1920 United States presidential election in Virginia

The 1920 United States presidential election in Virginia took place on November 2, 1920. Voters chose twelve representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. This was also the first presidential election after the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, which granted women the right to vote throughout the United States, including Virginia.

1920 United States presidential election in Virginia

← 1916 November 2, 1920 1924 →
 
Nominee James M. Cox Warren G. Harding
Party Democratic Republican
Home state Ohio Ohio
Running mate Franklin D. Roosevelt Calvin Coolidge
Electoral vote 12 0
Popular vote 141,670 87,456
Percentage 61.32% 37.85%

County Results

President before election

Woodrow Wilson
Democratic

Elected President

Warren G. Harding
Republican

The 1900s decade had seen Virginia, like all former Confederate States, almost completely disenfranchise its black and poor white populations through the use of a cumulative poll tax and literacy tests.[1] So severe was the disenfranchising effect of the new 1902 Constitution that the electorate for the 1904 presidential election was halved compared to that of previous elections, and it has been calculated that a third of those who voted were state employees and officeholders.[1]

This limited electorate meant Virginian politics was controlled by political machines based in Southside Virginia — firstly one led by Thomas Staples Martin and after he died the Byrd Organization. Progressive “antiorganization” factions were rendered impotent by the inability of almost all of their potential electorate to vote.[2] Unlike the Deep South, historical fusion with the “Readjuster” Democrats,[3] defection of substantial proportions of the Northeast-aligned white electorate of the Shenandoah Valley and Southwest Virginia over free silver,[4] and an early move towards a “lily white” Jim Crow party[3] meant that in general elections the Republicans retained around one-third of the small statewide electorate,[5] with the majority of GOP support located in the western part of the state. However, in many parts of the state — like in Tennessee during the same period — the parties avoided competition by an agreed division over local offices.[2]

Unlike North Carolina, Tennessee or Oklahoma — the other Southern states with the rudiments of a two-party system like typically contested statewide general elections — Virginia was influenced neither by Appalachian or Ozark isolationism[6] nor the Nineteenth Amendment. Virginia had not given women suffrage at any level before 1920, and in February the State House of Delegates rejected the Nineteenth Amendment by 62 to 22[7] and the state’s Senate rejected it by a vote of 24 to 10.[8] There were efforts to have women’s suffrage subject to a referendum and an amendment to the state constitution after it was rejected by the legislature,[9] but the idea was never carried out.

Neither Republican nominee, Ohio Senator Warren G. Harding nor Democratic nominee, former Ohio Governor James M. Cox campaigned in the state. Unlike Oklahoma, Tennessee and to a much lesser extent North Carolina,[10] there never was a thought that Virginia would be vulnerable to an expected and observed Republican landslide that saw Harding win the national election with 60.32 percent of the vote. Cox would win Virginia by a margin of 23.47 percentage points — a decrease vis-à-vis Woodrow Wilson’s results in the two previous elections, but much less than the Democratic Party experienced nationally.

Results edit

1920 United States presidential election in Virginia[11]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Democratic James M. Cox 141,670 61.32% 12
Republican Warren G. Harding 87,456 37.85% 0
Prohibition Aaron S. Watkins 857 0.37% 0
Socialist Eugene V. Debs 807 0.35% 0
Farmer-Labor Parley P. Christensen 243 0.11% 0
Totals 231,033 100.00% 12

