1904 United States presidential election in North Carolina

Summary

The 1904 United States presidential election in North Carolina took place on November 8, 1904. All contemporary 45 states were part of the 1904 United States presidential election. Voters chose 12 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.

1904 United States presidential election in North Carolina

← 1900 November 8, 1904 1908 →
 
Nominee Alton B. Parker Theodore Roosevelt
Party Democratic Republican
Home state New York New York
Running mate Henry G. Davis Charles W. Fairbanks
Electoral vote 12 0
Popular vote 124,091 82,442
Percentage 59.71% 39.67%

County Results

President before election

Theodore Roosevelt
Republican

Elected President

Theodore Roosevelt
Republican

Following the overthrow of its Populist/Republican fusion government by white Democrats in the 1898 Wilmington coup d‘etat, North Carolina would see a radical restructuring of its politics due to the disenfranchisement of its large African-American population. These African-American voters had provided a substantial proportion of Republican Party support ever since that party first appeared in the state following Reconstruction. However, unlike the Deep South, even without black voting the Republican Party retained substantial support from whites in the mountain and northwestern Piedmont areas that had resisted secession and viewed the Democratic Party as a “war party”.[1] This would allow the GOP, without threatening statewide Democratic hegemony, to gain one-third of the statewide vote in general elections.[2]

This radically altered Republican Party would turn almost overnight towards a “lily-white” strategy based on attempting to appeal to businessmen who found the Democratic Party too anti-business and too favorable to using low-cost black labor instead of whites.[3] The GOP had to some extent followed this strategy in the years before black disenfranchisement because it wanted to appeal to the state’s budding industrialists, who were critical of Democratic policies favoring free trade over high tariffs.[4] Although this strategy had allowed William McKinley to retain almost the same share of North Carolina’s reduced electorate in 1900 that he had won with large-scale black voting in 1896, Republican nominee Theodore Roosevelt would decline substantially in 1904, due to a shift to a more pro-business Democratic candidate and opposition to Roosevelt’s hosting of Booker T. Washington.[5] The Republicans were reduced to their traditionally Unionist mountain strongholds, with the exception of former Populist Senator Marion Butler's home county of Sampson, which persisted in its newfound Republican orientation.

North Carolina was won by the Democratic nominees, Chief Judge Alton B. Parker of New York and his running mate Henry G. Davis of West Virginia. They defeated the Republican nominees, incumbent President Theodore Roosevelt of New York and his running mate Senator Charles W. Fairbanks of Indiana. Parker won the state by a margin of 20.04%.

Results edit

1904 United States presidential election in North Carolina[6]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Democratic Alton B. Parker 124,091 59.71% 12
Republican Theodore Roosevelt (incumbent) 82,442 39.67% 0
Populist Thomas E. Watson 819 0.39% 0
Prohibition Silas C. Swallow 342 0.16% 0
Socialist Eugene V. Debs 124 0.06% 0
Totals 207,818 100.00% 12
Voter turnout

