1908 United States presidential election in Kansas explained

See main article: 1908 United States presidential election.

Election Name:1908 United States presidential election in Kansas
Country:Kansas
Flag Year:1927
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:1904 United States presidential election in Kansas
Previous Year:1904
Next Election:1912 United States presidential election in Kansas
Next Year:1912
Election Date:November 3, 1908
Image1:William Howard Taft, Bain bw photo portrait, 1908.jpg
Nominee1:William Howard Taft
Party1:Republican Party (United States)
Home State1:Ohio
Running Mate1:James S. Sherman
Electoral Vote1:10
Popular Vote1:197,216
Percentage1:52.46%
Nominee2:William Jennings Bryan
Party2:Democratic Party (United States)
Home State2:Nebraska
Running Mate2:John W. Kern
Electoral Vote2:0
Popular Vote2:161,209
Percentage2:42.88%
Map Size:300px
President
Before Election:Theodore Roosevelt
Before Party:Republican Party (United States)
After Election:William Howard Taft
After Party:Republican Party (United States)

The 1908 United States presidential election in Kansas was held on November 3, 1908 as part of the 1908 United States presidential election. Kansas voters chose ten electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

In its first thirty years as a state Kansas had been powerfully Republican, but with the Populist movement and major agricultural crises the state turned to James B. Weaver in 1892 and William Jennings Bryan in 1896;[1] however, President William McKinley won a rematch with Bryan in 1900. With the return to a conservative “Gold Democrat” candidate in 1904, Kansas reverted to rock-solid Republican as Alton B. Parker failed to carry a single county in the state against Theodore Roosevelt.

Bryan was nominated as the Democratic candidate for president for the third time. However, by October, most predictions suggested that Bryan would not win over the voters who had deserted Parker, and be unsuccessful in his attempt to emulate his “Commoner” success of 1896.[2]

On election day, Republican candidate William Howard Taft carried Kansas by 9.60 points, an improvement of over 2 points upon McKinley's 1900 result and of 13.26 points upon the Republican result from 1896, despite Bryan campaigning in the state at the beginning of November.[3] His underperformance was in part attributed to the fact that Kansas’ local Republicans supported Taft's plan to guarantee bank deposits for all customers through the state treasurer.[4]

As of 2020, this remains the only time that Kansas has ever voted for a different presidential candidate than neighboring Nebraska.

Results

Presidential CandidateRunning MatePartyElectoral Vote (EV)Popular Vote (PV)
William Howard Taft of OhioJames S. ShermanRepublican10[5] 197,21652.46%
William Jennings BryanJohn W. KernDemocratic0161,20942.88%
Eugene V. DebsBen HanfordSocialist012,4203.30%
Eugene W. ChafinAaron S. WatkinsProhibition05,0331.34%
Thomas L. HisgenJohn Temple GravesIndependent0680.02%

