The 1908 United States presidential election in Louisiana took place on November 3, 1908. All contemporary 46 states were part of the 1908 United States presidential election. State voters chose nine electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.
Following the passage of a new constitution in 1898, Louisiana became a one-party state dominated by the Democratic Party. The Republican Party became moribund due to the disenfranchisement of blacks and the complete absence of other support bases as Louisiana completely lacked upland or German refugee whites opposed to secession. Despite this absolute single-party dominance, non-partisan tendencies remained strong among wealthy sugar planters in Acadiana, within the business elite of New Orleans, and even amongst the “lily-white” faction of the moribund state GOP that supported black disenfranchisement in the effort to become respectable amongst the white elite.
Following disfranchisement, the state's politics became dominated by the Choctaw Club of Louisiana, generally called the “Old Regulars”. This political machine was based in New Orleans and united with Black Belt cotton planters. Although white Republicans continued to work towards taking over Federal patronage from the “black and tans”, throughout most of the 1900s Louisiana politics was under firm Choctaw control as the Populist movement weakened with the disenfranchisement of many poor whites via the poll tax.
Louisiana was won by the Democratic nominees, former Representative William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska and his running mate John W. Kern of Indiana. They defeated the Republican candidates, United States Secretary of War William Howard Taft of Ohio and his running mate James S. Sherman of New York. Bryan won the state by a landslide margin of 72.7%.
With 84.63 percent of the popular vote, Louisiana would also prove to be Bryan's third strongest victory in terms of percentage in the popular vote only after South Carolina and Mississippi.
Bryan had previously defeated William McKinley in Louisiana in both 1896 and 1900.
Results 1908 United States presidential election in LouisianaDave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas; Presidential General Election Results – LouisianaPartyCandidateVotesPercentageElectoral votes Democratic William Jennings Bryan 63,568 84.63% 9 Republican William Howard Taft 8,958 11.93% 0 Socialist Eugene V. Debs 2,514 3.35% 0 Independent Thomas L. Hisgen 77 0.10% 0 Totals 75,117 100.00% 9 Voter turnout —
Results by parish 1908 United States presidential election in Louisiana by parish (.xlsx file for €30 including full minor party figures)ParishDemocraticRepublicanSocialistIndependentMargin # % # % # % # % # % Acadia 1,017 74.07% 214 15.59% 141 10.27% 1 0.07% 803 58.49% 1,373 Ascension 551 82.61% 107 16.04% 9 1.35% 0 0.00% 444 66.57% 667 Assumption 511 71.97% 198 27.89% 1 0.14% 0 0.00% 313 44.08% 710 Avoyelles 1,240 94.87% 50 3.83% 16 1.22% 1 0.08% 1,190 91.05% 1,307 Bienville 926 82.38% 65 5.78% 131 11.65% 2 0.18% 795 70.73% 1,124 Bossier 470 96.51% 8 1.64% 9 1.85% 0 0.00% 461 94.66% 487 Caddo 1,733 91.26% 125 6.58% 40 2.11% 1 0.05% 1,608 84.68% 1,899 Calcasieu 1,975 69.35% 683 23.98% 185 6.50% 5 0.18% 1,292 45.37% 2,848 Caldwell 314 79.70% 21 5.33% 58 14.72% 1 0.25% 256 64.98% 394 Cameron 280 94.28% 15 5.05% 2 0.67% 0 0.00% 265 89.23% 297 Catahoula 660 76.48% 88 10.20% 