1924 United States presidential election in Michigan explained

See main article: 1924 United States presidential election.

Election Name:1924 United States presidential election in Michigan
Country:Michigan
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:1920 United States presidential election in Michigan
Previous Year:1920
Next Election:1928 United States presidential election in Michigan
Next Year:1928
Votes For Election:All 15 Michigan votes to the Electoral College
Election Date:November 4, 1924
Image1:Calvin Coolidge cph.3g10777 crop.jpg
Nominee1:Calvin Coolidge
Party1:Republican Party (United States)
Home State1:Massachusetts
Running Mate1:Charles G. Dawes
Electoral Vote1:15
Popular Vote1:874,631
Percentage1:75.37%
Nominee2:John W. Davis
Party2:Democratic Party (United States)
Home State2:West Virginia
Running Mate2:Charles W. Bryan
Electoral Vote2:0
Popular Vote2:152,359
Percentage2:13.13%
Image3:Robert La Follette Sr crop.jpg
Nominee3:Robert M. La Follette
Party3:Progressive Party (United States, 1924)
Home State3:Wisconsin
Running Mate3:Burton K. Wheeler
Electoral Vote3:0
Popular Vote3:122,014
Percentage3:10.51%
President
Before Election:Calvin Coolidge
Before Party:Republican Party (United States)
After Election:Calvin Coolidge
After Party:Republican Party (United States)
Map Size:375px

The 1924 United States presidential election in Michigan took place on November 4, 1924, as part of the 1924 United States presidential election. Voters chose fifteen[1] representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Ever since the Panic of 1893 and the Populist movement, Michigan had been rigidly one-party polity dominated by the Republican Party.[2] In the 1894 elections, the Democratic Party lost all but one seat in the Michigan legislature,[3] and over the four ensuing decades the party would never make major gains there.[2] The dominance of the culture of the Lower Peninsula by anti-slavery Yankees[4] would be augmented by the turn of formerly Democratic-leaning German Catholics away from that party as a result of the remodelled party's agrarian and free silver sympathies, which became rigidly opposed by both the upper class and workers who followed them,[5] while the Populist movement eliminated Democratic ties with the business and commerce of Michigan and other Northern states.[6] By the 1920s, the only significant financial backer of the state Democratic Party was billionaire William Comstock.[7]

Unlike the other states of the Upper Midwest, the Yankee influence on the culture of the Lower Peninsula was so strong that left-wing third parties did not provide significant opposition to the Republicans, nor was there more than a moderate degree of coordinated factionalism within the hegemonic Michigan Republican Party.[8]

By taking a substantial proportion of the 1912 “Bull Moose” vote, incumbent president Woodrow Wilson would manage the best performance in Michigan by a Democrat since Grover Cleveland in 1888,[9] but 1918 saw a major reaction against Wilson throughout the Midwest, due to supposed preferential treatment of Southern farmers.[10] Republicans would hold every seat in the State Senate for over a decade after the fall election,[11] as they had between 1895 and 1897 and between 1905 and 1911, and every seat in both houses of the state legislature between 1921 and 1923.

The only campaigning done in the state by any of the three major candidates – Republican Party incumbent Calvin Coolidge of Massachusetts, Democratic nominee John W. Davis of West Virginia and third-party candidate Robert M. La Follette Sr. of the Progressive Party — was a tour by conservative Southern Democrat Davis in September,[12] during which he campaigned to eliminate the income tax burden of the poorer classes.[13]