Results by county

1908 United States presidential election in Kansas by county[6]
CountyWilliam Howard Taft
Republican
William Jennings Bryan
Democratic
Eugene Victor Debs
Social Democratic
Eugene Wilder Chafin
Prohibition
Thomas Louis Higsen
Independent
MarginTotal votes cast
%%%%%%
Allen3,28353.80%2,57942.26%2043.34%360.59%00.00%70411.54%6,102
Anderson1,72251.25%1,51245.00%651.93%611.82%00.00%2106.25%3,360
Atchison3,24454.94%2,59343.91%480.81%180.30%20.03%65111.02%5,905
Barber1,09753.72%86442.31%452.20%361.76%00.00%23311.41%2,042
Barton1,72944.83%2,00451.96%1002.59%240.62%00.00%-275-7.13%3,857
Bourbon2,69547.83%2,68647.67%2113.75%420.75%00.00%90.16%5,634
Brown2,77856.31%2,04441.44%611.24%501.01%00.00%73414.88%4,933
Butler3,04953.97%2,29040.54%1492.64%1602.83%10.02%75913.44%5,649
Chase1,02153.04%83443.32%462.39%241.25%00.00%1879.71%1,925
Chautauqua1,68960.19%95834.14%1485.27%110.39%00.00%73126.05%2,806
Cherokee3,89344.26%3,81943.42%1,03011.71%510.58%20.02%740.84%8,795
Cheyenne48654.30%33937.88%414.58%202.23%91.01%14716.42%895
Clark38649.87%35045.22%243.10%121.55%20.26%364.65%774
Clay1,85852.96%1,49542.62%1022.91%521.48%10.03%36310.35%3,508
Cloud2,17052.24%1,66340.03%2445.87%761.83%10.02%50712.21%4,154
Coffey2,09453.38%1,72944.07%350.89%631.61%20.05%3659.30%3,923
Comanche39259.67%24537.29%101.52%101.52%00.00%14722.37%657
Cowley3,57850.55%2,99542.31%3965.59%1091.54%00.00%5838.24%7,078
Crawford5,15246.55%4,23038.22%1,63114.74%540.49%10.01%9228.33%11,068
Decatur89839.18%1,25054.54%944.10%411.79%90.39%-352-15.36%2,292
Dickinson2,88653.31%2,28242.15%1522.81%941.74%00.00%60411.16%5,414
Doniphan2,30766.46%1,11332.07%330.95%180.52%00.00%1,19434.40%3,471
Douglas3,27960.63%2,01037.17%490.91%701.29%00.00%1,26923.47%5,408
Edwards77350.23%70445.74%271.75%352.27%00.00%694.48%1,539
Elk1,45454.11%1,18744.18%250.93%210.78%00.00%2679.94%2,687
Ellis76834.50%1,42163.84%200.90%170.76%00.00%-653-29.34%2,226
Ellsworth1,21352.95%1,03945.35%130.57%261.13%00.00%1747.59%2,291
Finney1,00061.46%55133.87%583.56%181.11%00.00%44927.60%1,627
Ford1,33353.28%1,08943.53%441.76%361.44%00.00%2449.75%2,502
Franklin2,65852.74%2,15542.76%931.85%1342.66%00.00%5039.98%5,040
Geary1,25753.38%1,03343.86%381.61%271.15%00.00%2249.51%2,355
Gove63255.15%45639.79%322.79%262.27%00.00%17615.36%1,146
Graham91152.24%72341.46%955.45%150.86%00.00%18810.78%1,744
Grant17854.77%13340.92%123.69%20.62%00.00%4513.85%325
Gray37246.79%33842.52%648.05%212.64%00.00%344.28%795
Greeley20664.58%8927.90%216.58%30.94%00.00%11736.68%319
Greenwood2,37059.16%1,54538.57%691.72%220.55%00.00%82520.59%4,006
Hamilton41557.32%27537.98%304.14%40.55%00.00%14019.34%724
Harper1,49048.46%1,40445.66%1123.64%692.24%00.00%862.80%3,075
Harvey2,30558.30%1,47537.30%992.50%741.87%10.03%83020.99%3,954
Haskell17248.73%13939.38%3610.20%61.70%00.00%339.35%353
Hodgeman41157.08%29040.28%70.97%121.67%00.00%12116.81%720
Jackson2,20158.65%1,49439.81%170.45%391.04%20.05%70718.84%3,753
Jefferson2,27055.57%1,72042.11%641.57%310.76%00.00%55013.46%4,085
Jewell2,41053.48%1,93242.88%541.20%1102.44%00.00%47810.61%4,506
Johnson2,31351.17%2,09146.26%881.95%280.62%00.00%2224.91%4,520
Kearny43556.64%30439.58%263.39%30.39%00.00%13117.06%768
Kingman1,44247.26%1,47948.48%842.75%451.47%10.03%-37-1.21%3,051
Kiowa69959.49%40934.81%373.15%302.55%00.00%29024.68%1,175
Labette3,36749.17%2,78340.64%6439.39%540.79%10.01%5848.53%6,848
Lane35751.52%27139.11%497.07%162.31%00.00%8612.41%693
Leavenworth4,84653.87%3,81842.44%2883.20%430.48%10.01%1,02811.43%8,996
Lincoln1,21850.27%1,11746.10%582.39%301.24%00.00%1014.17%2,423
Linn1,95051.79%1,65744.01%1263.35%310.82%10.03%2937.78%3,765
Logan52459.34%30834.88%323.62%182.04%10.11%21624.46%883
Lyon2,97350.87%2,56243.84%1612.75%1472.52%10.02%4117.03%5,844
Marion2,54657.45%1,74739.42%571.29%801.81%20.05%79918.03%4,432
