created the “Anti-Smith Democrats”, who became opposed by other leading Democrats such as Josiah W. Bailey (who would unseat Simmons from his Senate seat) and Josephus Daniels.[17] The state’s press was equally split over Smith, with The Charlotte Observer and Charlotte News especially unwilling to endorse him against Republican nominee, Secretary of CommerceHerbert Hoover.
^Key, Valdimer Orlando; Southern Politics in State and Nation, p. 502, Alfred A. Knopf (1949)
^Heersink, Boris; Jenkins, Jeffery A. Republican Party Politics and the American South, 1865–1968. pp. 48–50, 239–243. ISBN9781316663950.
^Klarman, Michael J. (2001). "The White Primary Rulings: A Case Study in the Consequences of Supreme Court Decision-Making". Florida State University Law Review. 29: 55–107.
^Merrill, Charles (October 11, 1928). "Raleigh Will Give Smith Warm Welcome Today: North Carolina Seems Safe For Governor Unless Simmons Comes Out For Hoover, Says Merrill". Daily Boston Globe. p. 16.
^"State Forecasts Lean to Hoover: Reports From Close States Take View That He Is Stronger Than Smith". The New York Times. November 4, 1928. p. 33.
^"Hoover's Plurality 5,000,000, Congress Safely Republican: Late Returns Add to Republican Nominee's Hold On 40 States and Electoral Vote of 444". Daily Boston Globe. November 8, 1928. p. 1.
^Phillips; The Emerging Republican Majority, pp. 212-215
^Phillips, The Emerging Republican Majority, p. 303
^Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
^"1928 Presidential General Election Results – North Carolina". Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas.
^"NC US President Race, November 06, 1928". Our Campaigns.
^Warren, Kenneth F. Encyclopedia of U.S. campaigns, elections, and electoral behavior: A-M, Volume 1. p. 620. ISBN1412954894.
^Kennedy, David M.; Cohen, Elizabeth. The American Pageant, Volume 2. p. 739. ISBN1111831432.
^ abBauman, Mark K.; ‘Prohibition and Politics: Warren Candler and Al Smith’s 1928 Campaign’; The Mississippi Quarterly, volume 31, no. 1 (Winter 1977–78), pp. 109-117
^Grayson, A.G. (December 1975). "North Carolina and Harry Truman, 1944-1948". Journal of American Studies (3): 283–300.
^ abWatson jr., Richard L. (October 1960). "A Political Leader Bolts: F.M. Simmons in the Presidential Election of 1928". North Carolina Historical Review. 37 (4): 516–543.
^Oulahan, Richard V. (September 22, 1928). ""Tar Heel" Press Split Over Smith: Some Democratic Papers Follow Senator Simmons – Others Openly Laud Hoover". Special to The New York Times. p. 3.
February 15, 2024
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Main article 1928 United States presidential election The 1928 United States presidential election in North Carolina was held on November 6 1928 North Carolina voters chose twelve electors to the Electoral College who voted for president and vice president 1928 United States presidential election in North Carolina 1924 November 6 1928 1932 Nominee Herbert Hoover Al SmithParty Republican DemocraticHome state California New YorkRunning mate Charles Curtis Joseph T RobinsonElectoral vote 12 0Popular vote 348 923 286 227Percentage 54 94 45 06 County Results Hoover 50 60 60 70 70 80 80 90 Smith 50 60 60 70 70 80 80 90 President before electionCalvin CoolidgeRepublican Elected President Herbert HooverRepublicanAs a former Confederate state North Carolina had a history of Jim Crow laws disfranchisement of its African American population and dominance of the Democratic Party in state politics However unlike the Deep South the Republican Party had sufficient historic Unionist White