1908 United States presidential election

1908 United States presidential election

November 3, 1908

483 members of the Electoral College
242 electoral votes needed to win
Turnout65.7%[1] Increase 0.2 pp
 
Nominee William Howard Taft William Jennings Bryan
Party Republican Democratic
Home state Ohio Nebraska
Running mate James S. Sherman John W. Kern
Electoral vote 321 162
States carried 29 17
Popular vote 7,678,395 6,408,984
Percentage 51.6% 43.1%

Presidential election results map. Red denotes states won by Taft/Sherman, blue denotes those won by Bryan/Kern. Numbers indicate the number of electoral votes allotted to each state.

President before election

Theodore Roosevelt
Republican

Elected President

William Howard Taft
Republican

The 1908 United States presidential election was the 31st election in the history of the United States. It occurred on November 3, 1908. This election was between Secretary of War William Howard Taft of Ohio and former Congressman from Ohio and Democratic Party Nominee in 1896 and 1900 William Jennings Bryan. Taft won the election with 321 electoral votes. Bryan got only 162 electoral votes.

This would be the fourth and most recent election in the history of the United States, where both major candidates share the same first name, with the last three being in 1860, 1896, and 1900.

Nominations

Republican Party

Republican Party (United States)
Republican Party (United States)
1908 Republican Party ticket
William Howard Taft James S. Sherman
for President for Vice President
42nd
U.S. Secretary of War
(1904–1908)
U.S. Representative
from New York
(1887-1891, 1903–1909)

Presidential

Vice Presidential

Democratic Party

Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party (United States)
1908 Democratic Party ticket
William Jennings Bryan John W. Kern
for President for Vice President
U.S. Representative
from Nebraska
(1891–1895)
Indiana State Senator
(1893–1897)

Presidential

  • William Jennings Bryan, former U.S. representative from Nebraska (1891-1895) and presidential nominee in 1896 and 1900 (Nominee)
  • George Gray, Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (1899-1914)
  • John A. Johnson, Governor of Minnesota (1905-1909)

Vice Presidential

  • John W. Kern, former Indiana State Senator (1893–1897) (Vice presidential nominee)

References

  1. ↑ "National General Election VEP Turnout Rates, 1789-Present". United States Election Project. CQ Press.