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1928 United States presidential election in New York

Main article: 1928 United States presidential election

The 1928 United States presidential election in New York took place on November 6, 1928. All contemporary 48 states were part of the 1928 United States presidential election. State voters chose 45 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.

1928 United States presidential election in New York
← 1924 November 6, 1928 1932 →
Turnout68.3%[1] Increase 12.0 pp
 
Nominee Herbert Hoover Al Smith
Party Republican Democratic
Home state California New York
Running mate Charles Curtis Joseph T. Robinson
Electoral vote 45 0
Popular vote 2,193,344 2,089,863
Percentage 49.79% 47.44%
County Results
President before election

Calvin Coolidge
Republican

Elected President

Herbert Hoover
Republican

New York was won by Republican former Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover of California, who was running against Democratic Governor of New York Alfred E. Smith. Hoover's running mate was Senate Majority Leader Charles Curtis of Kansas, while Smith's running mate was Senator Joseph Taylor Robinson of Arkansas.

Hoover won with a plurality of 49.79 percent of the vote to Smith's 47.44 percent, a margin of 2.35 points. Socialist candidate Norman Thomas finished a distant third, with 2.44 percent. Although New York was Al Smith's home state and he had been elected governor there, the 1920s were a fiercely Republican decade in American politics, and New York during the Fourth Party System was a fiercely Republican state in presidential elections. In 1928, Herbert Hoover was winning the third consecutive nationwide Republican landslide, and the economic boom and social good feelings of the Roaring Twenties under popular Republican leadership proved too much for Smith to overcome both nationally and in his home state.

However, Smith's performance in New York was still impressive in the context of the 1920s, and highly significant in shaping the state's political development. In the elections preceding 1928, New York had been more Republican than the nation as a whole, even in the nationwide Republican landslides of 1920 and 1924. Smith's narrow 2-point defeat in the midst of the nationwide Republican landslide of 1928 made New York State 15% more Democratic than the national average. Smith's 47.44 percent was also the highest vote share a Democratic presidential candidate had received in New York State since former New York Governor Grover Cleveland won the state in 1892, as Woodrow Wilson only won the state with 41% in 1912 when the Republican vote was split.

Smith dramatically improved upon how Democrats before him had done and laid the groundwork for turning the state Democratic in 1932 and beyond. In 1920 and 1924, Republicans had swept every county in New York State and Democrats had received less than 30% of the vote. In 1928, Smith came within 2 points of winning the state by sweeping all five boroughs of heavily populated New York City, winning Albany County, home to the state capital of Albany, along with neighboring Rensselaer County, and winning two counties in northern New York along the Saint Lawrence River, Clinton County and Franklin County.

Results

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1928 United States presidential election in New York[2]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Republican Herbert Hoover 2,193,344 49.79% 45
Democratic Alfred E. Smith 2,089,863 47.44% 0
Socialist Norman Thomas 107,332 2.44% 0
Communist William Z. Foster 10,876 0.25% 0
Socialist Labor Verne L. Reynolds 4,211 0.10% 0
Totals 4,405,626 100.0% 45

New York City results

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Results in New York City by assembly district. The colors are the same as above with the following additions:
  Hoover 40–50%
  Hoover 50–60%
  Smith 40–50%
  Smith 50–60%
  Smith 60–70%
  Smith 70–80%
  Smith 80–90%
1928 Presidential Election in New York City Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Total
Democratic Al Smith 317,227 232,766 404,393 184,640 28,945 1,167,971 60.04%
60.82% 67.67% 59.48% 53.43% 53.37%
Republican Herbert Hoover 186,396 98,636 245,622 158,505 24,995 714,154 36.71%
35.74% 28.68% 36.13% 45.87% 46.09%
Socialist Norman Thomas 15,076 8,904 24,888 1,886 252 51,006 2.62%
2.89% 2.59% 3.66% 0.55% 0.46%
Communist William Z. Foster 2,145 3,297 3,362 396 32 9,232 0.47%
0.41% 0.96% 0.49% 0.11% 0.06%
Socialist Labor Verne L. Reynolds 714 344 1,572 129 10 2,769 0.14%
0.14% 0.15% 0.23% 0.04% 0.02%
TOTAL 521,558 343,947 679,837 345,556 54,234 1,945,132 100.00%

