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1912 United States presidential election in Utah

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1912 United States presidential election in Utah

← 1908 November 5, 1912 1916 →
 
Nominee William Howard Taft Woodrow Wilson
Party Republican Democratic
Home state Ohio New Jersey
Running mate Nicholas Murray Butler Thomas R. Marshall
Electoral vote 4 0
Popular vote 42,100 36,579
Percentage 37.46% 32.55%

 
Nominee Theodore Roosevelt Eugene V. Debs
Party Progressive Socialist
Home state New York Indiana
Running mate Hiram Johnson Emil Seidel
Electoral vote 0 0
Popular vote 24,174 9,023
Percentage 21.51% 8.03%

County results

President before election

William Howard Taft
Republican

Elected President

Woodrow Wilson
Democratic

The 1912 United States presidential election in Utah was held on November 5, 1912 as part of the 1912 United States presidential election. State voters chose four representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

After being overwhelmingly carried by William Jennings Bryan in its first presidential election from its statehood year of 1896, Utah was to vote Republican by increasing margins in the following three elections, with only Washington County in the Dixie region voting Democratic in 1904 and 1908. By 1909, there were just two Democrats in the state legislature – a number fewer than any other state except Michigan during the middle 1900s and 1920s.

However, during William Howard Taft's presidency, his predecessor Theodore Roosevelt became bitterly opposed to his policies on foreign affairs and the opening of public lands to private concerns.[1] and thus decided to run in Republican primaries. Roosevelt's personal popularity and a powerful speaking tour was sufficient for him to "steamroll" through primaries, but Taft was able to prevail as the Republican nominee through traditional machine and party tactics.[2] Reformers bolted the Republicans and formed the "Progressive" or "Bull Moose" Party with Roosevelt as standard-bearer. Taft – already unpopular with the public and not enjoying being President[3] – decided to run, not in expectation of being re-elected but rather to preserve the GOP apparatus for future conservative action.[4]

Because Taft made little efforts to campaign, he lost easily in most states; however, in Utah, a powerful political machine under long-serving senator and Mormon Apostle Reed Smoot had been developed to counter the anti-Mormon "American Party", which had become the effective opposition to the Republicans in local elections and had elected mayors in Salt Lake City.[1] Combined with a very prosperous rural economy in both the farming and mining sectors, this produced strong loyalty among local Mormon communities to Taft,[5] who was also supported by the local Mormon and non-Mormon press. Those supporting Roosevelt were viewed as "insincere" and as "office-seekers", although latterly such press criticism was toned down.[1]

Taft was thus able to hold the state, with the maintenance of tariffs being critical for the 52 percent of Utahans who were farmers in 1912. Wilson and Roosevelt were most successful in the remote, less Mormon areas east of the Wasatch Mountains, and in some urban areas with more progressive tendencies. Socialist Eugene Debs, in the most successful of his five presidential campaigns, obtained eight percent of the vote but did much better than this in some mining areas.

Utah became one of the only two states to vote for Taft in 1912, the other being Vermont, and with 37.46% of the popular vote made the state his strongest victory in the election.[6] Wilson became the first Democrat since statehood to win the presidency without carrying Utah. This was the last presidential election until 1960 (and the first such occasion since statehood in 1896) in which Utah did not back the national winner, and remains the last time the state voted differently than neighboring Idaho.

Results

[edit]
1912 United States presidential election in Utah[7]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Republican William Howard Taft (incumbent) 42,100 37.46% 4
Democratic Woodrow Wilson 36,579 32.55% 0
Progressive Theodore Roosevelt 24,174 21.51% 0
Socialist Eugene V. Debs 9,023 8.03% 0
Socialist Labor Arthur E. Reimer 510 0.45% 0
Totals 112,386 100.00% 4