Results

Results by county

1924 United States presidential election in Michigan by county
CountyJohn Calvin Coolidge
Republican
John William Davis
Democratic
Robert M. La Follette
Progressive
Herman Preston Faris
Prohibition
William Zebulon Foster
Communist
MarginTotal votes cast[14]
data-sort-type="number" width="7%"data-sort-type="number" width="7%"%data-sort-type="number" width="6%"data-sort-type="number" width="6%"%data-sort-type="number" width="7%"data-sort-type="number" width="7%"%data-sort-type="number" width="7%"data-sort-type="number" width="7%"%data-sort-type="number" width="7%"data-sort-type="number" width="7%"%data-sort-type="number" width="6%"data-sort-type="number" width="6%"%
Alcona1,02772.32%18412.96%17912.61%211.48%90.63%84359.37%1,420
Alger1,62366.52%2289.34%50520.70%381.56%461.89%1,11845.82%2,440
Allegan9,41779.32%1,56213.16%7956.70%680.57%300.25%7,85566.16%11,872
Alpena4,62875.78%94815.52%4887.99%210.34%220.36%3,68060.26%6,107
Antrim2,24676.79%37112.68%2709.23%230.79%150.51%1,87564.10%2,925
Arenac1,76767.57%57521.99%2549.71%140.54%50.19%1,19245.58%2,615
Baraga1,71471.84%2088.72%39116.39%361.51%371.55%1,32355.45%2,386
Barry5,65670.72%2,04625.58%2423.03%440.55%100.13%3,61045.14%7,998
Bay14,86164.75%5,88125.62%1,9918.68%1420.62%760.33%8,98039.13%22,951
Benzie1,92273.84%1987.61%41916.10%441.69%200.77%1,50357.74%2,603
Berrien15,61263.73%4,44518.15%4,18317.08%1580.64%990.40%11,16745.59%24,497
Branch6,01664.67%2,25324.22%94310.14%690.74%210.23%3,76340.45%9,302
Calhoun18,16571.91%4,02015.91%2,78211.01%1700.67%1250.49%14,14555.99%25,262
Cass4,54559.93%2,32830.70%6458.50%430.57%230.30%2,21729.23%7,584
Charlevoix3,34679.65%4069.66%3879.21%370.88%250.60%2,94069.98%4,201
Cheboygan2,68364.16%99423.77%44110.55%451.08%190.45%1,68940.39%4,182
Chippewa5,44377.44%5167.34%99714.18%360.51%370.53%4,44663.25%7,029
Clare1,92077.67%35814.48%1576.35%190.77%180.73%1,56263.19%2,472
Clinton6,63776.81%1,35915.73%5966.90%380.44%110.13%5,27861.08%8,641
Crawford84072.92%16314.15%13711.89%70.61%50.43%67758.77%1,152
Delta4,76149.83%4634.85%4,20444.00%480.50%780.82%5575.83%9,554
Dickinson4,53868.66%4006.05%1,49522.62%801.21%961.45%3,04346.04%6,609
Eaton8,23273.66%2,46222.03%3943.53%550.49%320.29%5,77051.63%11,175
Emmet3,02069.23%77317.72%50111.49%350.80%330.76%2,24751.51%4,362
Genesee34,26483.82%4,22510.34%2,1245.20%1250.31%1400.34%30,03973.48%40,878
Gladwin1,90878.36%25510.47%2429.94%230.94%70.29%1,65367.89%2,435
Gogebic5,12866.54%4876.32%1,78123.11%1682.18%1431.86%3,34743.43%7,707
Grand Traverse4,01174.86%55810.41%70913.23%541.01%260.49%3,30261.63%5,358
Gratiot6,72076.09%1,83920.82%2002.26%530.60%200.23%4,88155.26%8,832
Hillsdale6,55668.45%1,98020.67%9479.89%670.70%280.29%4,57647.78%9,578
Houghton13,83383.02%1,0456.27%1,5799.48%830.50%1220.73%12,25473.54%16,662
Huron8,84381.14%9889.07%9839.02%600.55%240.22%7,85572.08%10,898
Ingham28,00581.16%4,81413.95%1,4884.31%1460.42%520.15%23,19167.21%34,505
Ionia9,50273.21%2,82121.74%5594.31%790.61%180.14%6,68151.48%12,979
Iosco1,71371.43%30412.68%32913.72%321.33%200.83%1,38457.71%2,398
Iron2,80265.06%2475.73%1,14326.54%601.39%551.28%1,65938.52%4,307
Isabella5,24577.08%1,20817.75%2854.19%520.76%150.22%4,03759.32%6,805