114 13.21% 1 0.12% 546 63.27% 863 Claiborne 874 93.28% 38 4.06% 24 2.56% 1 0.11% 836 89.22% 937 Concordia 288 95.05% 4 1.32% 11 3.63% 0 0.00% 277 91.42% 303 881 93.72% 17 1.81% 41 4.36% 1 0.11% 840 89.36% 940 1,090 91.29% 83 6.95% 20 1.68% 1 0.08% 1,007 84.34% 1,194 194 96.52% 6 2.99% 1 0.50% 0 0.00% 188 93.53% 201 589 97.68% 12 1.99% 2 0.33% 0 0.00% 577 95.69% 603 Franklin 456 94.41% 15 3.11% 12 2.48% 0 0.00% 441 91.30% 483 Grant 388 73.90% 83 15.81% 52 9.90% 2 0.38% 305 58.10% 525 Iberia 820 68.33% 328 27.33% 52 4.33% 0 0.00% 492 41.00% 1,200 Iberville 500 91.91% 44 8.09% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 456 83.82% 544 Jackson 493 78.88% 77 12.32% 51 8.16% 4 0.64% 416 66.56% 625 Jefferson 1,122 97.40% 30 2.60% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1,092 94.79% 1,152 Lafayette 725 74.28% 128 13.11% 121 12.40% 2 0.20% 597 61.17% 976 Lafourche 1,072 78.08% 296 21.56% 5 0.36% 0 0.00% 776 56.52% 1,373 Lincoln 634 89.04% 52 7.30% 26 3.65% 0 0.00% 582 81.74% 712 Livingston 448 90.14% 19 3.82% 30 6.04% 0 0.00% 418 84.10% 497 Madison 156 96.30% 6 3.70% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 150 92.59% 162 Morehouse 458 92.15% 20 4.02% 19 3.82% 0 0.00% 438 88.13% 497 Natchitoches 792 81.06% 143 14.64% 42 4.30% 0 0.00% 649 66.43% 977 Orleans 25,678 87.77% 3,288 11.24% 253 0.86% 36 0.12% 22,390 76.53% 29,255 Ouachita 851 90.53% 60 6.38% 27 2.87% 2 0.21% 791 84.15% 940 Plaquemines 416 74.55% 127 22.76% 15 2.69% 0 0.00% 289 51.79% 558 653 96.60% 23 3.40% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 630 93.20% 676 Rapides 1,302 86.68% 159 10.59% 40 2.66% 1 0.07% 1,143 76.10% 1,502 386 83.19% 6 1.29% 72 15.52% 0 0.00% 314 67.67% 464 Richland 445 98.02% 9 1.98% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 436 96.04% 454 Sabine 593 87.46% 47 6.93% 38 5.60% 0 0.00% 546 80.53% 678 356 95.19% 18 4.81% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 338 90.37% 374 215 90.72% 22 9.28% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 193 81.43% 237 281 88.92% 34 10.76% 1 0.32% 0 0.00% 247 78.16% 316 364 73.24% 123 24.75% 8 1.61% 2 0.40% 241 48.49% 497 287 89.13% 33 10.25% 2 0.62% 0 0.00% 254 78.88% 322 1,395 84.60% 238 14.43% 14 0.85% 2 0.12% 1,157 70.16% 1,649 651 91.95% 39 5.51% 18 2.54% 0 0.00% 612 86.44% 708 767 71.68% 273 25.51% 27 2.52% 3 0.28% 494 46.17% 1,070 755 80.58% 107 11.42% 73 7.79% 2 0.21% 648 69.16% 937 Tangipahoa 1,116 80.64% 240 17.34% 27 1.95% 1 0.07% 876 63.29% 1,384 Tensas 300 97.72% 7 2.28% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 293 95.44% 307 Terrebonne 634 62.59% 372 36.72% 7 0.69% 0 0.00% 262 25.86% 1,013 Union 634 89.17% 53 7.45% 24 3.38% 0 0.00% 581 81.72% 711 Vermilion 547 72.64% 156 20.72% 50 6.64% 0 0.00% 391 51.93% 753 Vernon 618 54.21% 273 23.95% 241 21.14% 8 0.70% 345 30.26% 1,140 Washington 550 91.51% 49 8.15% 1 0.17% 1 0.17% 501 83.36% 601 Webster 853 85.73% 32 3.22% 109 10.95% 1 0.10% 744 74.78% 995 198 95.65% 9 4.35% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 189 91.30% 207 189 76.83% 11 4.47% 46 18.70% 0 0.00% 143 58.13% 246 350 94.09% 22 5.91% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 328 88.17% 372 Winn 527 59.48% 153 17.27% 206 23.25% 0 0.00% 321 36.23% 886Totals63,56884.62%8,95811.92%2,5143.35%820.11%54,61072.70%75,122
See also United States presidential elections in Louisiana
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