1916 United States presidential election in Washington (state)

The 1916 United States presidential election in Washington took place on November 7, 1916, as part of the 1916 United States presidential election in which all contemporary 48 states participated. Voters chose seven electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting Democratic incumbents Woodrow Wilson Thomas R. Marshall, against Republican challengers Associate Justice Charles Evans Hughes and his running mate, former Vice-president Charles W. Fairbanks.

Washington had been a one-party Republican bastion for twenty years before this election.Burnham, Walter Dean; ‘The System of 1896’, in Kleppner, Paul (editor), The Evolution of American Electoral Systems, pp. 176-179 Democratic representation in the Washington legislature would during this period at times be countable on one hand,Schattschneider, Elmer Eric; The Semisovereign People: A Realist's View of Democracy in America, pp. 76-84 and neither Alton B. Parker nor William Jennings Bryan in his third presidential run carried even one county in the state. Republican primaries had taken over as the chief mode of political competition when introduced in the late 1900s.Murray, Keith; ‘Issues and Personalities of Pacific Northwest Politics, 1889-1950’, The Pacific Northwest Quarterly, vol. 41, no. 3 (July 1950), pp. 213-233

However, a powerful "peace vote" in the Western statesMenendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004, p. 47 due to opposition to participation in World War I, and the transfer of a considerable part of the substantial vote for Eugene Debs from the previous election to Wilson owing to such Progressive reforms as the Sixteenth and Seventeenth AmendmentsSarasohn, David; 'The Election of 1916: Realigning the Rockies', Western Historical Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 3 (July 1980), pp. 285-305 allowed Woodrow Wilson to carry Washington by a 4.25 percentage point margin. In doing this, Wilson was the first ever Democratic victor in the Western Washington Puget Sound counties of Island, San Juan and Kitsap,Menendez, The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, p. 332 and the only Democrat between 1904 and 1924 to carry any Washington county in a two-way presidential race.

After the votes were counted, there was some debate over who should be the seventh elector from the state. One of the original electors on the Democratic ticket, A. T. Steam, died prior to election day. The state's Democratic party replaced him with Edwin M. Connor, but Stream's name was not replaced on the ballot in ten of Washington's 39 counties. Since voters chose electors directly at the time, this resulted in a split of the vote between Connor and Steam and a Republican elector, Warren H. Lewis, received the seventh-most votes and therefore would be entitled to the final elector position and subsequently cast a vote for Charles Evans Hughes. Many believed, however, that given the voters' clear intent to elect Wilson and Washington's potential split not affecting the outcome, Lewis should either cast his electoral vote for the Wilson ticket or step aside and allow Connor to be appointed the seventh elector. After consulting with the state's Republican committee, Lewis declined to contest Connor's appointment as elector. As such, all seven of Washington's electoral votes were cast for Wilson and Marshall.

Results + General Election ResultsParty Pledged to Elector Votes Democratic Party Woodrow Wilson D. M. Drumheller183,388 Democratic Party Woodrow Wilson C. C. Brown183,242 Democratic Party Woodrow Wilson George F. Christensen183,230 Democratic Party Woodrow Wilson Francis Donahoe183,028 Democratic Party Woodrow Wilson Joseph A. Sloan182,813 Democratic Party Woodrow Wilson G. W. Hoxie182,806 Republican Party Charles Evans Hughes Warren H. Lewis167,208 Republican Party Charles Evans Hughes J. Henry Smith166,406 Republican Party Charles Evans Hughes George E. Finley166,375 Republican Party Charles Evans Hughes Luther Weedin166,340 Republican Party Charles Evans Hughes E. E. Beard166,298 Republican Party Charles Evans Hughes Richard M. Buttle166,143 Republican Party Charles Evans Hughes J. A. Perkins165,971 Democratic Party Woodrow Wilson Edwin M. Connor134,481 Democratic Party Woodrow Wilson A. T. Stream47,977 Socialist Party Allan L. Benson Marie Nielsen22,800 Socialist Party Allan L. Benson Allen Brooks22,518 Socialist Party Allan L. Benson Laura M. House22,515 Socialist Party Allan L. Benson Helen Camp22,510 Socialist Party Allan L. Benson Kate Sutton22,490 Socialist Party Allan L. Benson Bertha Zietz22,486 Socialist Party Allan L. Benson Bonner Bartlett22,482 Prohibition Party Frank Hanly Salome R. Lippy6,868 Prohibition Party Frank Hanly Walter F. McDowell6,840 Prohibition Party Frank Hanly John Anderson6,838 Prohibition Party Frank Hanly R. M. Shoemake6,819 Prohibition Party Frank Hanly L. Stanton6,814 Prohibition Party Frank Hanly E. B. Crary6,812 Prohibition Party Frank Hanly C. C. Gridley6,790 Socialist Labor Party Arthur E. Reimer Gotfried Gustafson730 Socialist Labor Party Arthur E. Reimer Jerry E. Sullivan711 Socialist Labor Party Arthur E. Reimer Andrew P. Anderson701 Socialist Labor Party Arthur E. Reimer John C. Schafer701 Socialist Labor Party Arthur E. Reimer Arne Hage699 Socialist Labor Party Arthur E. Reimer Leslie H. Sawyer697 Socialist Labor Party Arthur E. Reimer Fred Kurtzman690Votes cast 380,994