support from the mountains and northwestern Piedmont to gain a stable one third of the statewide vote total in most general elections 1 where turnout was higher than elsewhere in the former Confederacy due substantially to the state s early abolition of the poll tax in 1920 2 A rapid move following disenfranchisement to a completely lily white state GOP also helped maintain Republican support amongst the state s voters 3 Like Virginia Tennessee and Oklahoma the relative strength of Republican opposition meant that North Carolina did not have statewide White primaries although certain counties did use the White primary 4 At the beginning of October polls were suggesting that despite the divide in the state s Democrats Smith would carry the state and he visited Raleigh in mid October 5 This prediction of a Smith victory despite Protestant opposition to his Catholicism and his anti Prohibition views seemed confirmed in the days before the poll 6 However with late counting it became apparent that Smith had lost the state alongside Virginia Florida and Texas 7 Hoover s victory was due to a combination of anti Catholicism at its strongest in the fishing communities of the Outer Banks where he carried several counties that had gone to John W Davis in 1924 by four or five to one margins with increasing middle class Republican voting in such cities as Charlotte Durham and Greensboro 8 Although the state s Black Belt remained extremely loyal to Smith 9 this was not enough to come close to holding the state against traditional Appalachian Republicanism alongside urban and Outer Banks trends against him Overall Hoover won North Carolina by 9 88 percent which made it his second best state in the former Confederacy after Florida and the only occasion between 1876 and 1964 North Carolina would vote Republican The state would subsequently vote solidly Democratic until Richard Nixon won the state in 1968 As of the 2020 presidential election update this is the last election in which Orange County voted for a Republican presidential candidate 10 Contents 1 Results 1 1 Results by county 2 Analysis 3 ReferencesResults edit1928 United States presidential election in North Carolina 11 Party Candidate Votes Republican Herbert Hoover 348 923 54 94 Democratic Al Smith 286 227 45 06 Total votes 635 150 100 Results by county edit 1928 United States presidential election in North Carolina by county 12 County Herbert Clark HooverRepublican Alfred Emmanuel SmithDemocratic Margin Avery 89 35 3 273 10 65 390 78 71 2 883Yadkin 83 60 3 878 16 40 761 67 19 3 117Madison 81 38 4 776 18 62 1 093 62 75 3 683Mitchell 80 60 3 436 19 40 827 61 20 2 609Wilkes 73 59 7 808 26 41 2 802 47 18 5 006Davie 73 17 2 959 26 83 1 085 46 34 1 874Sampson 70 94 5 579 29 06 2 285 41 89 3 294Forsyth 66 63 13 258 33 37 6 639 33 27 6 619Durham 66 06 8 723 33 94 4 482 32 12 4 241Surry 65 79 7 015 34 21 3 647 31 59 3 368Stokes 65 61 3 759 34 39 1 970 31 23 1 789Brunswick 65 48 1 931 34 52 1 018 30 96 913Caldwell 64 74 4 207 35 26 2 291 29 49 1 916Burke 63 94 5 108 36 06 2 881 27 88 2 227Randolph 63 90 7 414 36 10 4 188 27 81 3 226Davidson 63 19 8 960 36 81 5 220 26 38 3 740Cherokee 62 89 3 239 37 11 1 911 25 79 1 328Guilford 62 62 16 541 37 38 9 872 25 25 6 669Rowan 62 46 7 957 37 54 4 783 24 91 3 174Henderson 62 33 5 210 37 67 3 149 24 66 2 061Rockingham 62 08 5 585 37 92 3 411 24 17 2 174Alamance 61 52 6 810 38 48 4 260 23 04 2 550New Hanover 60 62 4 248 39 38 2 760 21 23 1 488Catawba 60 58 7 556 39 42 4 916 21 17 2 640Stanly 60 51 4 597 39 49 3 000 21 02 1 597Carteret 60 51 3 133 39 49 