1920 United States presidential election in Kentucky

The 1920 United States presidential election in Kentucky took place on November 2, 1920, as part of the 1920 United States presidential election. Voters chose thirteen representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

1920 United States presidential election in Kentucky

← 1916 November 2, 1920 1924 →
 
Nominee James M. Cox Warren G. Harding
Party Democratic Republican
Home state Ohio Ohio
Running mate Franklin D. Roosevelt Calvin Coolidge
Electoral vote 13 0
Popular vote 456,497 452,480
Percentage 49.69% 49.25%

County Results

President before election

Woodrow Wilson
Democratic

Elected President

Warren G. Harding
Republican

Ever since the Civil War, Kentucky had been shaped politically by divisions created by that war between secessionist, Democratic counties and Unionist, Republican ones,[1] although the state as a whole leaned Democratic throughout this era and the GOP had carried the state only once[2] – by a very narrow margin in 1896[3] when northern parts of the state were affected by hostility towards William Jennings Bryan, and state native John M. Palmer drew votes from the Democrats.[4]

In 1919, however, Kentucky saw a significant change as the Republicans won not merely the governorship via Edwin P. Morrow but also control of the state legislature.[5] However, there was a thought at the time that the triumph was partly a reflection of Morrow's own personal popularity.[6]

The state legislature would ratify the Nineteenth Amendment on January 6, 1920, by more than three-to-one in both houses,[7] and Kentucky would – alongside North Carolina which was abolishing its poll tax – observe the largest mobilization of new voters in the entire Union,[8] and possibly the largest mobilization of female voters anywhere.[9]

Despite the extreme hostility to outgoing President Wilson, Democratic nominee and Ohio Governor James M. Cox – who originated in Butler County, Ohio just across the state line – was supported powerfully by Fayette County political boss Billy Kair, and alongside the mobilization of female voters noted above, this caused Kentucky to lead the nation in turnout.[10] With this high turnout and Kair's powerful support of Governor Cox, the Democrats were able to carry Kentucky by 0.44 percent or 4,017 votes, in spite of Cox losing Tennessee and all the other Border States to Ohio Senator and Republican nominee Warren G. Harding,[10] who nationally won the largest popular-vote margin on record. Alongside North Carolina, Kentucky was the state which most resisted the Republican landslide, with Cox falling by only 3 percent from Woodrow Wilson’s 1916 vote share.[11]

Results

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Presidential Candidate Running Mate Party Electoral Vote (EV) Popular Vote (PV)
James M. Cox of Ohio Franklin D. Roosevelt Democratic 13[12] 456,497 49.69%
Warren G. Harding Calvin Coolidge Republican 0 452,480 49.26%
Eugene V. Debs Seymour Stedman Socialist 0 6,409 0.70%
Aaron S. Watkins D. Leigh Colvin Prohibition 0 3,250 0.35%

