The 1920 United States presidential election in Colorado was held on November 2, 1920, as part of the 1920 United States presidential election. State voters chose six electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
In 1916, Colorado was the most Democratic state outside of the “Solid South” as a result of historic Bryanite Populist support in silver-mining regions,Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, p. 418 and a powerful "peace vote" for incumbent President Woodrow Wilson;Menendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004, p. 47 however, by the beginning of 1920 skyrocketing inflation and Wilson's focus upon his proposed League of Nations at the expense of domestic policy had helped make the incumbent president very unpopularGoldberg, David Joseph; Discontented America: The United States in the 1920s, p. 44 – besides which Wilson also had major health problems that had left First Lady Edith effectively running the nation. Political unrest seen in the Palmer Raids and the "Red Scare" further added to the unpopularity of the Democratic Party, since this global political turmoil produced considerable fear of alien revolutionaries invading the country.Leuchtenburg, William E.; The Perils of Prosperity, 1914-1932, p. 75 Demand in the West for exclusion of Asian immigrants became even stronger than it had been before.Vought, Hans P.; The Bully Pulpit and the Melting Pot: American Presidents And The Immigrant, 1897-1933, p. 167
All these factors combined to produce a national landslide, with a swing of almost twenty-nine percentage points to the Republicans vis-à-vis of four years earlier. Colorado mirrored this trend, with a total swing of 49.38 points from Wilson's 26-point 1916 victory where he carried every county except Sedgwick. This time, Harding would not merely become only the second Republican victor in the state since James B. Weaver’s Populist victory transitioned the state into a Democratic-leaning one, but become the only presidential candidate in history to carry all Colorado’s counties. The state was still 2.84 points more Democratic than the nation at-large despite Harding’s historic county sweep.
Results + General Election ResultsParty Pledged to Elector Votes Republican Party Warren G. Harding Julie Penrose173,248 Republican Party Warren G. Harding W. J. Frederick172,574 Republican Party Warren G. Harding Frank D. Catlin172,108 Republican Party Warren G. Harding Adella Bailey171,709 Republican Party Warren G. Harding William Kincaid171,102 Republican Party Warren G. Harding Anna Wolcott Vaile167,766 Democratic Party James M. Cox W. D. Kelsey104,936 Democratic Party James M. Cox Carrie St. Clair Napier104,396 Democratic Party James M. Cox Thomas A. Duke104,021 Democratic Party James M. Cox Frank L. Bishop103,721 Democratic Party James M. Cox Charles H. Leckenby102,899 Democratic Party James M. Cox Luella M. Rhodes100,469 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs George W. Kounz8,046 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs Lauren E. Arnold8,036 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs Channing Sweet7,940 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs Charles A. Ahlstrom7,860 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs Ira D. McFadden7,829 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs Henry H. Sweetland7,605 Farmer-Labor Party Parley P. Christensen Hattie K. Howard3,016 Farmer-Labor Party Parley P. Christensen Martha Ackerly2,898 Farmer-Labor Party Parley P. Christensen E. S. Agnew2,880 Prohibition Party Aaron S. Watkins Henry Candlin2,807 Farmer-Labor Party Parley P. Christensen Olga W. Levine2,791 Prohibition Party Aaron S. Watkins Edgar Wilkinson2,539 Prohibition Party Aaron S. Watkins Charles H. W. Lauenstein2,496 Prohibition Party Aaron S. Watkins Edward L. Crane2,474 Prohibition Party Aaron S. Watkins P. A. Rice2,473 Prohibition Party Aaron S. Watkins J. R. Wylie2,364Votes cast 292,053
