1916 United States presidential election in Washington (state) explained

See main article: 1916 United States presidential election.

The 1916 United States presidential election in Washington took place on November 2, 1920, as part of the 1916 United States presidential election in which all contemporary 48 states participated. Voters chose seven electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting Democratic incumbents Woodrow Wilson Thomas R. Marshall, against Republican challengers Associate Justice Charles Evans Hughes and his running mate, former Vice-President Charles W. Fairbanks.

Washington had been a one-party Republican bastion for twenty years before this election.^[1] Democratic representation in the Washington legislature would during this period at times be countable on one hand,^[2] and neither Alton B. Parker nor William Jennings Bryan in his third presidential run carried even one county in the state. Republican primaries had taken over as the chief mode of political competition when introduced in the late 1900s.^[3]

However, a powerful "peace vote" in the Western states^[4] due to opposition to participation in World War I, and the transfer of a considerable part of the substantial vote for Eugene Debs from the previous election to Wilson owing to such Progressive reforms as the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Amendments^[5] allowed Woodrow Wilson to carry Washington by a 4.25 percentage point margin. In doing this, Wilson was the first ever Democratic victor in the Western Washington Puget Sound counties of Island, San Juan and Kitsap,^[6] and the only Democrat between 1904 and 1924 to carry any Washington county in a two-way presidential race.

After the votes were counted, there was some debate over who should be the seventh elector from the state. One of the original electors on the Democratic ticket, A. T. Steam, died prior to election day. The state's Democratic party replaced him with Edwin M. Connor, but Stream's name was not replaced on the ballot in ten of Washington's 39 counties.^{[7] [8]} Since voters chose electors directly at the time, this resulted in a split of the vote between Connor and Steam and a Republican elector, Warren H. Lewis, received the seventh-most votes and therefore would be entitled to the final elector position and subsequently cast a vote for Charles Evans Hughes. Many believed, however, that given the voters' clear intent to elect Wilson and Washington's potential split not affecting the final outcome, Lewis should either cast his electoral vote for the Wilson ticket or step aside and allow Connor to be appointed the seventh elector. After consulting with the state's Republican committee, Lewis declined to contest Connor's appointment as elector.^{[9] [10]} As such, all seven of Washington's electoral votes were cast for Wilson and Marshall.

Results

Party! Pledged to! Elector! Votes

	Democratic Party	Woodrow Wilson	D. M. Drumheller	183,388
	Democratic Party	Woodrow Wilson	C. C. Brown	183,242
	Democratic Party	Woodrow Wilson	George F. Christensen	183,230
	Democratic Party	Woodrow Wilson	Francis Donahoe	183,028
	Democratic Party	Woodrow Wilson	Joseph A. Sloan	182,813
	Democratic Party	Woodrow Wilson	G. W. Hoxie	182,806
	Republican Party	Charles Evans Hughes	Warren H. Lewis	167,208
	Republican Party	Charles Evans Hughes	J. Henry Smith	166,406
	Republican Party	Charles Evans Hughes	George E. Finley	166,375
	Republican Party	Charles Evans Hughes	Luther Weedin	166,340
	Republican Party	Charles Evans Hughes	E. E. Beard	166,298
	Republican Party	Charles Evans Hughes	Richard M. Buttle	166,143
	Republican Party	Charles Evans Hughes	J. A. Perkins	165,971
	Democratic Party	Woodrow Wilson	Edwin M. Connor	134,481
	Democratic Party	Woodrow Wilson	A. T. Stream	47,977
	Socialist Party	Allan L. Benson	Marie Nielsen	22,800
	Socialist Party	Allan L. Benson	Allen Brooks	22,518
	Socialist Party	Allan L. Benson	Laura M. House	22,515
	Socialist Party	Allan L. Benson	Helen Camp	22,510
	Socialist Party	Allan L. Benson	Kate Sutton	22,490
	Socialist Party	Allan L. Benson	Bertha Zietz	22,486
	Socialist Party	Allan L. Benson	Bonner Bartlett	22,482
	Prohibition Party	Frank Hanly	Salome R. Lippy	6,868
	Prohibition Party	Frank Hanly	Walter F. McDowell	6,840
	Prohibition Party	Frank Hanly	John Anderson	6,838
	Prohibition Party	Frank Hanly	R. M. Shoemake	6,819
	Prohibition Party	Frank Hanly	L. Stanton	6,814
	Prohibition Party	Frank Hanly	E. B. Crary	6,812
	Prohibition Party	Frank Hanly	C. C. Gridley	6,790
	Socialist Labor Party	Arthur E. Reimer	Gotfried Gustafson	730
	Socialist Labor Party	Arthur E. Reimer	Jerry E. Sullivan	711
	Socialist Labor Party	Arthur E. Reimer	Andrew P. Anderson	701
	Socialist Labor Party	Arthur E. Reimer	John C. Schafer	701
	Socialist Labor Party	Arthur E. Reimer	Arne Hage	699
	Socialist Labor Party	Arthur E. Reimer	Leslie H. Sawyer	697
	Socialist Labor Party	Arthur E. Reimer	Fred Kurtzman	690
Votes cast				380,994