Results by county edit

1920 United States presidential election in Virginia by counties and independent cities[12][13]
County or Independent City James Middleton Cox
Democratic
Warren Gamaliel Harding
Republican
Aaron Sherman Watkins
Prohibition
Eugene Victor Debs
Socialist
Parley Parker Christensen
Farmer-Labor
Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # % # % # %
Accomack County 2,026 81.69% 409 16.49% 44 1.77% 1 0.04% 0 0.00% 1,617 65.20% 2,480
Albemarle County 1,587 74.58% 541 25.42% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1,046 49.15% 2,128
Alleghany County 663 46.79% 736 51.94% 10 0.71% 6 0.42% 2 0.14% -73 -5.15% 1,417
Amelia County 389 67.77% 179 31.18% 3 0.52% 3 0.52% 0 0.00% 210 36.59% 574
Amherst County 1,094 86.14% 168 13.23% 1 0.08% 7 0.55% 0 0.00% 926 72.91% 1,270
Appomattox County 837 81.10% 190 18.41% 5 0.48% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 647 62.69% 1,032
Arlington County 835 44.65% 997 53.32% 10 0.53% 17 0.91% 11 0.59% -162 -8.66% 1,870
Augusta County 2,106 54.29% 1,707 44.01% 49 1.26% 14 0.36% 3 0.08% 399 10.29% 3,879
Bath County 343 48.31% 362 50.99% 2 0.28% 1 0.14% 2 0.28% -19 -2.68% 710
Bedford County 1,774 74.51% 583 24.49% 15 0.63% 6 0.25% 3 0.13% 1,191 50.02% 2,381
Bland County 403 45.74% 478 54.26% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% -75 -8.51% 881
Botetourt County 1,331 51.71% 1,240 48.17% 3 0.12% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 91 3.54% 2,574
Brunswick County 866 87.04% 125 12.56% 0 0.00% 4 0.40% 0 0.00% 741 74.47% 995
Buchanan County 675 38.46% 1,078 61.42% 0 0.00% 1 0.06% 1 0.06% -403 -22.96% 1,755
Buckingham County 749 70.53% 311 29.28% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 2 0.19% 438 41.24% 1,062
Campbell County 1,341 77.16% 375 21.58% 12 0.69% 4 0.23% 6 0.35% 966 55.58% 1,738
Caroline County 665 67.58% 308 31.30% 9 0.91% 2 0.20% 0 0.00% 357 36.28% 984
Carroll County 1,265 33.37% 2,520 66.47% 4 0.11% 2 0.05% 0 0.00% -1,255 -33.10% 3,791
Charles City County 119 58.91% 82 40.59% 1 0.50% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 37 18.32% 202
Charlotte County 1,266 77.48% 364 22.28% 4 0.24% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 902 55.20% 1,634
Chesterfield County 964 75.37% 302 23.61% 3 0.23% 3 0.23% 7 0.55% 662 51.76% 1,279
Clarke County 774 79.30% 154 15.78% 25 2.56% 11 1.13% 12 1.23% 620 63.52% 976
Craig County 381 54.51% 315 45.06% 2 0.29% 1 0.14% 0 0.00% 66 9.44% 699
Culpeper County 973 74.50% 330 25.27% 3 0.23% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 643 49.23% 1,306
Cumberland County 413 77.78% 114 21.47% 4 0.75% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 299 56.31% 531
Dickenson County 903 45.38% 1,067 53.62% 3 0.15% 17 0.85% 0 0.00% -164 -8.24% 1,990
Dinwiddie County 636 77.18% 186 22.57% 1 0.12% 0 0.00% 1 0.12% 450 54.61% 824
Elizabeth City County 675 58.80% 439 38.24% 10 0.87% 19 1.66% 5 0.44% 236 20.56% 1,148
Essex County 319 75.95% 101 24.05% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 218 51.90% 420
Fairfax County 1,598 61.06% 987 37.71% 17 0.65% 10 0.38% 5 0.19% 611 23.35% 2,617
Fauquier County 1,365 70.32% 568 29.26% 7 0.36% 0 0.00% 1 0.05% 797 41.06% 1,941
Floyd County 497 26.65% 1,355 72.65% 5 0.27% 7 0.38% 1 0.05% -858 -46.01% 1,865
Fluvanna County 562 78.38% 146 20.36% 2 0.28% 6 0.84% 1 0.14% 416 58.02% 717
Franklin County 1,765 56.01% 1,381 43.83% 1 0.03% 2 0.06% 2 0.06% 384 12.19% 3,151
Frederick County 1,337 59.79% 875 39.13% 16 0.72% 6 0.27% 2 0.09% 462 20.66% 2,236
Giles County 1,104 55.56% 877 44.14% 5 0.25% 0 0.00% 1 0.05% 227 11.42% 1,987
Gloucester County 677 69.87% 283 29.21% 8 0.83% 1 0.10% 0 0.00% 394 40.66% 969
Goochland County 384 63.79% 212 35.22% 2 0.33% 4 0.66% 0 0.00% 172 28.57% 602
