1916 United States presidential election in California

Main article: 1916 United States presidential election
1916 United States presidential election in California
← 1912 November 7, 1916 (1916-11-07) 1920 →
Turnout79.57% (of registered voters) Increase 7.89 pp
57.91% (of eligible voters) Increase 12.80 pp[1]
 
Nominee Woodrow Wilson Charles Evans Hughes
Party Democratic Republican
Home state New Jersey New York
Running mate Thomas R. Marshall Charles W. Fairbanks
Electoral vote 13 0
Popular vote 466,289 462,516
Percentage 46.65% 46.27%
United States presidential election in California
County Results
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Woodrow Wilson
Democratic

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Woodrow Wilson
Democratic

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The 1916 United States presidential election in California took place on November 7, 1916 as part of the 1916 United States presidential election. State voters chose 13 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

California narrowly voted for the Democratic incumbent, Woodrow Wilson, over the Republican nominee, Associate Justice Charles Evans Hughes.

Although very close, this was not as close as the previous election or the critical 1892 election in California, and was only the third-closest state in a thrilling election behind New Hampshire and Minnesota. As of 2024, no subsequent presidential election in California has been decided by a smaller margin, although California was decided by less than one point in 1948 and 1960. This was the closest result where California's electoral votes were not split.

Following on from breaking half-a-dozen county droughts in 1912, Wilson became the first Democrat to carry Placer County, Plumas County, and Santa Barbara County, since Stephen A. Douglas in 1860, and the first to carry the counties of Contra Costa and Santa Cruz since James Buchanan in 1856.[2] If Hughes had won California, he would have won the Electoral College despite losing the national popular vote by three points. This is the last election in which a Republican candidate carried Los Angeles County but failed to carry the state of California. Until 2020 this had been the most recent election when California would decide the overall winner of a presidential election, despite routinely having among the highest, or highest number of electoral votes after the next reapportionment following the 1930 census. Had Hughes carried the state, he would have been elected with 267 electoral votes to Wilson's 264.

Results

[edit]
General Election Results[3]
Party Pledged to Elector Votes
Democratic Party Woodrow Wilson Francis J. Heney 466,289
Democratic Party Woodrow Wilson Edward L. Doheny 465,936
Democratic Party Woodrow Wilson Jo V. Snyder 465,092
Democratic Party Woodrow Wilson Irving C. Ackerman 464,926
Democratic Party Woodrow Wilson L. F. Puter 464,824
Democratic Party Woodrow Wilson John F. Barry 464,808
Democratic Party Woodrow Wilson Oscar Hocks 464,731
Democratic Party Woodrow Wilson James F. Peck 464,680
Democratic Party Woodrow Wilson Lorin A. Handley 464,515
Democratic Party Woodrow Wilson R. F. Del Valle 464,477
Democratic Party Woodrow Wilson Virginia M. Spinks 464,233
Democratic Party Woodrow Wilson Mary Marshall Wiley 464,206
Democratic Party Woodrow Wilson Carrie L. Tyler 463,709
Republican Party Charles Evans Hughes J. F. Carlston 462,516
Republican Party Charles Evans Hughes John A. Britton 462,004
Republican Party Charles Evans Hughes T. S. Montgomery 461,828
Republican Party Charles Evans Hughes Willis H. Booth 461,826
Republican Party Charles Evans Hughes W. F. Chandler 461,610
Republican Party Charles Evans Hughes Albert E. Boynton 461,588
Republican Party Charles Evans Hughes J. C. Needham 461,505
Republican Party Charles Evans Hughes Joseph Scott 461,354
Republican Party Charles Evans Hughes Rudolph J. Taussig 461,301
Republican Party Charles Evans Hughes Louise Harvey Clarke 460,941
Republican Party Charles Evans Hughes Mary Roberts Coolidge 460,908
Republican Party Charles Evans Hughes A. J. Wallace 460,826
Republican Party Charles Evans Hughes J. P. Baumgartner 460,821
Socialist Party Allan L. Benson Scott Anderson 42,898
Socialist Party Allan L. Benson Joseph Bredsteen 42,562
Socialist Party Allan L. Benson M. P. Christensen 42,412
Socialist Party Allan L. Benson Mollie Bloom Flagg 42,394
Socialist Party Allan L. Benson W. Scott Lewis 42,354
Socialist Party Allan L. Benson Ethel Lynn 42,330
Socialist Party Allan L. Benson Arnold R. Holston 42,327
Socialist Party Allan L. Benson C. W. Kingsley 42,320
Socialist Party Allan L. Benson Noble A. Richardson 42,312
Socialist Party Allan L. Benson Harry M. McKee 42,273
Socialist Party Allan L. Benson Ben F. Wilson 42,263
Socialist Party Allan L. Benson George W. Woodbey 42,232
Socialist Party Allan L. Benson A. E. Briggs 42,178
Prohibition Party J. Franklin Hanly Annie E. K. Bidwell 27,713
Prohibition Party J. Franklin Hanly Horace A. Johnson 27,408
Prohibition Party J. Franklin Hanly Fred F. Wheeler 27,208
Prohibition Party J. Franklin Hanly Robert Rogers 27,156
Prohibition Party J. Franklin Hanly Elam Biggs 27,116
Prohibition Party J. Franklin Hanly Minnie Goldthwaite 27,082
Prohibition Party J. Franklin Hanly C. C. Selecman 27,067
Prohibition Party J. Franklin Hanly Wiley J. Phillips 27,050
Prohibition Party J. Franklin Hanly A. K. Nash 27,027
Prohibition Party J. Franklin Hanly Ada E. Ferris 27,017
Prohibition Party J. Franklin Hanly Walter O. Woolever 27,013
Prohibition Party J. Franklin Hanly Thomas K. Beard 26,980
Prohibition Party J. Franklin Hanly C. S. Corkhill 26,894
Write-in Scattering 187
Votes cast[a] 999,603