Results by county

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1920 United States presidential election in Kentucky by county[13]
County James Middleton Cox
Democratic
Warren Gamaliel Harding
Republican
Eugene Victor Debs
Socialist
Aaron Sherman Watkins
Prohibition
Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # % # %
Adair 2,725 43.50% 3,526 56.28% 5 0.08% 9 0.14% -801 -12.79% 6,265
Allen 2,255 39.08% 3,476 60.24% 6 0.10% 33 0.57% -1,221 -21.16% 5,770
Anderson 2,499 57.71% 1,819 42.01% 0 0.00% 12 0.28% 680 15.70% 4,330
Ballard 3,987 76.48% 1,107 21.24% 105 2.01% 14 0.27% 2,880 55.25% 5,213
Barren 5,499 57.70% 3,972 41.67% 27 0.28% 33 0.35% 1,527 16.02% 9,531
Bath 2,440 54.72% 1,997 44.79% 6 0.13% 16 0.36% 443 9.93% 4,459
Bell 2,277 25.26% 6,691 74.23% 24 0.27% 22 0.24% -4,414 -48.97% 9,014
Boone 3,472 77.50% 973 21.72% 11 0.25% 24 0.54% 2,499 55.78% 4,480
Bourbon 5,452 57.24% 4,029 42.30% 11 0.12% 32 0.34% 1,423 14.94% 9,524
Boyd 5,103 44.13% 6,334 54.78% 53 0.46% 73 0.63% -1,231 -10.65% 11,563
Boyle 4,099 55.83% 3,205 43.65% 10 0.14% 28 0.38% 894 12.18% 7,342
Bracken 2,621 58.66% 1,791 40.09% 45 1.01% 11 0.25% 830 18.58% 4,468
Breathitt 2,737 52.31% 2,464 47.09% 9 0.17% 22 0.42% 273 5.22% 5,232
Breckinridge 3,702 45.71% 4,368 53.93% 10 0.12% 19 0.23% -666 -8.22% 8,099
Bullitt 2,548 64.44% 1,393 35.23% 8 0.20% 5 0.13% 1,155 29.21% 3,954
Butler 1,356 24.81% 4,097 74.95% 4 0.07% 9 0.16% -2,741 -50.15% 5,466
Caldwell 2,746 47.41% 2,958 51.07% 69 1.19% 19 0.33% -212 -3.66% 5,792
Calloway 4,574 72.79% 1,520 24.19% 154 2.45% 36 0.57% 3,054 48.60% 6,284
Campbell 10,597 44.20% 12,210 50.93% 1,046 4.36% 123 0.51% -1,613 -6.73% 23,976
Carlisle 2,688 78.09% 688 19.99% 38 1.10% 28 0.81% 2,000 58.11% 3,442
Carroll 3,209 77.49% 906 21.88% 4 0.10% 22 0.53% 2,303 55.61% 4,141
Carter 2,757 37.19% 4,595 61.98% 28 0.38% 34 0.46% -1,838 -24.79% 7,414
Casey 1,951 35.26% 3,543 64.03% 9 0.16% 30 0.54% -1,592 -28.77% 5,533
Christian 7,209 44.90% 8,743 54.45% 66 0.41% 39 0.24% -1,534 -9.55% 16,057
Clark 4,846 60.67% 3,105 38.88% 13 0.16% 23 0.29% 1,741 21.80% 7,987
Clay 960 19.17% 4,015 80.17% 22 0.44% 11 0.22% -3,055 -61.00% 5,008
Clinton 431 15.40% 2,356 84.20% 6 0.21% 5 0.18% -1,925 -68.80% 2,798
Crittenden 2,138 40.26% 3,149 59.29% 9 0.17% 15 0.28% -1,011 -19.04% 5,311
Cumberland 931 28.01% 2,380 71.60% 4 0.12% 9 0.27% -1,449 -43.59% 3,324
Daviess 9,669 55.70% 7,584 43.69% 48 0.28% 58 0.33% 2,085 12.01% 17,359
Edmonson 1,171 33.13% 2,348 66.42% 4 0.11% 12 0.34% -1,177 -33.30% 3,535
Elliott 1,764 66.89% 860 32.61% 0 0.00% 13 0.49% 904 34.28% 2,637
Estill 1,823 41.55% 2,552 58.17% 3 0.07% 9 0.21% -729 -16.62% 4,387
Fayette 12,926 53.55% 11,032 45.70% 58 0.24% 123 0.51% 1,894 7.85% 24,139
Fleming 3,488 53.88% 2,960 45.72% 5 0.08% 21 0.32% 528 8.16% 6,474
Floyd 3,597 55.61% 2,825 43.68% 31 0.48% 15 0.23% 772 11.94% 6,468
Franklin 5,878 68.28% 2,710 31.48% 13 0.15% 8 0.09% 3,168 36.80% 8,609
