1908 United States presidential election in Kansas
Election in Kansas
1908 United States presidential election in Kansas
County Results
Taft
40-50%
50-60%
60-70%
Bryan
40-50%
50-60%
60-70%
The 1908 United States presidential election in Kansas was held on November 3, 1908 as part of the 1908 United States presidential election . Kansas voters chose ten electors to the Electoral College , who voted for president and vice president .
In its first thirty years as a state Kansas had been powerfully Republican , but with the Populist movement and major agricultural crises the state turned to James B. Weaver in 1892 and William Jennings Bryan in 1896 ;[1] however, President William McKinley won a rematch with Bryan in 1900 . With the return to a conservative “Gold Democrat ” candidate in 1904 , Kansas reverted to rock-solid Republican as Alton B. Parker failed to carry a single county in the state against Theodore Roosevelt .
Bryan was nominated as the Democratic candidate for president for the third time. However, by October, most predictions suggested that Bryan would not win over the voters who had deserted Parker, and be unsuccessful in his attempt to emulate his “Commoner” success of 1896.[2]
On election day, Republican candidate William Howard Taft carried Kansas by 9.60 points, an improvement of over 2 points upon McKinley's 1900 result and of 13.26 points upon the Republican result from 1896, despite Bryan campaigning in the state at the beginning of November.[3] His underperformance was in part attributed to the fact that Kansas’ local Republicans supported Taft's plan to guarantee bank deposits for all customers through the state treasurer.[4]
As of 2020, this remains the only time that Kansas has ever voted for a different presidential candidate than neighboring Nebraska .
Results
Results by county
1908 United States presidential election in Kansas by county[6]
County
William Howard Taft Republican
William Jennings Bryan Democratic
Eugene Victor Debs Social Democratic
Eugene Wilder Chafin Prohibition
Thomas Louis Higsen Independent
Margin
Total votes cast
#
%
#
%
#
%
#
%
#
%
#
%
Allen
3,283
53.80%
2,579
42.26%
204
3.34%
36
0.59%
0
0.00%
704
11.54%
6,102
Anderson
1,722
51.25%
1,512
45.00%
65
1.93%
61
1.82%
0
0.00%
210
6.25%
3,360
Atchison
3,244
54.94%
2,593
43.91%
48
0.81%
18
0.30%
2
0.03%
651
11.02%
5,905
Barber
1,097
53.72%
864
42.31%
45
2.20%
36
1.76%
0
0.00%
233
11.41%
2,042
Barton
1,729
44.83%
2,004
51.96%
100
2.59%
24
0.62%
0
0.00%
-275
-7.13%
3,857
Bourbon
2,695
47.83%
2,686
47.67%
211
3.75%
42
0.75%
0
0.00%
9
0.16%
5,634
Brown
2,778
56.31%
2,044
41.44%
61
1.24%
50
1.01%
0
0.00%
734
14.88%
4,933
Butler
3,049
53.97%
2,290
40.54%
149
2.64%
