1904 United States presidential election in Oregon

Summary

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

1904 United States presidential election in Oregon

← 1900 November 8, 1904 1908 →
 
Nominee Theodore Roosevelt Alton B. Parker Eugene V. Debs
Party Republican Democratic Socialist
Home state New York New York Indiana
Running mate Charles W. Fairbanks Henry G. Davis Ben Hanford
Electoral vote 4 0 0
Popular vote 60,455 17,521 7,619
Percentage 67.06% 19.43% 8.45%

County Results
Roosevelt
  50-60%
  60-70%
  70-80%


President before election

Theodore Roosevelt
Republican

Elected President

Theodore Roosevelt
Republican

This election would solidify Oregon 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,[1] and apart from a very short New Deal interlude at state level until the “Revolution of 1954”. Democratic representation in the Oregon legislature would never exceed fifteen percent during this period,[2] and no Democrat other than Woodrow Wilson would henceforth carry even one county in the state before the Great Depression. Republican primaries would become the chief mode of competition: indeed Oregon became in this election year the first Western state to utilize the direct primary.[3]

President Roosevelt was extremely popular in Oregon 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 Oregon.[4] Nor did his opposition to Roosevelt's policy of imperialism in the Pacific,[5] with the result that Parker's showing was the worst-ever by any major-party nominee in Oregon except for his mentor Cleveland twelve years previously.[6] At the same time, Roosevelt's performance remains the best ever by any presidential candidate since Oregon's statehood in 1859. Parker did not win thirty percent in a single county, and overall took just a little over nineteen percent of Oregon's ballots.

Socialist nominee Eugene V. Debs, whose campaign focused on trust-busting and the evils of monopoly,[7] traveled all around the nation in a charismatic campaign that netted him over four hundred thousand votes nationwide. Although he did not outpoll Parker in any Oregon county, Debs nonetheless received over eight percent of the vote.

Results edit

1904 United States presidential election in Oregon[8]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Republican Theodore Roosevelt (incumbent) 60,455 67.06% 4
Democratic Alton B. Parker 17,521 19.43% 0
Socialist Eugene V. Debs 7,619 8.45% 0
Prohibition Silas C. Swallow 3,806 4.22% 0
Populist Thomas E. Watson 753 0.84% 0
Totals 90,154 100.00% 4
Voter turnout

Results by county edit

County Theodore Roosevelt
Republican
Alton Brooks Parker
Democratic
Eugene Victor Debs[9]
Socialist
Silas Comfort Swallow[9]
Prohibition
Thomas Edward Watson[9]
Populist
Margin Total votes cast[10]
# % # % # % # % # % # %
Baker 1,990 59.76% 938 28.17% 335 10.06% 52 1.56% 15 0.45% 1,052 31.59% 3,330
Benton 1,107 62.51% 442 24.96% 74 4.18% 136 7.68% 12 0.68% 665 37.55% 1,771
Clackamas 2,783 67.78% 684 16.66% 421 10.25% 141 3.43% 77 1.88% 2,099 51.12% 4,106
Clatsop 1,408 68.68% 336 16.39% 256 12.49% 41 2.00% 9 0.44% 1,072 52.29% 2,050
Columbia 1,301 74.26% 221 12.61% 160 9.13% 61 3.48% 9 0.51% 1,080 61.64% 1,752
Coos 1,712 64.26% 490 18.39% 342 12.84% 92 3.45% 28 1.05% 1,222 45.87% 2,664
Crook 763 65.33% 266 22.77% 116 9.93% 16 1.37% 7 0.60% 497 42.55% 1,168
Curry 322 70.77% 87 19.12% 38 8.35% 5 1.10% 3 0.66% 235 51.65% 455
Douglas 2,443 63.21% 908 23.49% 387 10.01% 95 2.46% 32 0.83% 1,535 39.72% 3,865
Gilliam 568 67.46% 195 23.16% 48 5.70% 28 3.33% 3 0.36% 373 44.30% 842
Grant 1,007 67.81% 316 21.28% 123 8.28% 32 2.15% 7 0.47% 691 46.53% 1,485
Harney 395 58.35% 190 28.06% 80 11.82% 7 1.03% 5 0.74% 205 30.28% 677
Jackson 1,992 61.16% 798 24.50% 307 9.43% 133 4.08% 27 0.83% 1,194 36.66% 3,257
Josephine 914 60.89% 327 21.79% 208 13.86% 47 3.13% 5 0.33% 587 39.11% 1,501
Klamath 552 68.74% 208 25.90% 25 3.11% 10 1.25% 8 1.00% 344 42.84% 803
Lake 394 74.20% 115 21.66% 4 0.75% 9 1.69% 9 1.69% 279 52.54% 531
Lane 3,501 65.88% 1,166 21.94% 365 6.87% 232 4.37% 50 0.94% 2,335 43.94% 5,314
Lincoln 581 64.84% 179 19.98% 118 13.17% 14 1.56% 4 0.45% 402 44.87% 896
Linn 2,346 54.36% 1,206 27.94% 409 9.48% 286 6.63% 69 1.60% 1,140 26.41% 4,316
Malheur 799 63.82% 280 22.36% 74 5.91% 77 6.15% 22 1.76% 519 41.45% 1,252
Marion 4,106 70.03% 1,084 18.49% 297 5.07% 312 5.32% 64 1.09% 3,022 51.54% 5,863
Morrow 875 65.10% 230 17.11% 156 11.61% 78 5.80% 5 0.37% 645 47.99% 1,344
Multnomah 13,692 73.88% 2,324 12.54% 1,849 9.98% 592 3.19% 77 0.42% 11,368 61.34% 18,534
Polk 1,380 63.65% 521 24.03% 122 5.63% 118 5.44% 27 1.25% 859 39.62% 2,168
Sherman 701 71.10% 163 16.53% 32 3.25% 86 8.72% 4 0.41% 538 54.56% 986
Tillamook 729 69.49% 136 12.96% 119 11.34% 65 6.20% 0 0.00% 593 56.53% 1,049
Umatilla 2,642 66.27% 840 21.07% 259 6.50% 223 5.59% 23 0.58% 1,802 45.20% 3,987
Union 1,884 62.88% 775 25.87% 202 6.74% 116 3.87% 19 0.63% 1,109 37.02% 2,996
Wallowa 714 64.32% 255 22.97% 99 8.92% 34 3.06% 8 0.72% 459 41.35% 1,110
Wasco 2,092 67.33% 536 17.25% 228 7.34% 222 7.15% 29 0.93% 1,556 50.08% 3,107
Washington 2,296 73.19% 492 15.68% 139 4.43% 151 4.81% 59 1.88% 1,804 57.51% 3,137
Wheeler 462 69.58% 161 24.25% 22 3.31% 12 1.81% 7 1.05% 301 45.33% 664
Yamhill 2,004 63.14% 652 20.54% 214 6.74% 283 8.92% 21 0.66% 1,352 42.60% 3,174
Totals 60,455 67.06% 17,521 19.43% 7,628 8.46% 3,806 4.22% 744 0.83% 42,934 47.62% 90,154

See also edit

Notes edit

References edit

  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. ^ David Leip. "Presidential General Election Results Comparison – Oregon". Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas.
  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 – Oregon
  9. ^ a b c Géoelections; Popular Vote for Eugene V. Debs (1904) (.xlsx file for €15)
  10. ^ Robinson, Edgar Eugene; The Presidential Vote 1896-1932, pp. 305-308 ISBN 9780804716963