Results by county

County	Woodrow Wilson Democratic		Charles Evans Hughes Republican		Allan L. Benson Socialist		Frank Hanly Prohibition		Arthur E. Reimer Socialist Labor		Margin		Total votes cast
		%		%		%		%		%		%
	Adams		1,294		48.41%		1,237		46.28%		112		4.19%		21		0.79%		9		0.34%		57		2.13%		2,673
	Asotin		1,136		48.59%		1,004		42.94%		117		5.00%		80		3.42%		1		0.04%		132		5.65%		2,338
	Benton		1,351		42.03%		1,460		45.43%		342		10.64%		53		1.65%		8		0.25%		-109		-3.39%		3,214
	Chelan		2,747		43.46%		3,011		47.63%		405		6.41%		151		2.39%		7		0.11%		-264		-4.18%		6,321
	Clallam		1,339		41.06%		1,475		45.23%		418		12.82%		19		0.58%		10		0.31%		-136		-4.17%		3,261
	Clark		3,728		41.28%		4,419		48.93%		677		7.50%		198		2.19%		10		0.11%		-691		-7.65%		9,032
	Columbia		1,164		47.57%		1,148		46.91%		108		4.41%		25		1.02%		2		0.08%		16		0.65%		2,447
	Cowlitz		1,282		33.44%		2,113		55.11%		378		9.86%		57		1.49%		4		0.10%		-831		-21.67%		3,834
	Douglas		1,916		59.52%		1,125		34.95%		148		4.60%		28		0.87%		2		0.06%		791		24.57%		3,219
	Ferry		913		52.99%		581		33.72%		221		12.83%		5		0.29%		3		0.17%		332		19.27%		1,723
	Franklin		1,110		57.93%		671		35.02%		109		5.69%		23		1.20%		3		0.16%		439		22.91%		1,916
	Garfield		728		45.02%		845		52.26%		32		1.98%		11		0.68%		1		0.06%		-117		-7.24%		1,617
	Grant		1,563		51.58%		1,205		39.77%		221		7.29%		38		1.25%		3		0.10%		358		11.82%		3,030
	Grays Harbor		4,992		44.04%		5,024		44.32%		1,209		10.67%		96		0.85%		15		0.13%		-32		-0.28%		11,336
	Island		855		46.34%		804		43.58%		170		9.21%		16		0.87%		0		0.00%		51		2.76%		1,845
	Jefferson		861		40.77%		1,094		51.80%		134		6.34%		22		1.04%		1		0.05%		-233		-11.03%		2,112
	King		52,362		54.71%		38,959		40.71%		3,193		3.34%		922		0.96%		272		0.28%		13,403		14.00%		95,708
	Kitsap		3,479		49.89%		2,638		37.83%		751		10.77%		94		1.35%		12		0.17%		841		12.06%		6,974
	Kittitas		2,609		49.40%		2,310		43.74%		262		4.96%		93		1.76%		7		0.13%		299		5.66%		5,281
	Klickitat		1,478		45.35%		1,570		48.17%		186		5.71%		23		0.71%		2		0.06%		-92		-2.82%		3,259
	Lewis		4,318		40.73%		5,186		48.92%		845		7.97%		239		2.25%		13		0.12%		-868		-8.19%		10,601
	Lincoln		2,827		51.67%		2,356		43.06%		221		4.04%		62		1.13%		5		0.09%		471		8.61%		5,471
	Mason		779		45.19%		764		44.32%		162		9.40%		16		0.93%		3		0.17%		15		0.87%		1,724
	Okanogan		2,924		54.82%		1,896		35.55%		474		8.89%		33		0.62%		7		0.13%		1,028		19.27%		5,334
	Pacific		1,537		34.02%		2,688		59.50%		257		5.69%		30		0.66%		6		0.13%		-1,151		-25.48%		4,518
	Pend Oreille		1,080		50.94%		916		43.21%		111		5.24%		9		0.42%		4		0.19%		164		7.74%		2,120
	Pierce		18,940		48.85%		16,780		43.28%		1,894		4.89%		1,059		2.73%		97		0.25%		2,160		5.57%		38,770
	San Juan		669		47.96%		591		42.37%		122		8.75%		13		0.93%		0		0.00%		78		5.59%		1,395
	Skagit		4,936		47.88%		4,142		40.17%		951		9.22%		256		2.48%		25		0.24%		794		7.70%		10,310
	Skamania		451		46.07%		489		49.95%		34		3.47%		5		0.51%		0		0.00%		-38		-3.88%		979
	Snohomish		8,390		41.52%		8,625		42.68%		2,543		12.58%		606		3.00%		43		0.21%		-235		-1.16%		20,207
	Spokane		21,339		49.49%		19,503		45.23%		1,321		3.06%		877		2.03%		80		0.19%		1,836		4.26%		43,120
	Stevens		3,184		47.84%		2,684		40.32%		678		10.19%		104		1.56%		6		0.09%		500		7.51%		6,656
	Thurston		2,658		39.39%		3,223		47.76%		624		9.25%		231		3.42%		12		0.18%		-565		-8.37%		6,748
	Wahkiakum		340		36.13%		490		52.07%		103		10.95%		7		0.74%		1		0.11%		-150		-15.94%		941
	Walla Walla		4,456		48.29%		4,429		48.00%		218		2.36%		120		1.30%		4		0.04%		27		0.29%		9,227
	Whatcom		5,629		35.53%		7,632		48.18%		2,075		13.10%		465		2.94%		41		0.26%		-2,003		-12.64%		15,842
	Whitman		5,888		52.33%		4,933		43.84%		239		2.12%		186		1.65%		5		0.04%		955		8.49%		11,251
	Yakima		6,136		41.91%		7,188		49.10%		735		5.02%		575		3.93%		6		0.04%		-1,052		-7.19%		14,640
Totals	183,388	48.13%	167,208	43.89%	22,800	5.98%	6,868	1.80%	730	0.19%	16,180	4.25%	380,994

