Colonel William A. Phillips

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The 1904 United States presidential election in Washington took place on November 8, 1904. All contemporary 45 states were part of the 1904 United States presidential election. Voters chose five electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.

This election would solidify the State of Washington as a one-party Republican bastion, which it would remain at a Presidential level apart from the 1910s GOP split until Franklin D. Roosevelt rose to power in 1932, and more or less continuously at state level during this era.[1] Democratic representation in the Washington legislature would during this period at times be countable on one hand,[2] and no Democrat other than Woodrow Wilson in 1916 would henceforth carry even one county in the state before Catholic Al Smith carried German-settled Ferry County in 1928. Republican primaries would take over as the chief mode of political competition when introduced later in the decade.[3]

President Roosevelt was extremely popular in Washington State because of his policies of reforming the railroads, creating a Department of Commerce and Labor and conserving the forest resources that were at the time heavily exploited by big business.[3] Parker's re-emphasis on the Gold Standard, which harked back to Grover Cleveland, aroused no enthusiasm in Washington State.[4] Nor did Parker's opposition to Roosevelt's policy of imperialism in the Pacific,[5] with the result that Roosevelt's performance remains the best ever by any Presidential candidate since Washington's statehood in 1889. Parker did not win one third of the vote in a single county, and overall took just a little over nineteen percent of Washington State's ballots. Roosevelt would win Washington by a landslide margin of 50.59%. In fact, with 69.95% of the popular vote, Washington would be Roosevelt's fifth strongest victory in terms of percentage in the popular vote after Vermont, North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota.[6]

Socialist nominee Eugene V. Debs, whose campaign focused on trust-busting and the evils of monopoly,[7] travelled all around the nation in a charismatic campaign that netted him over four hundred thousand votes nationwide and almost nine percent in radical Washington State. In two counties Debs indeed outpolled Parker – a fate that would befall several other Democratic nominees in the state during the next two decades.

Results

1904 United States presidential election in Washington[8]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Republican Theodore Roosevelt (incumbent) 101,540 69.95% 5
Democratic Alton B. Parker 28,098 19.36% 0
Socialist Eugene V. Debs 10,023 6.91% 0
Prohibition Silas C. Swallow 3,229 2.22% 0
Socialist Labor Charles Hunter Corregan 1,592 1.10% 0
Populist Thomas E. Watson 669 0.46% 0
Totals 145,151 100.00% 5
Voter turnout