Grayson County 1,781 45.27% 2,153 54.73% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% -372 -9.46% 3,934
Greene County 306 42.27% 414 57.18% 2 0.28% 0 0.00% 2 0.28% -108 -14.92% 724
Greensville County 424 78.81% 111 20.63% 2 0.37% 1 0.19% 0 0.00% 313 58.18% 538
Halifax County 2,103 77.98% 586 21.73% 6 0.22% 1 0.04% 1 0.04% 1,517 56.25% 2,697
Hanover County 903 79.70% 224 19.77% 3 0.26% 0 0.00% 3 0.26% 679 59.93% 1,133
Henrico County 1,078 74.19% 338 23.26% 6 0.41% 23 1.58% 8 0.55% 740 50.93% 1,453
Henry County 871 54.95% 698 44.04% 10 0.63% 3 0.19% 3 0.19% 173 10.91% 1,585
Highland County 379 44.22% 474 55.31% 3 0.35% 0 0.00% 1 0.12% -95 -11.09% 857
Isle of Wight County 759 75.52% 245 24.38% 1 0.10% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 514 51.14% 1,005
James City County 207 76.38% 61 22.51% 2 0.74% 1 0.37% 0 0.00% 146 53.87% 271
King and Queen County 347 65.72% 181 34.28% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 166 31.44% 528
King George County 249 49.50% 253 50.30% 1 0.20% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% -4 -0.80% 503
King William County 353 65.98% 176 32.90% 5 0.93% 1 0.19% 0 0.00% 177 33.08% 535
Lancaster County 404 73.99% 138 25.27% 4 0.73% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 266 48.72% 546
Lee County 1,592 42.33% 2,162 57.48% 1 0.03% 4 0.11% 2 0.05% -570 -15.16% 3,761
Loudoun County 1,720 68.64% 757 30.21% 16 0.64% 7 0.28% 6 0.24% 963 38.43% 2,506
Louisa County 684 68.20% 312 31.11% 2 0.20% 4 0.40% 1 0.10% 372 37.09% 1,003
Lunenburg County 818 78.96% 208 20.08% 1 0.10% 9 0.87% 0 0.00% 610 58.88% 1,036
Madison County 499 53.03% 431 45.80% 10 1.06% 0 0.00% 1 0.11% 68 7.23% 941
Mathews County 624 72.90% 216 25.23% 14 1.64% 0 0.00% 2 0.23% 408 47.66% 856
Mecklenburg County 1,619 85.66% 264 13.97% 6 0.32% 1 0.05% 0 0.00% 1,355 71.69% 1,890
Middlesex County 438 71.92% 170 27.91% 0 0.00% 1 0.16% 0 0.00% 268 44.01% 609
Montgomery County 969 44.92% 1,160 53.78% 27 1.25% 1 0.05% 0 0.00% -191 -8.85% 2,157
Nansemond County 690 73.95% 243 26.05% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 447 47.91% 933
Nelson County 973 71.18% 392 28.68% 0 0.00% 1 0.07% 1 0.07% 581 42.50% 1,367
New Kent County 190 63.55% 109 36.45% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 81 27.09% 299
Norfolk County 1,824 68.26% 813 30.43% 9 0.34% 16 0.60% 10 0.37% 1,011 37.84% 2,672
Northampton County 954 80.98% 217 18.42% 7 0.59% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 737 62.56% 1,178
Northumberland County 536 70.25% 221 28.96% 4 0.52% 1 0.13% 1 0.13% 315 41.28% 763
Nottoway County 821 84.21% 154 15.79% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 667 68.41% 975
Orange County 718 73.49% 258 26.41% 1 0.10% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 460 47.08% 977
Page County 846 42.68% 1,126 56.81% 4 0.20% 5 0.25% 1 0.05% -280 -14.13% 1,982
Patrick County 1,154 48.35% 1,230 51.53% 3 0.13% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% -76 -3.18% 2,387
Pittsylvania County 2,715 69.69% 1,162 29.83% 10 0.26% 7 0.18% 2 0.05% 1,553 39.86% 3,896
Powhatan County 263 64.78% 140 34.48% 0 0.00% 2 0.49% 1 0.25% 123 30.30% 406
Prince Edward County 774 80.21% 189 19.59% 1 0.10% 1 0.10% 0 0.00% 585 60.62% 965
Prince George County 375 74.11% 127 25.10% 3 0.59% 0 0.00% 1 0.20% 248 49.01% 506
Prince William County 786 66.55% 393 33.28% 2 0.17% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 393 33.28% 1,181
Princess Anne County 610 84.96% 105 14.62% 2 0.28% 0 0.00% 1 0.14% 505 70.33% 718
Pulaski County 1,814 51.37% 1,710 48.43% 6 0.17% 1 0.03% 0 0.00% 104 2.95% 3,531
Rappahannock County 418 66.35% 210 33.33% 0 0.00% 2 0.32% 0 0.00% 208 33.02% 630