2 045 21 01 1 088Johnston 60 42 7 696 39 58 5 041 20 84 2 655Alexander 60 20 2 605 39 80 1 722 20 41 883Gaston 59 14 9 702 40 86 6 702 18 29 3 000Swain 59 04 2 484 40 96 1 723 18 09 761Orange 58 77 2 564 41 23 1 799 17 53 765Rutherford 58 16 5 762 41 84 4 146 16 31 1 616Iredell 58 12 6 712 41 88 4 836 16 25 1 876Jones 57 52 658 42 48 486 15 03 172Lincoln 57 43 3 930 42 57 2 913 14 86 1 017Cabarrus 57 35 6 548 42 65 4 869 14 71 1 679Buncombe 57 22 16 590 42 78 12 405 14 43 4 185Harnett 57 15 4 740 42 85 3 554 14 30 1 186Macon 56 99 2 903 43 01 2 191 13 98 712Washington 56 85 1 183 43 15 898 13 70 285Montgomery 56 82 2 653 43 18 2 016 13 64 637Graham 56 68 1 260 43 32 963 13 36 297Pender 56 57 1 300 43 43 998 13 14 302Transylvania 55 70 2 165 44 30 1 722 11 40 443Ashe 55 64 4 337 44 36 3 458 11 28 879Pamlico 55 59 1 099 44 41 878 11 18 221Moore 55 49 3 290 44 51 2 639 10 98 651Mecklenburg 55 41 12 041 44 59 9 690 10 82 2 351Chatham 55 32 3 318 44 68 2 680 10 64 638Columbus 55 32 3 533 44 68 2 854 10 63 679Bladen 55 18 1 911 44 82 1 552 10 37 359Clay 55 05 1 106 44 95 903 10 10 203Watauga 54 94 3 159 45 06 2 591 9 88 568Onslow 53 89 1 253 46 11 1 072 7 78 181Wayne 53 85 4 340 46 15 3 720 7 69 620Polk 53 68 1 873 46 32 1 616 7 37 257Hyde 53 62 682 46 38 590 7 23 92Jackson 52 55 3 512 47 45 3 171 5 10 341Duplin 52 37 2 911 47 63 2 647 4 75 264Yancey 52 27 2 712 47 73 2 476 4 55 236Cumberland 51 73 3 534 48 27 3 297 3 47 237Haywood 51 73 4 472 48 27 4 173 3 46 299Tyrrell 51 53 505 48 47 475 3 06 30McDowell 49 95 3 423 50 05 3 430 0 10 7Perquimans 49 63 600 50 37 609 0 74 9Gates 49 38 558 50 62 572 1 24 14Cleveland 49 24 4 766 50 76 4 914 1 53 148Alleghany 49 17 1 368 50 83 1 414 1 65 46Dare 47 97 814 52 03 883 4 07 69Person 47 63 1 123 52 37 1 235 4 75 112Craven 47 28 2 237 52 72 2 494 5 43 257Union 46 29 2 448 53 71 2 840 7 41 392Lee 45 23 1 416 54 77 1 715 9 55 299Caswell 44 45 749 55 55 936 11 10 187Wake 41 84 6 720 58 16 9 341 16 32 2 621Beaufort 41 64 2 521 58 36 3 533 16 72 1 012Richmond 40 74 2 045 59 26 2 975 18 53 930Vance 37 70 1 449 62 30 2 395 24 61 946Robeson 36 91 2 767 63 09 4 730 26 18 1 963Lenoir 35 68 1 311 64 32 2 363 28 63 1 052Wilson 35 35 1 933 64 65 3 535 29 30 1 602Nash 32 72 2 066 67 28 4 249 34 57 2 183Greene 31 46 542 68 54 1 181 37 09 639Pasquotank 29 52 814 70 48 1 943 40 95 1 129Camden 28 19 245 71 81 624 43 61 379Hertford 27 62 393 72 38 1 030 44 76 637Chowan 27 33 352 72 67 936 45 34 584Scotland 25 03 588 74 97 1 761 49 94 1 173Pitt 23 09 1 395 76 91 4 646 53 82 3 251Granville 22 46 858 77 54 2 962 55 08 2 104Hoke 21 23 311 78 77 1 154 57 54 843Northampton 20 93 456 79 07 1 723 58 15 1 267Franklin 20 48 729 79 52 2 831 59 04 2 102Anson 19 77 726 80 23 2 947 60 47 2 221Edgecombe 18 93 977 81 07 4 184 62 14 3 207Bertie 15 75 374 84 25 2 000 68 49 1 626Warren 15 69 379 84 31 2 037 68 63 1 658Halifax 15 42 890 84 58 4 882 69 16 3 992Martin 12 73 411 87 27 2 818 74 54 2 407Currituck 11 70 166 88 30 1 253 76 60 1 087Analysis editWith all other prominent Democrats sitting the election out 13 the party nominated Alfred E Smith four term Governor of New York as its nominee for 1928 with little opposition The response in the South was one of anger because Smith was a devout Catholic opposed to Prohibition linked with New York City s Tammany Hall political machine and the son of Irish and Italian immigrants Whilst it is generally thought that the South would have accepted a man possessing one of those characteristics 14 the combination proved a bitter dose for many of North Carolina s loyal Democrats Bishop James M