Results by county

County Theodore Roosevelt
Republican
Alton Brooks Parker
Democratic
Eugene Victor Debs[9]
Socialist
Silas Comfort Swallow[9]
Prohibition
Charles Hunter Corregan[9]
Socialist Labor
Thomas Edward Watson[9]
Populist
Margin Total votes cast[10]
# % # % # % # % # % # % # %
Adams 1,138 64.44% 548 31.03% 41 2.32% 30 1.70% 8 0.45% 1 0.06% 590 33.41% 1,766
Asotin 747 72.59% 227 22.06% 31 3.01% 12 1.17% 8 0.78% 4 0.39% 520 50.53% 1,029
Chehalis 2,589 68.13% 624 16.42% 460 12.11% 76 2.00% 39 1.03% 12 0.32% 1,965 51.71% 3,800
Chelan 1,248 72.18% 372 21.52% 49 2.83% 26 1.50% 16 0.93% 18 1.04% 876 50.67% 1,729
Clallam 903 68.15% 273 20.60% 125 9.43% 0 0.00% 14 1.06% 10 0.75% 630 47.55% 1,325
Clark 2,436 71.88% 515 15.20% 257 7.58% 134 3.95% 24 0.71% 23 0.68% 1,921 56.68% 3,389
Columbia 1,089 65.72% 482 29.09% 37 2.23% 39 2.35% 9 0.54% 1 0.06% 607 36.63% 1,657
Cowlitz 1,589 77.32% 317 15.43% 91 4.43% 40 1.95% 8 0.39% 10 0.49% 1,272 61.90% 2,055
Douglas 1,722 71.30% 577 23.89% 51 2.11% 28 1.16% 11 0.46% 26 1.08% 1,145 47.41% 2,415
Ferry 511 54.89% 297 31.90% 102 10.96% 4 0.43% 15 1.61% 2 0.21% 214 22.99% 931
Franklin 572 69.25% 223 27.00% 12 1.45% 9 1.09% 7 0.85% 3 0.36% 349 42.25% 826
Garfield 777 70.32% 267 24.16% 35 3.17% 19 1.72% 6 0.54% 1 0.09% 510 46.15% 1,105
Island 424 71.99% 83 14.09% 56 9.51% 15 2.55% 2 0.34% 9 1.53% 341 57.89% 589
Jefferson 962 73.60% 283 21.65% 38 2.91% 6 0.46% 16 1.22% 2 0.15% 679 51.95% 1,307
King 20,434 70.39% 5,266 18.14% 2,126 7.32% 597 2.06% 448 1.54% 158 0.54% 15,168 52.25% 29,029
Kitsap 1,736 69.19% 320 12.75% 329 13.11% 85 3.39% 30 1.20% 9 0.36% 1,407[a] 56.08% 2,509
Kittitas 1,787 64.86% 523 18.98% 291 10.56% 78 2.83% 72 2.61% 4 0.15% 1,264 45.88% 2,755
Klickitat 1,370 70.65% 362 18.67% 124 6.40% 69 3.56% 7 0.36% 7 0.36% 1,008 51.99% 1,939
Lewis 3,098 69.93% 896 20.23% 251 5.67% 129 2.91% 31 0.70% 25 0.56% 2,202 49.71% 4,430
Lincoln 2,472 67.41% 1,004 27.38% 107 2.92% 45 1.23% 7 0.19% 32 0.87% 1,468 40.03% 3,667
Mason 661 63.50% 315 30.26% 19 1.83% 17 1.63% 13 1.25% 16 1.54% 346 33.24% 1,041
Okanogan 1,192 66.63% 435 24.32% 98 5.48% 9 0.50% 32 1.79% 23 1.29% 757 42.31% 1,789
Pacific 1,354 76.98% 258 14.67% 122 6.94% 16 0.91% 9 0.51% 0 0.00% 1,096 62.31% 1,759
Pierce 9,773 70.63% 2,351 16.99% 1,102 7.96% 312 2.25% 245 1.77% 53 0.38% 7,422 53.64% 13,836
San Juan 554 71.95% 113 14.68% 67 8.70% 23 2.99% 8 1.04% 5 0.65% 441 57.27% 770
Skagit 3,051 69.93% 880 20.17% 284 6.51% 82 1.88% 36 0.83% 30 0.69% 2,171 49.76% 4,363
Skamania 297 68.43% 61 14.06% 68 15.67% 6 1.38% 2 0.46% 0 0.00% 229[a] 52.76% 434
Snohomish 6,025 71.69% 1,405 16.72% 592 7.04% 252 3.00% 100 1.19% 30 0.36% 4,620 54.97% 8,404
Spokane 10,258 71.71% 2,602 18.19% 944 6.60% 335 2.34% 125 0.87% 41 0.29% 7,656 53.52% 14,305
Stevens 2,369 63.31% 872 23.30% 393 10.50% 42 1.12% 44 1.18% 22 0.59% 1,497 40.01% 3,742
Thurston 2,121 68.51% 668 21.58% 234 7.56% 48 1.55% 16 0.52% 9 0.29% 1,453 46.93% 3,096
Wahkiakum 473 72.88% 101 15.56% 63 9.71% 7 1.08% 3 0.46% 2 0.31% 372 57.32% 649
Walla Walla 2,824 71.99% 956 24.37% 56 1.43% 55 1.40% 22 0.56% 10 0.25% 1,868 47.62% 3,923
Whatcom 5,410 70.41% 1,174 15.28% 693 9.02% 273 3.55% 100 1.30% 34 0.44% 4,236 55.13% 7,684
Whitman 4,090 66.48% 1,519 24.69% 317 5.15% 178 2.89% 24 0.39% 24 0.39% 2,571 41.79% 6,152
Yakima 3,484 70.36% 929 18.76% 358 7.23% 133 2.69% 35 0.71% 13 0.26% 2,555 51.60% 4,952
Totals 101,540 69.95% 28,098 19.36% 10,023 6.91% 3,229 2.22% 1,592 1.10% 669 0.46% 73,442 50.60% 145,151

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b In this county where Parker ran third behind Debs, margin given is Roosevelt vote minus Debs vote and percentage margin Roosevelt percentage minus Debs percentage.

References

  1. ^ Burnham, Walter Dean; ‘The System of 1896’, in Kleppner, Paul (editor), The Evolution of American Electoral Systems, pp. 176-179 ISBN 0313213798
  2. ^ Schattschneider, Elmer Eric; The Semisovereign People: A Realist's View of Democracy in America, pp. 76-84 ISBN 0030133661
  3. ^ a b Murray, Keith; ‘Issues and Personalities of Pacific Northwest Politics, 1889-1950’, The Pacific Northwest Quarterly, vol. 41, no. 3 (July 1950), pp. 213-233
  4. ^ Archer, Clark; Martis, Kenneth C. and Shelley, Fred M.; Historical Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections 1788-2004, p. 99 ISBN 1568029551
  5. ^ Warren, Kenneth F.; Encyclopedia of U.S. campaigns, elections, and electoral behavior: A-M, p. 609 ISBN 1412954894
  6. ^ "1904 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  7. ^ Egbert, Donald Drew and Bassett, Thomas D.; Socialism and American Life; p. 278 ISBN 1400875080
  8. ^ Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas; Presidential General Election Results – Washington
  9. ^ a b c d Géoelections; Popular Vote for Eugene V. Debs (1904) (.xlsx file for €15)
  10. ^ Robinson, Edgar Eugene; The Presidential Vote 1896-1932, pp. 364-367 ISBN 9780804716963