Richmond County 321 60.91% 206 39.09% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 115 21.82% 527
Roanoke County 1,286 56.35% 955 41.85% 21 0.92% 14 0.61% 6 0.26% 331 14.50% 2,282
Rockbridge County 1,365 56.13% 1,054 43.34% 8 0.33% 3 0.12% 2 0.08% 311 12.79% 2,432
Rockingham County 2,068 45.07% 2,464 53.71% 42 0.92% 13 0.28% 1 0.02% -396 -8.63% 4,588
Russell County 1,704 48.95% 1,772 50.90% 2 0.06% 1 0.03% 2 0.06% -68 -1.95% 3,481
Scott County 1,671 40.49% 2,449 59.34% 0 0.00% 5 0.12% 2 0.05% -778 -18.85% 4,127
Shenandoah County 2,077 43.39% 2,683 56.05% 17 0.36% 9 0.19% 1 0.02% -606 -12.66% 4,787
Smyth County 1,516 44.41% 1,883 55.16% 6 0.18% 7 0.21% 2 0.06% -367 -10.75% 3,414
Southampton County 1,314 83.06% 250 15.80% 18 1.14% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1,064 67.26% 1,582
Spotsylvania County 440 52.76% 380 45.56% 7 0.84% 1 0.12% 6 0.72% 60 7.19% 834
Stafford County 459 43.30% 599 56.51% 2 0.19% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% -140 -13.21% 1,060
Surry County 397 80.69% 92 18.70% 2 0.41% 1 0.20% 0 0.00% 305 61.99% 492
Sussex County 548 76.43% 166 23.15% 2 0.28% 1 0.14% 0 0.00% 382 53.28% 717
Tazewell County 1,770 42.27% 2,408 57.51% 2 0.05% 6 0.14% 1 0.02% -638 -15.24% 4,187
Warren County 720 69.63% 293 28.34% 18 1.74% 2 0.19% 1 0.10% 427 41.30% 1,034
Warwick County 152 56.93% 109 40.82% 0 0.00% 5 1.87% 1 0.37% 43 16.10% 267
Washington County 2,251 45.61% 2,672 54.14% 5 0.10% 6 0.12% 1 0.02% -421 -8.53% 4,935
Westmoreland County 396 74.72% 133 25.09% 1 0.19% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 263 49.62% 530
Wise County 2,587 44.20% 3,236 55.29% 2 0.03% 25 0.43% 3 0.05% -649 -11.09% 5,853
Wythe County 1,465 40.90% 2,104 58.74% 11 0.31% 1 0.03% 1 0.03% -639 -17.84% 3,582
York County 281 74.54% 92 24.40% 3 0.80% 1 0.27% 0 0.00% 189 50.13% 377
Alexandria City 1,417 59.56% 921 38.71% 12 0.50% 23 0.97% 6 0.25% 496 20.85% 2,379
Bristol City 784 69.14% 344 30.34% 1 0.09% 4 0.35% 1 0.09% 440 38.80% 1,134
Buena Vista City 262 62.83% 154 36.93% 0 0.00% 1 0.24% 0 0.00% 108 25.90% 417
Charlottesville City 1,041 73.99% 351 24.95% 10 0.71% 4 0.28% 1 0.07% 690 49.04% 1,407
Clifton Forge City 727 70.38% 274 26.52% 1 0.10% 31 3.00% 0 0.00% 453 43.85% 1,033
Danville City 1,888 76.25% 551 22.25% 15 0.61% 20 0.81% 2 0.08% 1,337 54.00% 2,476
Fredericksburg City 581 65.06% 299 33.48% 5 0.56% 4 0.45% 4 0.45% 282 31.58% 893
Hampton City 601 78.36% 152 19.82% 12 1.56% 2 0.26% 0 0.00% 449 58.54% 767
Harrisonburg City 594 45.45% 704 53.86% 5 0.38% 2 0.15% 2 0.15% -110 -8.42% 1,307
Hopewell City 97 69.78% 41 29.50% 0 0.00% 1 0.72% 0 0.00% 56 40.29% 139
Lynchburg City 2,096 76.75% 609 22.30% 6 0.22% 10 0.37% 10 0.37% 1,487 54.45% 2,731
Newport News City 1,703 53.17% 1,450 45.27% 10 0.31% 33 1.03% 7 0.22% 253 7.90% 3,203
Norfolk City 5,953 70.73% 2,386 28.35% 0 0.00% 71 0.84% 7 0.08% 3,567 42.38% 8,417
Petersburg City 2,072 80.75% 485 18.90% 4 0.16% 5 0.19% 0 0.00% 1,587 61.85% 2,566
Portsmouth City 3,228 74.24% 1,061 24.40% 10 0.23% 45 1.03% 4 0.09% 2,167 49.84% 4,348
Radford City 402 60.91% 245 37.12% 3 0.45% 10 1.52% 0 0.00% 157 23.79% 660
Richmond City 14,878 75.93% 4,515 23.04% 35 0.18% 133 0.68% 34 0.17% 10,363 52.89% 19,595
Roanoke City 4,715 66.00% 2,329 32.60% 33 0.46% 54 0.76% 13 0.18% 2,386 33.40% 7,144
Staunton City 931 56.60% 705 42.86% 7 0.43% 1 0.06% 1 0.06% 226 13.74% 1,645
Suffolk City 761 70.86% 302 28.12% 10 0.93% 1 0.09% 0 0.00% 459 42.74% 1,074
Williamsburg City 166 72.81% 62 27.19% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 104 45.61% 228
Winchester City 736 56.62% 540 41.54% 18 1.38% 4 0.31% 2 0.15% 196 15.08% 1,300
Totals 141,670 61.33% 87,456 37.86% 826 0.36% 808 0.35% 240 0.10% 54,214 23.47% 231,000