Results by county

[edit]
County William Howard Taft
Republican
Woodrow Wilson
Democratic
Theodore Roosevelt
Progressive "Bull Moose"
Eugene V. Debs
Socialist
Arthur E. Reimer
Socialist Labor
Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # % # % # %
Beaver 671 39.75% 602 35.66% 307 18.19% 106 6.28% 2 0.12% 69 4.09% 1,688
Box Elder 1,650 40.61% 1,402 34.51% 936 23.04% 75 1.85% 0 0.00% 248 6.10% 4,063
Cache 2,825 37.92% 3,296 44.25% 1,173 15.76% 135 1.77% 20 0.27% -471 -6.33% 7,449
Carbon 771 34.93% 514 23.29% 541 25.87% 344 15.59% 7 0.32% 230[a] 9.06% 2,207
Davis 1,295 44.36% 1,142 39.12% 460 15.76% 21 0.72% 1 0.03% 153 5.24% 2,919
Emery 760 37.04% 760 37.04% 336 16.37% 190 9.26% 6 0.29% 0 0.00% 2,052
Garfield 673 62.60% 249 23.16% 128 11.91% 23 2.14% 2 0.19% 424 39.44% 1,075
Grand 191 33.75% 212 37.46% 118 20.85% 45 7.95% 0 0.00% -21 -3.71% 566
Iron 695 49.71% 544 38.91% 63 4.51% 95 6.80% 1 0.07% 151 10.80% 1,398
Juab 1,171 35.38% 985 29.76% 344 10.39% 800 24.17% 10 0.30% 186 5.62% 3,310
Kane 426 75.27% 115 20.32% 20 3.53% 5 0.88% 0 0.00% 311 54.95% 566
Millard 970 41.10% 865 36.65% 397 16.82% 123 5.21% 5 0.21% 105 4.45% 2,360
Morgan 318 36.59% 233 26.81% 273 31.42% 45 5.18% 0 0.00% 45[a] 5.17% 869
Piute 205 37.41% 110 20.07% 146 26.64% 87 15.88% 0 0.00% 59[a] 10.77% 548
Rich 329 48.89% 238 35.36% 100 14.86% 6 0.89% 0 0.00% 91 13.53% 673
Salt Lake 12,719 35.14% 10,468 28.92% 8,899 24.59% 3,798 10.49% 308 0.85% 2,251 6.22% 36,192
San Juan 146 37.24% 146 37.24% 96 24.49% 4 1.02% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 392
Sanpete 2,488 41.98% 1,984 33.47% 1,272 21.46% 173 2.92% 10 0.17% 504 8.51% 5,927
Sevier 1,452 41.90% 915 26.41% 807 23.29% 287 8.28% 4 0.12% 537 15.49% 3,465
Summit 1,290 44.06% 983 33.57% 425 14.52% 226 7.72% 4 0.14% 307 10.49% 2,928
Tooele 950 44.21% 646 30.06% 261 12.15% 284 13.22% 8 0.37% 304 14.15% 2,149
Uintah 545 28.40% 566 29.49% 641 33.40% 165 8.60% 2 0.10% -75[b] -3.91% 1,919
Utah 4,185 35.45% 4,636 39.26% 2,295 19.44% 664 5.62% 27 0.23% -451 -3.81% 11,807
Wasatch 1,210 41.71% 957 32.99% 432 14.89% 294 10.13% 8 0.28% 253 8.72% 2,901
Washington 712 43.60% 842 51.56% 72 4.41% 6 0.37% 1 0.06% -130 -7.96% 1,633
Wayne 282 52.03% 183 33.76% 24 4.43% 53 9.78% 0 0.00% 99 18.27% 542
Weber 3,171 29.31% 2,986 27.60% 3,608 33.35% 969 8.96% 84 0.78% -437[a] -4.04% 10,818
Totals 42,100 37.46% 36,579 32.55% 24,174 21.51% 9,023 8.03% 510 0.45% 5,521 4.91% 112,386

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d In the county where Roosevelt ran second ahead of Wilson, margin given is Taft vote minus Roosevelt vote and percentage margin Taft percentage minus Roosevelt percentage.
  2. ^ In this county where Taft ran third behind both Wilson and Roosevelt, margin given is Wilson vote minus Roosevelt vote and percentage margin Wilson percentage minus Roosevelt percentage.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Wahlquist, C. Austin; ‘The 1912 Presidential Election in Utah’ (A Thesis Presented to the Department of History, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah)
  2. ^ Kraig, Robert Alexander; 'The 1912 Election and the Rhetorical Foundations of the Liberal State', Rhetoric and Public Affairs, Vol. 3, No. 3 (Fall 2000), pp.. 365-366
  3. ^ Conlin, Joseph R.; The American Past: A Survey of American History, Volume II: Since 1865, Volume 2, p. 607 ISBN 113394664X
  4. ^ Craig; 'The 1912 Election and the Rhetorical Foundation of the Liberal State', p. 368
  5. ^ See Sarasohn, David; 'The Election of 1916: Realigning the Rockies', Western Historical Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 3 (July 1980), pp. 285-305
  6. ^ "1912 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  7. ^ "1912 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved March 5, 2018.