Fulton 3,843 73.35% 1,365 26.05% 17 0.32% 14 0.27% 2,478 47.30% 5,239
Gallatin 1,782 76.58% 536 23.03% 4 0.17% 5 0.21% 1,246 53.55% 2,327
Garrard 2,434 44.51% 2,994 54.74% 6 0.11% 35 0.64% -560 -10.24% 5,469
Grant 2,686 61.93% 1,613 37.19% 4 0.09% 34 0.78% 1,073 24.74% 4,337
Graves 9,018 72.14% 3,241 25.93% 216 1.73% 25 0.20% 5,777 46.22% 12,500
Grayson 2,830 40.15% 4,174 59.21% 10 0.14% 35 0.50% -1,344 -19.07% 7,049
Green 1,723 42.54% 2,310 57.04% 8 0.20% 9 0.22% -587 -14.49% 4,050
Greenup 2,754 46.18% 3,111 52.17% 67 1.12% 31 0.52% -357 -5.99% 5,963
Hancock 1,384 48.07% 1,446 50.23% 35 1.22% 14 0.49% -62 -2.15% 2,879
Hardin 5,382 61.28% 3,334 37.96% 30 0.34% 36 0.41% 2,048 23.32% 8,782
Harlan 1,805 19.30% 7,493 80.13% 31 0.33% 22 0.24% -5,688 -60.83% 9,351
Harrison 4,804 66.36% 2,378 32.85% 10 0.14% 47 0.65% 2,426 33.51% 7,239
Hart 2,972 47.08% 3,264 51.70% 59 0.93% 18 0.29% -292 -4.63% 6,313
Henderson 7,272 62.06% 4,161 35.51% 206 1.76% 79 0.67% 3,111 26.55% 11,718
Henry 4,640 67.28% 2,208 32.01% 10 0.14% 39 0.57% 2,432 35.26% 6,897
Hickman 3,045 77.40% 866 22.01% 17 0.43% 6 0.15% 2,179 55.39% 3,934
Hopkins 7,829 52.77% 6,732 45.38% 160 1.08% 115 0.78% 1,097 7.39% 14,836
Jackson 260 7.55% 3,174 92.16% 4 0.12% 6 0.17% -2,914 -84.61% 3,444
Jefferson 56,046 44.64% 68,202 54.32% 1,119 0.89% 182 0.14% -12,156 -9.68% 125,549
Jessamine 3,206 56.35% 2,349 41.29% 5 0.09% 129 2.27% 857 15.06% 5,689
Johnson 1,714 27.93% 4,373 71.26% 25 0.41% 25 0.41% -2,659 -43.33% 6,137
Kenton 16,300 56.74% 11,411 39.72% 878 3.06% 141 0.49% 4,889 17.02% 28,730
Knott 2,295 73.84% 802 25.80% 2 0.06% 9 0.29% 1,493 48.04% 3,108
Knox 1,534 22.50% 5,228 76.68% 36 0.53% 20 0.29% -3,694 -54.18% 6,818
Larue 2,361 56.07% 1,838 43.65% 4 0.09% 8 0.19% 523 12.42% 4,211
Laurel 1,621 27.43% 4,252 71.96% 16 0.27% 20 0.34% -2,631 -44.53% 5,909
Lawrence 2,558 47.08% 2,849 52.44% 7 0.13% 19 0.35% -291 -5.36% 5,433
Lee 1,246 39.99% 1,856 59.56% 7 0.22% 7 0.22% -610 -19.58% 3,116
Leslie 142 5.19% 2,576 94.22% 13 0.48% 3 0.11% -2,434 -89.03% 2,734
Letcher 1,960 31.11% 4,317 68.51% 10 0.16% 14 0.22% -2,357 -37.41% 6,301
Lewis 1,550 26.60% 4,186 71.84% 50 0.86% 41 0.70% -2,636 -45.24% 5,827
Lincoln 3,787 50.05% 3,710 49.04% 26 0.34% 43 0.57% 77 1.02% 7,566
Livingston 1,933 51.08% 1,790 47.30% 56 1.48% 5 0.13% 143 3.78% 3,784
Logan 6,111 60.36% 3,948 38.99% 35 0.35% 31 0.31% 2,163 21.36% 10,125
Lyon 1,968 59.96% 1,275 38.85% 23 0.70% 16 0.49% 693 21.12% 3,282
Madison 5,647 48.10% 6,012 51.21% 32 0.27% 48 0.41% -365 -3.11% 11,739
Magoffin 1,352 36.39% 2,347 63.18% 7 0.19% 9 0.24% -995 -26.78% 3,715
Marion 3,807 60.83% 2,431 38.85% 4 0.06% 16 0.26% 1,376 21.99% 6,258
Marshall 3,569 64.99% 1,883 34.29% 15 0.27% 25 0.46% 1,686 30.70% 5,492
Martin 330 15.89% 1,726 83.10% 8 0.39% 13 0.63% -1,396 -67.21% 2,077
Mason 4,691 55.34% 3,743 44.16% 9 0.11% 33 0.39% 948 11.18% 8,476
McCracken 8,496 57.10% 6,085 40.89% 256 1.72% 43 0.29% 2,411 16.20% 14,880