Results by county edit

1904 United States presidential election in North Carolina by county
County Alton Brooks Parker[7]
Democratic
Theodore Roosevelt[7]
Republican
Thomas Edward Watson[8]
Populist
Silas Comfort Swallow[8]
Prohibition
Eugene Victor Debs[8]
Socialist
Margin
% # % # % # % # % # % #
Currituck 94.27% 543 5.73% 33 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 88.54% 510
New Hanover 93.23% 1,254 6.77% 91 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 86.47% 1,163
Halifax 93.06% 2,427 6.94% 181 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 86.12% 2,246
Northampton 92.86% 1,509 7.14% 116 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 85.72% 1,393
Edgecombe 90.07% 1,588 7.15% 126 2.72% 48 0.06% 1 0.00% 0 82.93% 1,462
Scotland 90.86% 646 9.14% 65 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 81.72% 581
Franklin 88.16% 2,099 11.84% 282 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 76.31% 1,817
Martin 86.79% 1,419 13.21% 216 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 73.58% 1,203
Warren 85.35% 1,060 13.29% 165 1.37% 17 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 72.06% 895
Craven 85.30% 1,555 14.70% 268 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 70.60% 1,287
Anson 84.90% 1,226 14.34% 207 0.76% 11 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 70.57% 1,019
Pender 84.31% 903 15.69% 168 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 68.63% 735
Pitt 83.93% 2,329 15.46% 429 0.54% 15 0.07% 2 0.00% 0 68.47% 1,900
Bertie 83.16% 1,264 16.58% 252 0.26% 4 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 66.58% 1,012
Caswell 81.30% 874 18.70% 201 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 62.60% 673
Hertford 80.29% 778 19.20% 186 0.52% 5 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 61.09% 592
Mecklenburg 79.87% 3,142 19.01% 748 0.84% 33 0.25% 10 0.03% 1 60.85% 2,394
Camden 79.71% 389 20.29% 99 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 59.43% 290
Chowan 79.47% 573 20.53% 148 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 58.95% 425
Pasquotank 77.37% 947 22.47% 275 0.08% 1 0.08% 1 0.00% 0 54.90% 672
Greene 77.03% 949 22.97% 283 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 54.06% 666
Granville 75.27% 1,595 24.45% 518 0.28% 6 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 50.83% 1,077
Union 74.75% 1,181 23.99% 379 1.27% 20 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 50.76% 802
Richmond 75.18% 927 24.82% 306 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 50.36% 621
Wake 72.55% 3,410 26.96% 1,267 0.34% 16 0.15% 7 0.00% 0 45.60% 2,143
Jones 71.77% 638 28.12% 250 0.11% 1 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 43.64% 388
Gates 71.26% 677 28.74% 273 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 42.53% 404
Robeson 69.71% 2,274 30.10% 982 0.18% 6 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 39.61% 1,292
Vance 69.41% 1,019 30.18% 443 0.41% 6 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 39.24% 576
Nash 68.69% 1,428 31.02% 645 0.29% 6 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 37.66% 783
Wilson 68.63% 1,363 31.37% 623 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 37.26% 740
Gaston 68.01% 1,958 31.12% 896 0.42% 12 0.45% 13 0.00% 0 36.89% 1,062
Cleveland 67.52% 2,162 32.35% 1,036 0.12% 4 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 35.17% 1,126
Beaufort 67.53% 1,803 32.47% 867 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 35.06% 936
Lenoir 67.25% 1,386 32.70% 674 0.00% 0 0.05% 1 0.00% 0 34.55% 712
Person 66.57% 942 33.43% 473 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 33.14% 469
Rowan 66.25% 2,424 33.21% 1,215 0.11% 4 0.44% 16 0.00% 0 33.04% 1,209
Hyde 65.88% 614 34.12% 318 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 31.76% 296
Onslow 62.02% 828 33.78% 451 4.19% 56 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 28.24% 377
Wayne 63.27% 2,060 35.69% 1,162 0.06% 2 0.98% 32 0.00% 0 27.58% 898
Duplin 61.68% 1,386 36.27% 815 2.05% 46 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 25.41% 571
Johnston 62.35% 2,572 37.65% 1,553 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 24.70% 1,019
Columbus 62.29% 1,447 37.71% 876 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 24.58% 571
Bladen 61.39% 927 36.95% 558 1.66% 25 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 24.44% 369
Perquimans 61.68% 610 38.22% 378 0.00% 0 0.10% 1 0.00% 0 23.46% 232
Guilford 61.40% 2,763 38.13% 1,716 0.00% 0 0.47% 21 0.00% 0 23.27% 1,047
Harnett 60.79% 1,169 37.60% 723 1.30% 25 0.31% 6 0.00% 0 23.19% 446
Orange 60.69% 900 37.63% 558 1.69% 25 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 23.06% 342
Carteret 60.67% 1,012 39.33% 656 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 21.34% 356
Rockingham 59.88% 1,934 39.50% 1,276 0.59% 19 0.00% 0 0.03% 1 20.37% 658
Durham 59.52% 1,603 40.10% 1,080 0.00% 0 0.37% 10 0.00% 0 19.42% 523