160
2.83%
1
0.02%
759
13.44%
5,649
Chase
1,021
53.04%
834
43.32%
46
2.39%
24
1.25%
0
0.00%
187
9.71%
1,925
Chautauqua
1,689
60.19%
958
34.14%
148
5.27%
11
0.39%
0
0.00%
731
26.05%
2,806
Cherokee
3,893
44.26%
3,819
43.42%
1,030
11.71%
51
0.58%
2
0.02%
74
0.84%
8,795
Cheyenne
486
54.30%
339
37.88%
41
4.58%
20
2.23%
9
1.01%
147
16.42%
895
Clark
386
49.87%
350
45.22%
24
3.10%
12
1.55%
2
0.26%
36
4.65%
774
Clay
1,858
52.96%
1,495
42.62%
102
2.91%
52
1.48%
1
0.03%
363
10.35%
3,508
Cloud
2,170
52.24%
1,663
40.03%
244
5.87%
76
1.83%
1
0.02%
507
12.21%
4,154
Coffey
2,094
53.38%
1,729
44.07%
35
0.89%
63
1.61%
2
0.05%
365
9.30%
3,923
Comanche
392
59.67%
245
37.29%
10
1.52%
10
1.52%
0
0.00%
147
22.37%
657
Cowley
3,578
50.55%
2,995
42.31%
396
5.59%
109
1.54%
0
0.00%
583
8.24%
7,078
Crawford
5,152
46.55%
4,230
38.22%
1,631
14.74%
54
0.49%
1
0.01%
922
8.33%
11,068
Decatur
898
39.18%
1,250
54.54%
94
4.10%
41
1.79%
9
0.39%
-352
-15.36%
2,292
Dickinson
2,886
53.31%
2,282
42.15%
152
2.81%
94
1.74%
0
0.00%
604
11.16%
5,414
Doniphan
2,307
66.46%
1,113
32.07%
33
0.95%
18
0.52%
0
0.00%
1,194
34.40%
3,471
Douglas
3,279
60.63%
2,010
37.17%
49
0.91%
70
1.29%
0
0.00%
1,269
23.47%
5,408
Edwards
773
50.23%
704
45.74%
27
1.75%
35
2.27%
0
0.00%
69
4.48%
1,539
Elk
1,454
54.11%
1,187
44.18%
25
0.93%
21
0.78%
0
0.00%
267
9.94%
2,687
Ellis
768
34.50%
1,421
63.84%
20
0.90%
17
0.76%
0
0.00%
-653
-29.34%
2,226
Ellsworth
1,213
52.95%
1,039
45.35%
13
0.57%
26
1.13%
0
0.00%
174
7.59%
2,291
Finney
1,000
61.46%
551
33.87%
58
3.56%
18
1.11%
0
0.00%
449
27.60%
1,627
Ford
1,333
53.28%
1,089
43.53%
44
1.76%
36
1.44%
0
0.00%
244
9.75%
2,502
Franklin
2,658
52.74%
2,155
42.76%
93
1.85%
134
2.66%
0
0.00%
503
9.98%
5,040
Geary
1,257
53.38%
1,033
43.86%
38
1.61%
27
1.15%
0
0.00%
224
9.51%
2,355
Gove
632
55.15%
456
39.79%
32
2.79%
26
2.27%
0
0.00%
176
15.36%
1,146
Graham
911
52.24%
723
41.46%
95
5.45%
15
0.86%
0
0.00%
188
10.78%
1,744
Grant
178
54.77%
133
40.92%
12
3.69%
2
0.62%
0
0.00%
45
13.85%
325
Gray
372
46.79%
338
42.52%
64
8.05%
21
2.64%
0
0.00%
34
4.28%
795
Greeley
206
64.58%
89
27.90%
21
6.58%
3
0.94%
0
0.00%
117
36.68%
319
Greenwood
2,370
59.16%
1,545
38.57%
69
1.72%
22
0.55%
0
0.00%
825
20.59%
4,006
Hamilton
415
57.32%
275
37.98%
30
4.14%
4
0.55%
0
0.00%
140
19.34%
724
Harper
1,490
48.46%
1,404
45.66%
112
3.64%
69
2.24%
0
0.00%
86
2.80%
3,075
Harvey
2,305
58.30%
1,475
37.30%
99
2.50%
74
1.87%
1
0.03%
830
20.99%
3,954
Haskell
172
48.73%
139
39.38%
36
10.20%
6
1.70%
0
0.00%
33
9.35%
353
Hodgeman
411
57.08%
290
40.28%
7
0.97%
12
1.67%
0
0.00%
121
16.81%
720
Jackson
2,201
58.65%
1,494
39.81%
17
0.45%
39
1.04%
2
0.05%
707
18.84%
3,753
Jefferson
2,270
55.57%
1,720
42.11%
64
1.57%
31
0.76%
0
0.00%