Results by county

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County Herbert Clark Hoover
Republican 		Alfred Emmanuel Smith
Democratic 		Normal Mattoon Thomas
Socialist 		Various candidates
Other parties 		Margin Total votes cast[3]
# % # % # % # % # %
Albany 48,762 42.99% 62,380 54.99% 2,223 1.96% 72 0.06% -13,618 -12.00% 113,437
Allegany 15,306 78.90% 3,491 18.00% 588 3.03% 14 0.07% 11,815 60.91% 19,399
Bronx 98,636 28.68% 232,766 67.67% 8,904 2.59% 3,641 1.06% -134,130 -39.00% 343,947
Broome 39,860 65.25% 19,563 32.02% 1,552 2.54% 117 0.19% 20,297 33.22% 61,092
Cattaraugus 22,135 67.07% 10,229 31.00% 602 1.82% 35 0.11% 11,906 36.08% 33,001
Cayuga 20,202 62.11% 11,787 36.24% 512 1.57% 24 0.07% 8,415 25.87% 32,525
Chautauqua 38,220 72.68% 13,223 25.15% 1,002 1.91% 139 0.26% 24,997 47.54% 52,584
Chemung 25,029 67.00% 12,189 32.63% 109 0.29% 27 0.07% 12,840 34.37% 37,354
Chenango 13,955 77.21% 3,986 22.05% 122 0.68% 10 0.06% 9,969 55.16% 18,073
Clinton 7,824 41.68% 10,888 58.00% 57 0.30% 2 0.01% -3,064 -16.32% 18,771
Columbia 14,000 67.92% 6,403 31.06% 186 0.90% 23 0.11% 7,597 36.86% 20,612
Cortland 11,960 75.37% 3,662 23.08% 234 1.47% 13 0.08% 8,298 52.29% 15,869
Delaware 16,225 78.59% 4,362 21.13% 46 0.22% 12 0.06% 11,863 57.46% 20,645
Dutchess 28,687 61.30% 16,748 35.79% 1,300 2.78% 66 0.14% 11,939 25.51% 46,801
Erie 144,726 51.36% 126,449 44.87% 10,118 3.59% 496 0.18% 18,277 6.49% 281,789
Essex 10,462 66.34% 5,291 33.55% 17 0.11% 0 0.00% 5,171 32.79% 15,770
Franklin 9,495 49.86% 9,501 49.89% 47 0.25% 2 0.01% -6 -0.03% 19,045
Fulton 15,043 71.16% 5,728 27.10% 334 1.58% 34 0.16% 9,315 44.07% 21,139
Genesee 13,251 69.03% 5,181 26.99% 739 3.85% 24 0.13% 8,070 42.04% 19,195
Greene 9,529 66.71% 4,440 31.08% 308 2.16% 8 0.06% 5,089 35.62% 14,285
Hamilton 1,399 59.51% 952 40.49% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 447 19.01% 2,351
Herkimer 18,624 62.69% 10,654 35.86% 412 1.39% 19 0.06% 7,970 26.83% 29,709
Jefferson 26,361 66.41% 12,908 32.52% 402 1.01% 24 0.06% 13,453 33.89% 39,695
Kings 245,622 36.13% 404,393 59.48% 24,888 3.66% 4,934 0.73% -158,771 -23.35% 679,837
Lewis 7,175 63.25% 4,161 36.68% 4 0.04% 4 0.04% 3,014 26.57% 11,344
Livingston 11,632 64.05% 5,545 30.53% 968 5.33% 15 0.08% 6,087 33.52% 18,160
Madison 14,333 72.20% 5,217 26.28% 280 1.41% 21 0.11% 9,116 45.92% 19,851
Monroe 99,803 55.73% 73,759 41.19% 5,180 2.89% 336 0.19% 26,044 14.54% 179,078
Montgomery 15,257 60.28% 9,845 38.90% 178 0.70% 29 0.11% 5,412 21.38% 25,309
Nassau 71,015 62.77% 40,079 35.42% 1,901 1.68% 145 0.13% 30,936 27.34% 113,140
New York 186,396 35.74% 317,227 60.82% 15,076 2.89% 2,859 0.55% -130,831 -25.08% 521,558
Niagara 33,229 63.35% 16,881 32.18% 2,302 4.39% 41 0.08% 16,348 31.17% 52,453
Oneida 44,782 52.82% 38,231 45.09% 1,684 1.99% 89 0.10% 6,551 7.73% 84,786
Onondaga 76,278 57.04% 54,706 40.91% 2,559 1.91% 173 0.13% 21,572 16.13% 133,716
Ontario 17,769 65.27% 8,491 31.19% 955 3.51% 10 0.04% 9,278 34.08% 27,225
Orange 37,334 64.10% 19,047 32.70% 1,817 3.12% 42 0.07% 18,287 31.40% 58,240
Orleans 9,828 68.77% 3,792 26.53% 652 4.56% 20 0.14% 6,036 42.23% 14,292
Oswego 21,849 64.39% 11,639 34.30% 418 1.23% 24 0.07% 10,210 30.09% 33,930
Otsego 18,286 74.32% 6,006 24.41% 298 1.21% 16 0.07% 12,280 49.91% 24,606
Putnam 4,534 64.95% 2,278 32.63% 161 2.31% 8 0.11% 2,256 32.32% 6,981
Queens 158,505 45.87% 184,640 53.43% 1,886 0.55% 525 0.15% -26,135 -7.56% 345,556
Rensselaer 32,370 48.90% 33,094 50.00% 638 0.96% 89 0.13% -724 -1.09% 66,191
Richmond 24,995 46.09% 28,945 53.37% 252 0.46% 42 0.08% -3,950 -7.28% 54,234
Rockland 15,732 60.34% 9,769 37.47% 513 1.97% 58 0.22% 5,963 22.87% 26,072
Saratoga 19,183 59.60% 12,247 38.05% 722 2.24% 35 0.11% 6,936 21.55% 32,187
Schenectady 29,428 56.58% 21,277 40.91% 1,183 2.27% 121 0.23% 8,151 15.67% 52,009
Schoharie 6,906 67.65% 2,926 28.66% 357 3.50% 20 0.20% 3,980 38.99% 10,209
Schuyler 4,749 72.10% 1,731 26.28% 103 1.56% 4 0.06% 3,018 45.82% 6,587
Seneca 7,911 66.27% 3,873 32.44% 147 1.23% 7 0.06% 4,038 33.82% 11,938
St. Lawrence 25,804 66.23% 12,567 32.26% 562 1.44% 27 0.07% 13,237 33.98% 38,960
Steuben 28,028 69.26% 10,699 26.44% 1,694 4.19% 45 0.11% 17,329 42.82% 40,466
Suffolk 41,199 65.07% 19,497 30.79% 2,544 4.02% 75 0.12% 21,702 34.28% 63,315
Sullivan 10,331 61.27% 6,207 36.81% 284 1.68% 39 0.23% 4,124 24.46% 16,861
Tioga 9,963 76.89% 2,779 21.45% 198 1.53% 18 0.14% 7,184 55.44% 12,958
Tompkins 14,471 72.84% 5,114 25.74% 244 1.23% 37 0.19% 9,357 47.10% 19,866
Ulster 25,418 62.46% 14,200 34.89% 1,024 2.52% 53 0.13% 11,218 27.57% 40,695
Warren 11,697 63.16% 6,793 36.68% 29 0.16% 0 0.00% 4,904 26.48% 18,519
Washington 15,499 66.91% 7,221 31.17% 428 1.85% 15 0.06% 8,278 35.74% 23,163
Wayne 18,187 75.29% 5,338 22.10% 603 2.50% 27 0.11% 12,849 53.19% 24,155
Westchester 109,939 56.22% 80,926 41.39% 4,408 2.25% 271 0.14% 29,013 14.84% 195,544
Wyoming 10,830 71.48% 3,992 26.35% 326 2.15% 4 0.03% 6,838 45.13% 15,152
Yates 7,386 78.62% 1,950 20.76% 52 0.55% 7 0.07% 5,436 57.86% 9,395
Totals 2,193,344 49.79% 2,089,863 47.44% 107,332 2.44% 15,087 0.34% 103,481 2.35% 4,405,626