Jackson19,64069.18%5,63919.86%2,88010.14%1410.50%900.32%14,00149.32%28,390
Kalamazoo18,45175.31%3,58714.64%2,2839.32%970.40%820.33%14,86460.67%24,500
Kalkaska96670.46%20514.95%17712.91%181.31%50.36%76155.51%1,371
Kent45,20776.61%7,98213.53%5,3569.08%2600.44%2030.34%37,22563.08%59,008
Keweenaw1,42191.15%503.21%674.30%60.38%150.96%1,35486.85%1,559
Lake1,06968.79%31320.14%16010.30%40.26%80.51%75648.65%1,554
Lapeer6,29783.65%92912.34%2483.29%400.53%140.19%5,36871.31%7,528
Leelanau1,79275.36%30112.66%24910.47%230.97%130.55%1,49162.70%2,378
Lenawee13,35872.65%3,95021.48%9585.21%820.45%400.22%9,40851.16%18,388
Livingston4,88667.37%2,03728.09%2743.78%400.55%150.21%2,84939.29%7,252
Luce85080.65%11210.63%837.87%90.85%00.00%73870.02%1,054
Mackinac1,60651.62%99832.08%48115.46%120.39%140.45%60819.54%3,111
Macomb11,14769.96%3,19120.03%1,5069.45%540.34%350.22%7,95649.93%15,933
Manistee3,70158.09%1,31420.62%1,29420.31%430.67%190.30%2,38737.47%6,371
Marquette9,77170.70%8456.11%2,98421.59%1210.88%990.72%6,78749.11%13,820
Mason3,56767.18%81515.35%79114.90%631.19%741.39%2,75251.83%5,310
Mecosta3,88476.96%79415.73%3046.02%330.65%320.63%3,09061.22%5,047
Menominee4,14253.35%1,05513.59%2,45931.67%480.62%600.77%1,68321.68%7,764
Midland4,00479.08%62512.34%3587.07%641.26%120.24%3,37966.74%5,063
Missaukee1,72385.09%20810.27%793.90%130.64%20.10%1,51574.81%2,025
Monroe8,94058.12%4,98132.38%1,3438.73%730.47%460.30%3,95925.74%15,383
Montcalm6,94278.97%1,39615.88%3493.97%780.89%260.30%5,54663.09%8,791
Montmorency74863.93%14011.97%26422.56%141.20%40.34%48441.37%1,170
Muskegon14,42279.22%1,4628.03%2,18812.02%680.37%660.36%12,23467.20%18,206
Newaygo4,24379.22%72013.44%3336.22%480.90%120.22%3,52365.78%5,356
Oakland28,60381.27%4,10511.66%2,2016.25%1620.46%1250.36%24,49869.60%35,196
Oceana3,33574.94%65014.61%3808.54%501.12%350.79%2,68560.34%4,450
Ogemaw1,71479.32%25811.94%1567.22%190.88%140.65%1,45667.38%2,161
Ontonagon2,24971.42%41713.24%39912.67%230.73%611.94%1,83258.18%3,149
Osceola3,05077.79%56614.44%2566.53%401.02%90.23%2,48463.35%3,921
Oscoda38982.24%5210.99%306.34%00.00%20.42%33771.25%473
Otsego1,14473.81%24916.06%1439.23%80.52%60.39%89557.74%1,550
Ottawa11,68878.55%1,87112.57%1,2208.20%540.36%470.32%9,81765.97%14,880
Presque Isle2,31567.45%43112.56%64518.79%270.79%140.41%1,67048.66%3,432
Roscommon48469.64%9914.24%10114.53%60.86%50.72%38355.11%695
Saginaw23,61867.99%6,20617.87%4,64913.38%1620.47%1030.30%17,41250.12%34,738
Sanilac7,76784.53%98310.70%3663.98%500.54%220.24%6,78473.84%9,188
Schoolcraft1,51561.34%1907.69%72029.15%240.97%210.85%79532.19%2,470
Shiawassee8,98772.99%1,73814.12%1,36611.09%1441.17%780.63%7,24958.87%12,313
St. Clair17,43576.54%3,60015.80%1,6357.18%680.30%420.18%13,83560.73%22,780
St. Joseph6,63361.34%2,64926.13%7477.37%520.51%560.55%3,98439.30%10,137
Tuscola7,49080.37%1,07611.55%6537.01%910.98%90.10%6,41468.83%9,319
Van Buren7,38471.55%1,64615.95%1,17011.34%720.70%480.47%5,73855.60%10,320
Washtenaw14,32672.24%3,60318.17%1,7288.71%930.47%800.40%10,72354.07%19,830
Wayne268,65380.11%23,8177.10%39,77311.86%1,1210.33%1,9720.59%228,88068.25%335,336
Wexford3,92677.47%59211.68%4438.74%741.46%330.65%3,33465.79%5,068
Totals874,63175.37%152,35913.13%122,01410.51%6,0850.52%5,3300.46%722,27262.24%1,160,419