550
13.46%
4,085
Jewell
2,410
53.48%
1,932
42.88%
54
1.20%
110
2.44%
0
0.00%
478
10.61%
4,506
Johnson
2,313
51.17%
2,091
46.26%
88
1.95%
28
0.62%
0
0.00%
222
4.91%
4,520
Kearny
435
56.64%
304
39.58%
26
3.39%
3
0.39%
0
0.00%
131
17.06%
768
Kingman
1,442
47.26%
1,479
48.48%
84
2.75%
45
1.47%
1
0.03%
-37
-1.21%
3,051
Kiowa
699
59.49%
409
34.81%
37
3.15%
30
2.55%
0
0.00%
290
24.68%
1,175
Labette
3,367
49.17%
2,783
40.64%
643
9.39%
54
0.79%
1
0.01%
584
8.53%
6,848
Lane
357
51.52%
271
39.11%
49
7.07%
16
2.31%
0
0.00%
86
12.41%
693
Leavenworth
4,846
53.87%
3,818
42.44%
288
3.20%
43
0.48%
1
0.01%
1,028
11.43%
8,996
Lincoln
1,218
50.27%
1,117
46.10%
58
2.39%
30
1.24%
0
0.00%
101
4.17%
2,423
Linn
1,950
51.79%
1,657
44.01%
126
3.35%
31
0.82%
1
0.03%
293
7.78%
3,765
Logan
524
59.34%
308
34.88%
32
3.62%
18
2.04%
1
0.11%
216
24.46%
883
Lyon
2,973
50.87%
2,562
43.84%
161
2.75%
147
2.52%
1
0.02%
411
7.03%
5,844
Marion
2,546
57.45%
1,747
39.42%
57
1.29%
80
1.81%
2
0.05%
799
18.03%
4,432
Marshall
3,296
55.91%
2,514
42.65%
32
0.54%
53
0.90%
0
0.00%
782
13.27%
5,895
McPherson
2,708
57.39%
1,905
40.37%
55
1.17%
51
1.08%
0
0.00%
803
17.02%
4,719
Meade
560
56.22%
386
38.76%
26
2.61%
24
2.41%
0
0.00%
174
17.47%
996
Miami
2,475
51.03%
2,256
46.52%
91
1.88%
26
0.54%
2
0.04%
219
4.52%
4,850
Mitchell
1,765
50.50%
1,570
44.92%
118
3.38%
42
1.20%
0
0.00%
195
5.58%
3,495
Montgomery
5,166
52.10%
4,030
40.64%
661
6.67%
57
0.57%
2
0.02%
1,136
11.46%
9,916
Morris
1,788
57.53%
1,273
40.96%
19
0.61%
28
0.90%
0
0.00%
515
16.57%
3,108
Morton
154
50.49%
140
45.90%
6
1.97%
5
1.64%
0
0.00%
14
4.59%
305
Nemaha
2,394
51.57%
2,182
47.01%
32
0.69%
33
0.71%
1
0.02%
212
4.57%
4,642
Neosho
2,929
53.15%
2,386
43.30%
166
3.01%
29
0.53%
1
0.02%
543
9.85%
5,511
Ness
635
47.96%
461
34.82%
109
8.23%
117
8.84%
2
0.15%
174
13.14%
1,324
Norton
1,448
49.76%
1,337
45.95%
59
2.03%
66
2.27%
0
0.00%
111
3.81%
2,910
Osage
2,671
50.30%
2,288
43.09%
264
4.97%
86
1.62%
1
0.02%
383
7.21%
5,310
Osborne
1,665
55.30%
1,132
37.60%
45
1.49%
169
5.61%
0
0.00%
533
17.70%
3,011
Ottawa
1,444
50.54%
1,265
44.28%
83
2.91%
65
2.28%
0
0.00%
179
6.27%
2,857
Pawnee
1,000
48.43%
961
46.54%
68
3.29%
36
1.74%
0
0.00%
39
1.89%
2,065
Phillips
1,762
52.25%
1,490
44.19%
65
1.93%
55
1.63%
0
0.00%
272
8.07%
3,372
Pottawatomie
2,650
60.78%
1,680
38.53%
11
0.25%
19
0.44%
0
0.00%
970
22.25%
4,360
Pratt
1,193
50.53%
1,027
43.50%
67
2.84%
73
3.09%
1
0.04%
166
7.03%
2,361
Rawlins
719
47.36%
732
48.22%
59
3.89%
7
0.46%
1
0.07%
-13
-0.86%
1,518
Reno
4,092
52.72%
3,381
43.56%
175
2.25%
114
1.47%
0
0.00%
711
9.16%
7,762
Republic
2,156
51.79%
1,905
45.76%
35
0.84%
67
1.61%
0
0.00%
251
6.03%
4,163
Rice
1,832
51.35%
1,407
39.43%
110
3.08%
217
6.08%
2
0.06%