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Asotin

Counties that flipped from Progressive to Democratic

• Grant
• Island
• King
• Kitsap
• Kittitas
• Lincoln
• Pierce
• San Juan
• Skagit
• Spokane
• Walla Walla

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Clark
• Skamania

Counties that flipped from Progressive to Republican

• Benton
• Chelan
• Garfield
• Jefferson
• Snohomish
• Wahkiakum
• Whatcom
• Yakima

See also

• United States presidential elections in Washington (state)

Notes and References

1. Burnham, Walter Dean; ‘The System of 1896’, in Kleppner, Paul (editor), The Evolution of American Electoral Systems, pp. 176-179
2. [Elmer Eric Schattschneider|Schattschneider, Elmer Eric]
3. 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. Menendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004, p. 47
5. Sarasohn, David; 'The Election of 1916: Realigning the Rockies', Western Historical Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 3 (July 1980), pp. 285-305
6. Menendez, The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, p. 332
7. Book: Abstract of Votes Polled in the State of Washington at the General Election Held November 7, 1916 . Washington Secretary of State. Olympia, Washington . 6-10.
8. Book: Second Biennial Report Election Division. Washington Secretary of State. Olympia, Washington . 84-88. 30 July 2024.
9. Web site: Interesting Happenings in Pacific Northwest. Washington Digital Newspapers . The Leavenworth Echo. 30 July 2024 . en . 12 Jan 1917.
10. Web site: To The Spotlight, Mr. Connor!. Washington Digital Newspapers . Washington Standard. 30 July 2024 . en . 5 Jan 1917.