Marshall3,29655.91%2,51442.65%320.54%530.90%00.00%78213.27%5,895
McPherson2,70857.39%1,90540.37%551.17%511.08%00.00%80317.02%4,719
Meade56056.22%38638.76%262.61%242.41%00.00%17417.47%996
Miami2,47551.03%2,25646.52%911.88%260.54%20.04%2194.52%4,850
Mitchell1,76550.50%1,57044.92%1183.38%421.20%00.00%1955.58%3,495
Montgomery5,16652.10%4,03040.64%6616.67%570.57%20.02%1,13611.46%9,916
Morris1,78857.53%1,27340.96%190.61%280.90%00.00%51516.57%3,108
Morton15450.49%14045.90%61.97%51.64%00.00%144.59%305
Nemaha2,39451.57%2,18247.01%320.69%330.71%10.02%2124.57%4,642
Neosho2,92953.15%2,38643.30%1663.01%290.53%10.02%5439.85%5,511
Ness63547.96%46134.82%1098.23%1178.84%20.15%17413.14%1,324
Norton1,44849.76%1,33745.95%592.03%662.27%00.00%1113.81%2,910
Osage2,67150.30%2,28843.09%2644.97%861.62%10.02%3837.21%5,310
Osborne1,66555.30%1,13237.60%451.49%1695.61%00.00%53317.70%3,011
Ottawa1,44450.54%1,26544.28%832.91%652.28%00.00%1796.27%2,857
Pawnee1,00048.43%96146.54%683.29%361.74%00.00%391.89%2,065
Phillips1,76252.25%1,49044.19%651.93%551.63%00.00%2728.07%3,372
Pottawatomie2,65060.78%1,68038.53%110.25%190.44%00.00%97022.25%4,360
Pratt1,19350.53%1,02743.50%672.84%733.09%10.04%1667.03%2,361
Rawlins71947.36%73248.22%593.89%70.46%10.07%-13-0.86%1,518
Reno4,09252.72%3,38143.56%1752.25%1141.47%00.00%7119.16%7,762
Republic2,15651.79%1,90545.76%350.84%671.61%00.00%2516.03%4,163
Rice1,83251.35%1,40739.43%1103.08%2176.08%20.06%42511.91%3,568
Riley2,27661.71%1,28934.95%651.76%581.57%00.00%98726.76%3,688
Rooks1,28053.13%1,00341.64%753.11%512.12%00.00%27711.50%2,409
Rush76445.02%89452.68%301.77%90.53%00.00%-130-7.66%1,697
Russell1,36057.12%97640.99%271.13%180.76%00.00%38416.13%2,381
Saline2,29750.15%2,13446.59%1162.53%330.72%00.00%1633.56%4,580
Scott32447.09%29442.73%618.87%81.16%10.15%304.36%688
Sedgwick6,75650.25%6,04944.99%3902.90%2471.84%30.02%7075.26%13,445
Seward42748.09%41346.51%333.72%151.69%00.00%141.58%888
Shawnee7,55456.28%5,58541.61%1701.27%1120.83%00.00%1,96914.67%13,421
Sheridan63948.89%63148.28%221.68%151.15%00.00%80.61%1,307
Sherman43943.64%50850.50%464.57%131.29%00.00%-69-6.86%1,006
Smith1,84351.65%1,59344.65%511.43%782.19%30.08%2507.01%3,568
Stafford1,33450.99%1,13543.39%481.83%993.78%00.00%1997.61%2,616
Stanton18060.81%10736.15%62.03%31.01%00.00%7324.66%296
Stevens25848.22%21540.19%397.29%234.30%00.00%438.04%535
Sumner3,23551.30%2,77243.96%2043.24%951.51%00.00%4637.34%6,306
Thomas56944.98%63049.80%443.48%221.74%00.00%-61-4.82%1,265
Trego61754.65%45840.57%322.83%201.77%20.18%15914.08%1,129
Wabaunsee1,84960.25%1,16337.90%240.78%331.08%00.00%68622.35%3,069
Wallace35059.32%20634.92%233.90%111.86%00.00%14424.41%590
Washington2,71157.51%1,90440.39%460.98%531.12%00.00%80717.12%4,714
Wichita23354.31%17340.33%225.13%10.23%00.00%6013.99%429
Wilson2,42853.14%1,77738.89%3247.09%400.88%00.00%65114.25%4,569
Woodson1,25253.23%1,04744.52%411.74%120.51%00.00%2058.72%2,352
Wyandotte8,68447.56%8,92348.87%5282.89%1170.64%70.04%-239-1.31%18,259
Totals197,31652.47%161,20942.87%12,4203.30%5,0301.34%700.02%36,1079.60%376,045

See also

Notes and References

  1. [Kevin Phillips (political commentator)|Phillips, Kevin P.]
  2. ‘Roads Can't Handle Crops: Predicts That Bryan Will Carry Missouri and Taft Kansas’; San Francisco Chronicle, October 5, 1908, p. 3
  3. ‘Campaign Nears End: Hitchcock and Mack Rest. Stick to Forecasts of Last Week’; Boston Daily Globe, November 2, 1908, p.1
  4. ‘Nominee at Same Banquet: Taft and Bryan Will Meet at Chicago’; Boston Daily Globe, September 12, 1908, p. 2
  5. Web site: 1908 Presidential General Election Results – Kansas. Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas. 26 October 2019.
  6. Web site: Géoelections. Popular Vote at the Presidential Election for 1908. (.xlsx file for €30 including full minor party figures)