Analysis

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Key to Smith's strength in New York State was his sweep of the five massively populated boroughs of New York City. A New York City native, Smith took over 60% of the vote in Manhattan and the Bronx, and also won majorities in Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. Up to this point, 1928 was the strongest victory ever for a Democrat in the city. Smith, a Roman Catholic of Irish, Italian, and German immigrant heritage, held special appeal to Catholic and ethnic immigrant communities that populated cities like New York and Boston. The first Catholic to be nominated on a major-party ticket, Smith's Catholicism would severely weaken his candidacy in many rural parts of the country, especially in the South,[4] but would prove an asset in appealing to voters in New York.[5] The urban, ethnic coalition that delivered New York City to Al Smith would prove to be a harbinger of long-term realignment of both the city and the state toward the Democratic Party.[5] 1928 began a Democratic winning streak in New York City that has never been broken since, as New York City would be solidified as one of the most Democratic cities in the United States,[6] and a major obstacle to overcome for any Republican seeking to compete in New York State. 1928 also turned the state capital of Albany, which had previously been a Republican city, into a Democratic bastion in upstate New York. This was the first time Democrats swept all five boroughs of New York City, which would also occur in 1932 and 1936.

Hoover, for his part, was able to hold on to New York State's electoral votes in 1928 by sweeping much of traditionally staunchly Republican upstate New York and Long Island, where efforts from Hoover's future successor Franklin D. Roosevelt could not swing dry, Protestant Yankee voters to Smith.[7] In addition, the turnout and vote number margins were not yet there in New York City in 1928 to overcome Republican dominance in the rest of the state. In 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt would build on Smith's coalition to flip New York State into the Democratic column, winning the state with virtually the same county map as Smith, but with stronger vote number margins and turnout. After 1928, New York state would not vote Republican again until 1948.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Bicentennial Edition: Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970, part 2, p. 1072.
  2. ^ "1928 Presidential Election Results – New York". Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
  3. ^ New York State Department of State, ‘Presidential Vote, New York State By Counties, November 6, 1928,’ Manual for the Use of the Legislature of the State of New York, 1929 (Albany, 1929)
  4. ^ Gould, Lewis L.; The Republicans: A History of the Grand Old Party, p. 180 ISBN 0199936625
  5. ^ a b Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, pp. 14, 40-41 ISBN 9780691163246
  6. ^ Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
  7. ^ McElvaine, Robert S. ; Encyclopedia of the Great Depression: A-K, pp. 229, 276 ISBN 9780028656878
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