Haywood 59.18% 1,631 40.82% 1,125 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 18.36% 506
Cumberland 58.41% 1,594 41.37% 1,129 0.22% 6 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 17.04% 465
Rutherford 58.45% 1,860 41.55% 1,322 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 16.91% 538
Iredell 57.83% 2,126 41.08% 1,510 1.09% 40 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 16.76% 616
Lincoln 56.65% 1,009 42.73% 761 0.62% 11 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 13.92% 248
Pamlico 56.72% 574 43.28% 438 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 13.44% 136
Randolph 56.07% 2,334 43.43% 1,808 0.00% 0 0.50% 21 0.00% 0 12.64% 526
Alleghany 56.28% 699 43.72% 543 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 12.56% 156
Buncombe 54.88% 3,181 44.70% 2,591 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.41% 24 10.18% 590
Moore 54.25% 1,424 44.88% 1,178 0.69% 18 0.19% 5 0.00% 0 9.37% 246
Cabarrus 53.80% 1,509 44.71% 1,254 1.43% 40 0.07% 2 0.00% 0 9.09% 255
Dare 54.25% 415 45.75% 350 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 8.50% 65
Yancey 53.97% 1,013 46.03% 864 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 7.94% 149
Brunswick 53.66% 564 46.34% 487 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 7.33% 77
Catawba 48.57% 1,497 42.47% 1,309 7.62% 235 1.33% 41 0.00% 0 6.10% 188
Montgomery 52.20% 937 47.80% 858 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 4.40% 79
Burke 51.90% 1,080 48.10% 1,001 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 3.80% 79
Alamance 51.83% 1,907 48.11% 1,770 0.00% 0 0.05% 2 0.00% 0 3.72% 137
Jackson 51.47% 1,015 48.02% 947 0.51% 10 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 3.45% 68
Transylvania 51.39% 556 48.61% 526 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 2.77% 30
Washington 51.25% 450 48.75% 428 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 2.51% 22
Chatham 51.05% 1,551 48.62% 1,477 0.30% 9 0.03% 1 0.00% 0 2.44% 74
Forsyth 49.93% 2,301 47.94% 2,209 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 2.13% 98 2.00% 92
Clay 50.37% 336 48.73% 325 0.00% 0 0.90% 6 0.00% 0 1.65% 11
Davidson 49.21% 2,017 50.11% 2,054 0.00% 0 0.68% 28 0.00% 0 -0.90% -37
Stanly 48.67% 1,024 51.33% 1,080 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 -2.66% -56
Tyrrell 48.31% 343 51.69% 367 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 -3.38% -24
Macon 47.70% 904 52.08% 987 0.11% 2 0.11% 2 0.00% 0 -4.38% -83
Graham 47.44% 362 52.56% 401 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 -5.11% -39
McDowell 46.65% 836 51.95% 931 0.45% 8 0.95% 17 0.00% 0 -5.30% -95
Polk 47.06% 497 52.94% 559 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 -5.87% -62
Caldwell 44.47% 1,169 53.97% 1,419 0.46% 12 1.10% 29 0.00% 0 -9.51% -250
Alexander 45.08% 770 54.86% 937 0.06% 1 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 -9.78% -167
Ashe 42.99% 1,254 56.60% 1,651 0.00% 0 0.41% 12 0.00% 0 -13.61% -397
Stokes 42.76% 1,104 57.24% 1,478 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 -14.48% -374
Surry 41.30% 1,741 58.70% 2,475 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 -17.41% -734
Davie 40.23% 739 58.36% 1,072 0.33% 6 1.09% 20 0.00% 0 -18.13% -333
Watauga 39.70% 773 58.71% 1,143 0.10% 2 1.49% 29 0.00% 0 -19.00% -370
Cherokee 40.35% 663 59.65% 980 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 -19.29% -317
Henderson 39.81% 887 60.19% 1,341 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 -20.38% -454
Sampson 37.78% 1,079 62.22% 1,777 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 -24.44% -698
Swain 37.60% 499 62.40% 828 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 -24.79% -329
Wilkes 34.79% 1,318 65.21% 2,470 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 -30.41% -1,152
Madison 33.66% 994 66.34% 1,959 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 -32.68% -965
Yadkin 32.41% 691 67.21% 1,433 0.09% 2 0.28% 6 0.00% 0 -34.80% -742
Mitchell 22.77% 408 77.23% 1,384 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 -54.46% -976

See also edit

Notes edit

References edit

  1. ^ Key (Jr.), Valdimer Orlando; Southern Politics in State and Nation (New York, 1949), pp. 282-283
  2. ^ Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, pp. 210, 242 ISBN 978-0-691-16324-6
  3. ^ Kousser, J. Morgan; The Shaping of Southern Politics: Suffrage Restriction and the Establishment of the One-Party South, 1880-1910; p. 195 ISBN 0-300-01696-4
  4. ^ Kousser; The Shaping of Southern Politics, p. 183
  5. ^ Tindall, George B.; ‘Southern Strategy: A Historical Perspective’; North Carolina Historical Review; vol. 48, no. 2 (April 1971), pp. 126-141
  6. ^ Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas; Presidential General Election Results – North Carolina
  7. ^ a b "Popular Vote for 1904 Presidential Election". Géoelections. (.xlsx file for €15)
  8. ^ a b c "Popular Vote for Eugene V. Debs at the Presidential Election for 1904". Géoelections. (.xlsx file for €15)