McCreary 525 15.27% 2,889 84.01% 15 0.44% 10 0.29% -2,364 -68.74% 3,439
McLean 2,754 52.75% 2,408 46.12% 50 0.96% 9 0.17% 346 6.63% 5,221
Meade 2,195 59.44% 1,468 39.75% 22 0.60% 8 0.22% 727 19.69% 3,693
Menifee 1,149 65.81% 581 33.28% 7 0.40% 9 0.52% 568 32.53% 1,746
Mercer 3,623 56.24% 2,786 43.25% 6 0.09% 27 0.42% 837 12.99% 6,442
Metcalfe 1,442 44.25% 1,809 55.51% 0 0.00% 8 0.25% -367 -11.26% 3,259
Monroe 1,108 24.36% 3,426 75.31% 3 0.07% 12 0.26% -2,318 -50.96% 4,549
Montgomery 3,069 58.35% 2,163 41.12% 9 0.17% 19 0.36% 906 17.22% 5,260
Morgan 3,347 64.79% 1,802 34.88% 4 0.08% 13 0.25% 1,545 29.91% 5,166
Muhlenberg 4,824 41.04% 6,667 56.73% 224 1.91% 38 0.32% -1,843 -15.68% 11,753
Nelson 5,061 63.00% 2,945 36.66% 8 0.10% 19 0.24% 2,116 26.34% 8,033
Nicholas 2,953 65.71% 1,496 33.29% 11 0.24% 34 0.76% 1,457 32.42% 4,494
Ohio 4,011 41.91% 5,371 56.12% 144 1.50% 45 0.47% -1,360 -14.21% 9,571
Oldham 2,655 72.07% 1,014 27.52% 5 0.14% 10 0.27% 1,641 44.54% 3,684
Owen 4,623 81.26% 1,049 18.44% 7 0.12% 10 0.18% 3,574 62.82% 5,689
Owsley 257 11.79% 1,914 87.80% 6 0.28% 3 0.14% -1,657 -76.01% 2,180
Pendleton 2,598 54.67% 2,105 44.30% 10 0.21% 39 0.82% 493 10.37% 4,752
Perry 2,203 33.52% 4,345 66.10% 12 0.18% 13 0.20% -2,142 -32.59% 6,573
Pike 5,619 41.25% 7,911 58.08% 32 0.23% 60 0.44% -2,292 -16.83% 13,622
Powell 1,038 55.10% 835 44.32% 1 0.05% 10 0.53% 203 10.77% 1,884
Pulaski 3,749 33.90% 7,262 65.67% 18 0.16% 30 0.27% -3,513 -31.77% 11,059
Robertson 940 59.87% 623 39.68% 0 0.00% 7 0.45% 317 20.19% 1,570
Rockcastle 1,438 28.66% 3,561 70.96% 7 0.14% 12 0.24% -2,123 -42.31% 5,018
Rowan 1,264 44.40% 1,564 54.94% 13 0.46% 6 0.21% -300 -10.54% 2,847
Russell 1,157 30.85% 2,587 68.97% 3 0.08% 4 0.11% -1,430 -38.12% 3,751
Scott 4,993 65.02% 2,661 34.65% 10 0.13% 15 0.20% 2,332 30.37% 7,679
Shelby 5,446 61.34% 3,402 38.32% 12 0.14% 19 0.21% 2,044 23.02% 8,879
Simpson 3,206 65.34% 1,680 34.24% 5 0.10% 16 0.33% 1,526 31.10% 4,907
Spencer 2,135 65.63% 1,102 33.88% 5 0.15% 11 0.34% 1,033 31.76% 3,253
Taylor 2,380 48.59% 2,493 50.90% 6 0.12% 19 0.39% -113 -2.31% 4,898
Todd 3,292 54.78% 2,663 44.31% 29 0.48% 26 0.43% 629 10.47% 6,010
Trigg 3,056 55.08% 2,420 43.62% 56 1.01% 16 0.29% 636 11.46% 5,548
Trimble 2,057 84.51% 361 14.83% 5 0.21% 11 0.45% 1,696 69.68% 2,434
Union 4,919 70.81% 1,943 27.97% 64 0.92% 21 0.30% 2,976 42.84% 6,947
Warren 7,010 55.64% 5,474 43.45% 34 0.27% 81 0.64% 1,536 12.19% 12,599
Washington 2,600 47.26% 2,892 52.56% 3 0.05% 7 0.13% -292 -5.31% 5,502
Wayne 1,827 37.68% 2,992 61.70% 15 0.31% 15 0.31% -1,165 -24.03% 4,849
Webster 4,831 57.41% 3,554 42.23% 12 0.14% 18 0.21% 1,277 15.18% 8,415
Whitley 1,556 17.64% 7,235 82.04% 20 0.23% 8 0.09% -5,679 -64.40% 8,819
Wolfe 1,476 60.69% 939 38.61% 2 0.08% 15 0.62% 537 22.08% 2,432
Woodford 3,299 59.53% 2,218 40.02% 13 0.23% 12 0.22% 1,081 19.51% 5,542
Totals 456,497 49.69% 452,480 49.26% 6,409 0.70% 3,250 0.35% 4,017 0.44% 918,636