Results by county CountyWoodrow WilsonDemocraticCharles Evans HughesRepublicanAllan L. BensonSocialistFrank HanlyProhibitionArthur E. ReimerSocialist LaborMarginTotal votescast#%#%#%#%#%#%Adams1,29448.41%1,23746.28%1124.19%210.79%90.34%572.13%2,673Asotin1,13648.59%1,00442.94%1175.00%803.42%10.04%1325.65%2,338Benton1,35142.03%1,46045.43%34210.64%531.65%80.25%-109-3.39%3,214Chelan2,74743.46%3,01147.63%4056.41%1512.39%70.11%-264-4.18%6,321Clallam1,33941.06%1,47545.23%41812.82%190.58%100.31%-136-4.17%3,261Clarke3,72841.28%4,41948.93%6777.50%1982.19%100.11%-691-7.65%9,032Columbia1,16447.57%1,14846.91%1084.41%251.02%20.08%160.65%2,447Cowlitz1,28233.44%2,11355.11%3789.86%571.49%40.10%-831-21.67%3,834Douglas1,91659.52%1,12534.95%1484.60%280.87%20.06%79124.57%3,219Ferry91352.99%58133.72%22112.83%50.29%30.17%33219.27%1,723Franklin1,11057.93%67135.02%1095.69%231.20%30.16%43922.91%1,916Garfield72845.02%84552.26%321.98%110.68%10.06%-117-7.24%1,617Grant1,56351.58%1,20539.77%2217.29%381.25%30.10%35811.82%3,030Grays Harbor4,99244.04%5,02444.32%1,20910.67%960.85%150.13%-32-0.28%11,336Island85546.34%80443.58%1709.21%160.87%00.00%512.76%1,845Jefferson86140.77%1,09451.80%1346.34%221.04%10.05%-233-11.03%2,112King52,36254.71%38,95940.71%3,1933.34%9220.96%2720.28%13,40314.00%95,708Kitsap3,47949.89%2,63837.83%75110.77%941.35%120.17%84112.06%6,974Kittitas2,60949.40%2,31043.74%2624.96%931.76%70.13%2995.66%5,281Klickitat1,47845.35%1,57048.17%1865.71%230.71%20.06%-92-2.82%3,259Lewis4,31840.73%5,18648.92%8457.97%2392.25%130.12%-868-8.19%10,601Lincoln2,82751.67%2,35643.06%2214.04%621.13%50.09%4718.61%5,471Mason77945.19%76444.32%1629.40%160.93%30.17%150.87%1,724Okanogan2,92454.82%1,89635.55%4748.89%330.62%70.13%1,02819.27%5,334Pacific1,53734.02%2,68859.50%2575.69%300.66%60.13%-1,151-25.48%4,518Pend Oreille1,08050.94%91643.21%1115.24%90.42%40.19%1647.74%2,120Pierce18,94048.85%16,78043.28%1,8944.89%1,0592.73%970.25%2,1605.57%38,770San Juan66947.96%59142.37%1228.75%130.93%00.00%785.59%1,395Skagit4,93647.88%4,14240.17%9519.22%2562.48%250.24%7947.70%10,310Skamania45146.07%48949.95%343.47%50.51%00.00%-38-3.88%979Snohomish8,39041.52%8,62542.68%2,54312.58%6063.00%430.21%-235-1.16%20,207Spokane21,33949.49%19,50345.23%1,3213.06%8772.03%800.19%1,8364.26%43,120Stevens3,18447.84%2,68440.32%67810.19%1041.56%60.09%5007.51%6,656Thurston2,65839.39%3,22347.76%6249.25%2313.42%120.18%-565-8.37%6,748Wahkiakum34036.13%49052.07%10310.95%70.74%10.11%-150-15.94%941Walla Walla4,45648.29%4,42948.00%2182.36%1201.30%40.04%270.29%9,227Whatcom5,62935.53%7,63248.18%2,07513.10%4652.94%410.26%-2,003-12.64%15,842Whitman5,88852.33%4,93343.84%2392.12%1861.65%50.04%9558.49%11,251Yakima6,13641.91%7,18849.10%7355.02%5753.93%60.04%-1,052-7.19%14,640Totals183,38848.13%167,20843.89%22,8005.98%6,8681.80%7300.19%16,1804.25%380,994

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Asotin

Counties that flipped from Progressive to Democratic

Grant Island King Kitsap Kittitas Lincoln Pierce San Juan Skagit Spokane Walla Walla

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Clark Skamania

Counties that flipped from Progressive to Republican

Benton Chelan Garfield Jefferson Snohomish Wahkiakum Whatcom Yakima

See also United States presidential elections in Washington (state)

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