Results by county

[edit]
County Woodrow Wilson
Democratic 		Charles Evans Hughes
Republican 		Allan L. Benson
Socialist 		J. Franklin Hanly
Prohibition 		Scattering
Write-in 		Margin Total votes cast[b]
# % # % # % # % # % # %
Alameda 43,748 42.84% 51,417 50.34% 5,422 5.31% 1,544 1.51% 0 0.00% -7,669 -7.51% 102,131
Alpine 23 27.71% 60 72.29% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% -37 -44.58% 83
Amador 1,766 56.28% 1,209 38.53% 125 3.98% 38 1.21% 0 0.00% 557 17.75% 3,138
Butte 4,888 50.55% 3,956 40.91% 436 4.51% 389 4.02% 0 0.00% 932 9.64% 9,669
Calaveras 1,524 53.06% 1,175 40.91% 135 4.70% 38 1.32% 0 0.00% 349 12.15% 2,872
Colusa 1,998 62.89% 1,011 31.82% 123 3.87% 45 1.42% 0 0.00% 987 31.07% 3,177
Contra Costa 6,092 46.82% 5,731 44.05% 886 6.81% 302 2.32% 0 0.00% 361 2.77% 13,011
Del Norte 471 41.35% 499 43.81% 144 12.64% 25 2.19% 0 0.00% -28 -2.46% 1,139
El Dorado 1,755 57.67% 1,068 35.10% 187 6.15% 33 1.08% 0 0.00% 687 22.58% 3,043
Fresno 14,241 49.95% 11,707 41.07% 1,648 5.78% 912 3.20% 0 0.00% 2,534 8.89% 28,508
Glenn 1,797 53.87% 1,342 40.23% 101 3.03% 94 2.82% 2 0.06% 455 13.64% 3,336
Humboldt 4,103 36.27% 5,786 51.14% 1,063 9.40% 361 3.19% 0 0.00% -1,683 14.88% 11,313
Imperial 3,273 49.15% 2,694 40.46% 363 5.45% 329 4.94% 0 0.00% 579 8.69% 6,659
Inyo 966 47.92% 846 41.96% 152 7.54% 52 2.58% 0 0.00% 120 5.95% 2,016
Kern 9,566 59.86% 5,611 35.11% 553 3.46% 251 1.57% 0 0.00% 3,955 24.75% 15,981
Kings 2,905 51.86% 2,221 39.65% 256 4.57% 220 3.93% 0 0.00% 684 12.21% 5,602
Lake 1,164 52.13% 791 35.42% 182 8.15% 96 4.30% 0 0.00% 373 16.70% 2,233
Lassen 1,323 55.75% 877 36.96% 143 6.03% 30 1.26% 0 0.00% 446 18.79% 2,373
Los Angeles 114,070 42.58% 135,554 50.59% 8,076 3.01% 10,061 3.76% 160 0.06% -21,484 -8.02% 267,921
Madera 1,880 54.01% 1,323 38.01% 183 5.26% 86 2.56% 6 0.17% 557 16.00% 3,481
Marin 3,789 43.82% 4,328 50.05% 424 4.90% 106 1.23% 0 0.00% -539 -6.23% 8,647
Mariposa 802 58.24% 451 32.75% 95 6.90% 29 2.11% 0 0.00% 351 25.49% 1,377
Mendocino 3,371 45.14% 3,494 46.79% 453 6.07% 150 2.01% 0 0.00% -123 -1.65% 7,468
Merced 2,637 50.36% 2,132 40.72% 285 5.44% 182 3.48% 0 0.00% 505 9.64% 5,236
Modoc 1,222 58.25% 768 36.61% 79 3.77% 29 1.38% 0 0.00% 454 21.64% 2,098
Mono 158 48.47% 137 42.02% 26 7.98% 5 1.53% 0 0.00% 21 6.44% 326
Monterey 3,878 48.28% 3,599 44.81% 364 4.53% 191 2.38% 0 0.00% 279 3.47% 8,032
Napa 3,088 41.39% 3,914 52.46% 304 4.07% 155 2.08% 0 0.00% -826 -11.07% 7,461
Nevada 2,548 56.58% 1,586 35.22% 279 6.20% 90 2.00% 0 0.00% 962 21.36% 4,503
Orange 6,474 34.54% 10,609 56.59% 643 3.43% 1,020 5.44% 0 0.00% -4,135 -22.06% 18,746
Placer 3,375 58.28% 1,954 33.74% 314 5.42% 148 2.56% 0 0.00% 1,421 24.54% 5,791
Plumas 1,025 56.50% 663 36.55% 102 5.62% 24 1.32% 0 0.00% 362 19.96% 1,814
Riverside 4,561 33.44% 7,452 54.64% 790 5.79% 836 6.13% 0 0.00% -2,891 -21.20% 13,639