References

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  1. ^ Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
  2. ^ Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, p. 350 ISBN 978-0-691-16324-6
  3. ^ "Presidential General Election Results Comparison – Kentucky". Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas.
  4. ^ Harrison, Lowell Hayes; A New History of Kentucky, p. 268 ISBN 9780813176307
  5. ^ Ellis, William; A History of Education in Kentucky, p. 193 ISBN 081312977X
  6. ^ Harrison; A New History of Kentucky, p. 352
  7. ^ Klotter, James C.; Our Kentucky: A Study of the Bluegrass State, p. 200 ISBN 9780813121451
  8. ^ Schuyler, Lorraine Gates; The Weight of Their Votes: Southern Women and Political Leverage in the 1920s, p. 190 ISBN 9780807857762
  9. ^ Corder, J. Kevin and Wolbrecht, Christina; Counting Women's Ballots: Female Voters from Suffrage Through the New Deal, p. 137 ISBN 9781107140257
  10. ^ a b Bolin, Janes Duane; Bossism and Reform in a Southern City: Lexington, Kentucky, 1880-1940, pp. 82-83 ISBN 9780813121505
  11. ^ Menendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004, p. 52 ISBN 0786422173
  12. ^ Dave Leip. "1920 Presidential General Election Results – Kentucky". Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas.
  13. ^ Kentucky Secretary of State; General Election Held November 2nd, 1920 Presidential Electors (Ledger)