Results by county CountyWarren Gamaliel HardingColorado Secretary of State; Abstract of Votes Cast at a General Election Held on Tuesday, November 2, A.D. 1920, For Presidential ElectorsRepublicanJames Middleton CoxDemocraticEugene Victor DebsSocialistParley Parker ChristensenFarmer-LaborAaron Sherman WatkinsProhibitionMargin%#%#%#%#%#%#Jackson76.28%40221.44%1130.19%10.57%31.52%854.84%289Morgan70.45%3,11425.00%1,1052.19%970.86%381.49%6645.45%2,009Phillips66.80%1,19126.92%4804.94%880.84%150.50%939.88%711Elbert66.35%1,65427.00%6733.33%831.81%451.52%3839.35%981Kit Carson65.48%1,87227.84%7964.16%1191.29%371.22%3537.64%1,076Cheyenne64.57%84027.52%3585.07%661.15%151.69%2237.05%482Gilpin66.99%41630.43%1891.45%91.13%70.00%036.55%227Baca63.21%1,61527.20%6957.16%1830.86%221.57%4036.01%920Sedgwick65.31%81929.67%3722.55%320.56%71.91%2435.65%447Moffat65.42%1,29429.78%5892.63%521.31%260.86%1735.64%705Prowers65.00%2,65030.59%1,2472.16%880.91%371.35%5534.41%1,403Yuma63.42%2,67329.75%1,2544.46%1880.78%331.59%6733.67%1,419Larimer64.34%5,48731.75%2,7081.91%1630.66%561.34%11432.59%2,779Hinsdale59.13%14926.59%679.92%251.19%33.17%832.54%82Washington63.44%2,11731.77%1,0602.79%931.11%370.90%3031.68%1,057Weld63.78%10,26832.31%5,2021.50%2420.78%1251.63%26331.47%5,066Custer63.28%56032.66%2892.15%191.24%110.68%630.62%271Denver62.03%43,58132.51%22,8393.21%2,2581.57%1,1020.68%47829.52%20,742El Paso62.78%9,53533.40%5,0731.87%2840.76%1151.20%18229.38%4,462Archuleta63.12%70034.17%3791.08%120.45%51.17%1328.94%321Jefferson61.52%3,59333.24%1,9413.27%1911.30%760.67%3928.29%1,652Conejos63.50%1,59535.27%8860.32%80.44%110.48%1228.22%709Ouray61.51%73533.64%4022.26%272.01%240.59%727.87%333Lincoln61.26%1,81534.19%1,0132.70%801.05%310.81%2427.07%802Rio Blanco62.24%79335.71%4550.78%100.31%40.94%1226.53%338Douglas61.40%94836.33%5611.04%160.52%80.71%1125.06%387Crowley60.64%1,34835.63%7921.57%350.45%101.71%3825.01%556Rio Grande61.01%1,66036.20%9851.07%290.48%131.25%3424.81%675Bent60.67%1,58435.89%9371.15%300.92%241.38%3624.78%647Saguache60.32%1,19536.19%7172.52%500.25%50.71%1424.13%478Arapahoe59.80%2,93035.76%1,7522.16%1061.59%780.69%3424.04%1,178Kiowa59.63%86435.96%5212.69%390.21%31.52%2223.67%343Logan59.71%3,12336.20%1,8931.59%831.26%661.24%6523.52%1,230Park58.20%51136.45%3204.44%390.46%40.46%421.75%191Boulder57.91%6,45637.67%4,2002.64%2940.65%731.12%12520.24%2,256Teller57.89%1,55237.67%1,0103.32%890.67%180.45%1220.22%542Adams57.57%2,51037.45%1,6333.19%1390.99%430.80%3520.11%877Routt57.51%1,85437.97%1,2242.98%961.02%330.53%1719.54%630Clear Creek58.31%76539.48%5181.14%150.61%80.46%618.83%247Delta56.40%2,59638.02%1,7503.76%1730.78%361.04%4818.38%846Montrose54.83%2,22537.51%1,5225.20%2110.91%371.55%6317.32%703Otero55.93%3,84639.66%2,7271.69%1160.58%402.14%14716.27%1,119San Miguel54.30%92840.26%6883.45%590.82%141.17%2014.04%240Eagle55.13%85441.90%6491.81%280.84%130.32%513.23%205Lake53.16%1,28740.97%9923.72%901.73%420.41%1012.19%295Fremont53.33%3,02741.21%2,3393.22%1830.76%431.48%8412.12%688Garfield54.32%1,91242.30%1,4892.16%760.88%310.34%1212.02%423Montezuma52.20%93640.55%7274.57%821.28%231.39%2511.66%209Dolores48.28%19737.50%15311.27%461.96%80.98%410.78%44Mineral49.33%18339.35%1469.43%351.62%60.27%19.97%37Pueblo53.13%9,62143.42%7,8632.41%4360.59%1070.45%829.71%1,758Chaffee52.91%1,50143.46%1,2332.50%710.53%150.60%179.45%268La Plata50.85%1,71142.94%1,4454.25%1431.04%350.92%317.90%266Grand52.51%64944.74%5531.13%141.38%170.24%37.77%96Mesa49.80%3,62143.16%3,1384.10%2981.42%1031.53%1116.64%483Alamosa51.87%1,08145.54%9491.49%310.67%140.43%96.33%132Pitkin49.38%47843.08%4174.13%402.79%270.62%66.30%61San Juan50.46%33044.34%2903.52%231.22%80.46%36.12%40Las Animas51.19%4,70745.31%4,1672.31%2120.67%620.52%485.87%540Huerfano51.42%2,53946.40%2,2910.81%400.73%360.65%325.02%248Summit50.36%41846.75%3882.05%170.48%40.36%33.61%30Costilla49.52%77847.74%7501.15%180.76%120.83%131.78%28Gunnison47.46%1,05545.97%1,0225.67%1260.54%120.36%81.48%33
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