Analysis

The first poll taken showed it clearly that Coolidge would carry Michigan by a huge margin,[15] although there was substantial debate as to whom the opposition vote would go — early polls had La Follette receiving twice as many votes as Davis, but Democratic spokesmen worried that the state's few Democrats would desert to Coolidge said Davis would out-poll the Wisconsin Senator.[7] Ultimately, Davis did out-poll the Wisconsin Senator, whose figures of around 20 percent in October would fall to only 10.51 percent of the vote on election day, whilst Coolidge carried Michigan with a percentage even higher than originally predicted and which surpassed Warren G. Harding’s record performance from 1920.[16] [17]

Coolidge carried Michigan with 75.37 percent of the popular vote. This remains the best performance in a presidential election in Michigan, and Coolidge emulated Theodore Roosevelt in 1904 and William Howard Taft in 1908 by carrying every county in the state. Michigan was to be Coolidge's second strongest state in the 1924 election in terms of popular vote percentage after his birth state of Vermont.[18]

Democrat Davis gathered only 13.13 percent of the vote and did not pass one-third in any of Michigan's eighty-three counties, whilst La Follette, who carried his neighbouring home state of Wisconsin and received over thirty percent in all other states of the Upper Midwest, received limited support in Michigan because it was less German[19] and more Yankee and Polish than any other Midwestern state.[20] La Follette's best performance was in the heavily Finnish and anti-clerical Upper Peninsula,[21] where he received forty-four percent in Delta County and over twenty percent in seven other counties in the western Upper Peninsula. However, in the more populous Lower Peninsula, La Follette exceeded his national vote share of 16.62 percent only in four of sixty-eight counties, and consequently the Wisconsin Senator won only 10.51 percent of Michigan's total vote, making it his third-weakest state in the Midwest after heavily Southern-leaning Indiana and Missouri. As in 1920, the Republican presidential landslide was accompanied by a clean sweep of every seat in both houses of the State legislature.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 1924 Election for the Thirty-Fifth Term (1925-1929). 2018-04-03.
  2. Book: Burnham, Walter Dean. The System of 1896: An Analysis. The Evolution of American Electoral Systems. 178–179. 0313213798.
  3. News: Swamped! The Democrats Drowned Out by a Tremendous Republican Tidal Wave. The L'Anse Sentinel. November 10, 1894. L'Anse. 1.
  4. English, Gustavus P.; Proceedings of the Ninth Republican National Convention (1888), p. 234
  5. Book: Sundquist, James. Politics and Policy: The Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson Years. 526. 0815719094.
  6. Book: Rogowski, Ronald. Commerce and Coalitions: How Trade Affects Domestic Political Alignments. 0691219435. Princeton University Press. 2020.
  7. News: Davis Forces See Upset in Michigan: Democrats Claim Nominee Will Lead La Follette Despite Result Indicated in Poll. The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. October 18, 1924. 2.
  8. Book: Hansen. John Mark. Shigeo. Hirano. Snyder Jr.. James M.. Parties within Parties: Parties, Factions, and Coordinated Politics, 1900-1980. Gerber. Alan S.. Schickler. Eric. Governing in a Polarized Age: Elections, Parties, and Political Representation in America. 165–168. 978-1-107-09509-0.
  9. Web site: Presidential General Election Results Comparison — Michigan. Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas.
  10. Book: Morello, John A.. Albert D. Lasker, Advertising, and the Election of Warren G. Harding. 64. 0275970302.
  11. Kang. Michael S.. Hyperpartisan Gerrymandering. Boston College Law Review. May 29, 2019. 69. 1395.
  12. Book: Tucker, Garland. High Tide of American Conservatism: Davis, Coolidge, and the 1924 Election. 191. 193711029X.
  13. Book: Richardson, Danny G.. Others: "Fighting Bob" La Follette and the Progressive Movement: Third-Party Politics in the 1920s. 180. 0595481264.
  14. Michigan Department of State – Bureau of Elections; Michigan Manual, (1925), p. 387
  15. News: Latest Totals in Nationwide Presidential Straw Ballot. The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. October 18, 1924. 2.
  16. Web site: 1924 Presidential General Election Results — Michigan. 2018-04-03.
  17. Web site: The American Presidency Project — Election of 1924. 2018-04-03.
  18. Web site: 1924 Presidential Election Statistics. Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. 2018-03-05.
  19. Book: Phillips, Kevin P.. The Emerging Republican Majority. 1970. 405. 978-0-691-16324-6.
  20. See Book: Lichtman, Allan J.. Prejudice and the Old Politics : the Presidential Election of 1928. 98–99. 0807813583.
  21. [Rodney Stark|Stark, Rodney]