Sacramento 14,538 54.63% 10,696 40.19% 833 3.13% 546 2.05% 0 0.00% 3,842 14.44% 26,613
San Benito 1,688 51.80% 1,440 44.19% 91 2.79% 40 1.23% 0 0.00% 248 7.61% 3,259
San Bernardino 9,398 39.92% 11,932 50.68% 805 3.42% 1,410 5.99% 0 0.00% -2,534 -10.76% 23,545
San Diego 16,815 46.02% 16,978 46.47% 1,612 4.41% 1,132 3.10% 0 0.00% -163 -0.45% 36,537
San Francisco 78,225 52.45% 63,093 42.30% 6,423 4.31% 1,404 0.94% 7 0.00% 15,132 10.15% 149,152
San Joaquin 11,454 55.44% 7,861 38.05% 789 3.82% 557 2.70% 0 0.00% 3,593 17.39% 20,661
San Luis Obispo 3,539 49.85% 2,854 40.20% 547 7.71% 159 2.24% 0 0.00% 685 9.65% 7,099
San Mateo 4,485 43.08% 5,207 50.01% 540 5.19% 179 1.72% 0 0.00% -722 -6.93% 10,411
Santa Barbara 5,198 49.65% 4,453 42.54% 470 4.49% 347 3.31% 1 0.01% 745 7.12% 10,469
Santa Clara 14,185 43.40% 16,592 50.77% 1,006 3.08% 887 2.71% 11 0.03% -2,407 -7.37% 32,681
Santa Cruz 4,511 47.76% 4,228 44.76% 383 4.05% 324 3.43% 0 0.00% 283 3.00% 9,446
Shasta 2,828 52.39% 2,008 37.20% 449 8.32% 113 2.09% 0 0.00% 820 15.19% 5,398
Sierra 594 58.35% 360 35.36% 55 5.40% 9 0.88% 0 0.00% 234 22.99% 1,018
Siskiyou 3,447 57.15% 2,059 34.13% 417 6.91% 109 1.81% 0 0.00% 1,388 23.01% 6,032
Solano 5,678 58.37% 3,536 36.35% 322 3.31% 192 1.97% 0 0.00% 2,142 22.02% 9,728
Sonoma 8,377 43.35% 9,733 50.37% 921 4.77% 293 1.52% 0 0.00% -1,356 -7.02% 19,324
Stanislaus 5,490 46.98% 4,401 37.66% 729 6.24% 1,067 9.13% 0 0.00% 1,089 9.32% 11,687
Sutter 1,543 53.52% 1,211 42.00% 80 2.77% 49 1.70% 0 0.00% 332 11.52% 2,883
Tehama 2,534 52.92% 1,739 36.32% 334 6.98% 181 3.78% 0 0.00% 795 16.60% 4,788
Trinity 661 54.81% 424 35.16% 104 8.62% 17 1.41% 0 0.00% 237 19.65% 1,206
Tulare 7,299 46.87% 6,845 43.96% 895 5.75% 533 3.42% 0 0.00% 454 2.92% 15,572
Tuolumne 1,584 54.21% 1,057 36.17% 237 8.11% 44 1.51% 0 0.00% 527 18.04% 2,922
Ventura 2,835 39.30% 3,980 55.18% 260 3.60% 138 1.91% 0 0.00% -1,145 -15.87% 7,213
Yolo 2,922 53.12% 2,334 42.43% 167 3.04% 78 1.42% 0 0.00% 588 10.69% 5,501
Yuba 1,980 54.49% 1,530 42.10% 93 2.56% 31 0.85% 0 0.00% 450 12.38% 3,634
Total 466,289 46.65% 462,516 46.27% 42,898 4.29% 27,713 2.77% 187 0.02% 3,773 0.38% 999,603

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

[edit]

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Based on totals for highest elector on each ticket
  2. ^ Based on the highest elector on each ticket

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Historical Voter Registration and Participation in Statewide General Elections 1910-2018" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  2. ^ Menendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004, pp. 153-155 ISBN 0786422173
  3. ^ Statement of Vote at General Election held on November 7, 1916 in the State of California. Sacramento, California. 1968. pp. 8–15. Retrieved July 15, 2024.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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