Cannon summoned a meeting of church leaders in Asheville on July 18 toorganize for the defeat of the wet Tammany candidate for president 15 At this Asheville assembly Bishop Horace DuBose said that Smith s candidacy posedthe greatest moral crisis in the nation s history and perhaps in the history of mankind 15 The loyalties of the state Democratic Party less factionalized than other southern parties because of the consistent Republican opposition 16 became further strained when long serving Senator Furnifold McLendel Simmons refused to support the New York Governor He argued firstly that Smith s nomination would be extremely dangerous because it would produce a vexatious campaign unreasonably focused on religion and Prohibition and secondly that Smith s followers wanted to eliminate him 17 With the aid of Frank R McNich 18 and church leaders Simmons created the Anti Smith Democrats who became opposed by other leading Democrats such as Josiah W Bailey who would unseat Simmons from his Senate seat and Josephus Daniels 17 The state s press was equally split over Smith with The Charlotte Observer and Charlotte News especially unwilling to endorse him against Republican nominee Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover References edit Phillips Kevin P The Emerging Republican Majority pp 210 242 ISBN 978 0 691 16324 6 Key Valdimer Orlando Southern Politics in State and Nation p 502 Alfred A Knopf 1949 Heersink Boris Jenkins Jeffery A Republican Party Politics and the American South 1865 1968 pp 48 50 239 243 ISBN 9781316663950 Klarman Michael J 2001 The White Primary Rulings A Case Study in the Consequences of Supreme Court Decision Making Florida State University Law Review 29 55 107 Merrill Charles October 11 1928 Raleigh Will Give Smith Warm Welcome Today North Carolina Seems Safe For Governor Unless Simmons Comes Out For Hoover Says Merrill Daily Boston Globe p 16 State Forecasts Lean to Hoover Reports From Close States Take View That He Is Stronger Than Smith The New York Times November 4 1928 p 33 Hoover s Plurality 5 000 000 Congress Safely Republican Late Returns Add to Republican Nominee s Hold On 40 States and Electoral Vote of 444 Daily Boston Globe November 8 1928 p 1 Phillips The Emerging Republican Majority pp 212 215 Phillips The Emerging Republican Majority p 303 Sullivan Robert David How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century America Magazine in The National Catholic Review June 29 2016 1928 Presidential General Election Results North Carolina Dave Leip s U S Election Atlas NC US President Race November 06 1928 Our Campaigns Warren Kenneth F Encyclopedia of U S campaigns elections and electoral behavior A M Volume 1 p 620 ISBN 1412954894 Kennedy David M Cohen Elizabeth The American Pageant Volume 2 p 739 ISBN 1111831432 a b Bauman Mark K Prohibition and Politics Warren Candler and Al Smith s 1928 Campaign The Mississippi Quarterly volume 31 no 1 Winter 1977 78 pp 109 117 Grayson A G December 1975 North Carolina and Harry Truman 1944 1948 Journal of American Studies 3 283 300 a b Watson jr Richard L October 1960 A Political Leader Bolts F M Simmons in the Presidential Election of 1928 North Carolina Historical Review 37 4 516 543 Oulahan Richard V September 22 1928 Tar Heel Press Split Over Smith Some Democratic Papers Follow Senator Simmons Others Openly Laud Hoover Special to The New York Times p 3 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1928 United States presidential election in North Carolina amp oldid 1182857203, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