References edit

  1. ^ a b Kousser, J. Morgan. The Shaping of Southern Politics: Suffrage Restriction and the Establishment of the One-Party South, 1880-1910. Yale University Press. pp. 178–181. ISBN 0-300-01696-4.
  2. ^ a b Key, Valdimer Orlando (1949). Southern Politics in State and Nation. pp. 20–25.
  3. ^ a b Heersink, Boris; Jenkins, Jeffrey A. Republican Party Politics and the American South, 1865-1968. pp. 217–221. ISBN 1107158435.
  4. ^ Moger, Allen. "The Rift in Virginia Democracy in 1896". The Journal of Southern History. 4 (3): 295–317.
  5. ^ Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, pp. 210, 242 ISBN 978-0-691-16324-6
  6. ^ See Ruotsila, Markku. "Conservative American Protestantism in the League of Nations controversy". Church History. 72 (3): 593–616.
  7. ^ "House Beats Suffrage by 62 to 22 Vote". The Portsmouth Star. Portsmouth, Virginia. February 12, 1920. p. 1.
  8. ^ "The Suffrage Amendment". Lenoir News-Topic. Lenoir, North Carolina. February 12, 1920. p. 2.
  9. ^ "The Suffrage Amendment". The Bristol Herald-Courier. Bristol, Tennessee. February 12, 1920. p. 4.
  10. ^ "Diverse Claims as to Tennessee: Memphis Says Cox Is Carrying State – Knoxville Reports Harding Ahead". The New York Times. New York City. November 3, 1920. p. 2.
  11. ^ "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 2, 1920" (PDF). Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. p. 19.
  12. ^ Robinson, Edgar Eugene; The Presidential Vote 1896-1932, pp. 354-361 ISBN 9780804716963
  13. ^ "Popular Vote for Eugene Victor Debs". Géoelections. (1920) (.xlsx file for €15)