425
11.91%
3,568
Riley
2,276
61.71%
1,289
34.95%
65
1.76%
58
1.57%
0
0.00%
987
26.76%
3,688
Rooks
1,280
53.13%
1,003
41.64%
75
3.11%
51
2.12%
0
0.00%
277
11.50%
2,409
Rush
764
45.02%
894
52.68%
30
1.77%
9
0.53%
0
0.00%
-130
-7.66%
1,697
Russell
1,360
57.12%
976
40.99%
27
1.13%
18
0.76%
0
0.00%
384
16.13%
2,381
Saline
2,297
50.15%
2,134
46.59%
116
2.53%
33
0.72%
0
0.00%
163
3.56%
4,580
Scott
324
47.09%
294
42.73%
61
8.87%
8
1.16%
1
0.15%
30
4.36%
688
Sedgwick
6,756
50.25%
6,049
44.99%
390
2.90%
247
1.84%
3
0.02%
707
5.26%
13,445
Seward
427
48.09%
413
46.51%
33
3.72%
15
1.69%
0
0.00%
14
1.58%
888
Shawnee
7,554
56.28%
5,585
41.61%
170
1.27%
112
0.83%
0
0.00%
1,969
14.67%
13,421
Sheridan
639
48.89%
631
48.28%
22
1.68%
15
1.15%
0
0.00%
8
0.61%
1,307
Sherman
439
43.64%
508
50.50%
46
4.57%
13
1.29%
0
0.00%
-69
-6.86%
1,006
Smith
1,843
51.65%
1,593
44.65%
51
1.43%
78
2.19%
3
0.08%
250
7.01%
3,568
Stafford
1,334
50.99%
1,135
43.39%
48
1.83%
99
3.78%
0
0.00%
199
7.61%
2,616
Stanton
180
60.81%
107
36.15%
6
2.03%
3
1.01%
0
0.00%
73
24.66%
296
Stevens
258
48.22%
215
40.19%
39
7.29%
23
4.30%
0
0.00%
43
8.04%
535
Sumner
3,235
51.30%
2,772
43.96%
204
3.24%
95
1.51%
0
0.00%
463
7.34%
6,306
Thomas
569
44.98%
630
49.80%
44
3.48%
22
1.74%
0
0.00%
-61
-4.82%
1,265
Trego
617
54.65%
458
40.57%
32
2.83%
20
1.77%
2
0.18%
159
14.08%
1,129
Wabaunsee
1,849
60.25%
1,163
37.90%
24
0.78%
33
1.08%
0
0.00%
686
22.35%
3,069
Wallace
350
59.32%
206
34.92%
23
3.90%
11
1.86%
0
0.00%
144
24.41%
590
Washington
2,711
57.51%
1,904
40.39%
46
0.98%
53
1.12%
0
0.00%
807
17.12%
4,714
Wichita
233
54.31%
173
40.33%
22
5.13%
1
0.23%
0
0.00%
60
13.99%
429
Wilson
2,428
53.14%
1,777
38.89%
324
7.09%
40
0.88%
0
0.00%
651
14.25%
4,569
Woodson
1,252
53.23%
1,047
44.52%
41
1.74%
12
0.51%
0
0.00%
205
8.72%
2,352
Wyandotte
8,684
47.56%
8,923
48.87%
528
2.89%
117
0.64%
7
0.04%
-239
-1.31%
18,259
Totals
197,316
52.47%
161,209
42.87%
12,420
3.30%
5,030
1.34%
70
0.02%
36,107
9.60%
376,045
See also
References
^ Phillips, Kevin P. ; The Emerging Republican Majority , p. 418 ISBN 9780691163246
^ ‘Roads Can't Handle Crops: Predicts That Bryan Will Carry Missouri and Taft Kansas’; San Francisco Chronicle , October 5, 1908, p. 3
^ ‘Campaign Nears End: Hitchcock and Mack Rest. Stick to Forecasts of Last Week’; Boston Daily Globe , November 2, 1908, p.1
^ ‘Nominee at Same Banquet: Taft and Bryan Will Meet at Chicago’; Boston Daily Globe , September 12, 1908, p. 2
^ "1908 Presidential General Election Results – Kansas" . Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved 26 October 2019 .
^ "Popular Vote at the Presidential Election for 1908" . Géoelections. (.xlsx file for €30 including full minor party figures)