The 1908 United States presidential election in Nevada was held on November 3, 1908 as part of the

1908 United States presidential election The 1908 United States presidential election was the 31st quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 1908. Secretary of War and Republican Party nominee William Howard Taft defeated three-time Democratic nominee William Je ...

. Voters chose three representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

and

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

was won by Democratic nominee

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running ...

, who narrowly won the state with 45.71% of the vote, to the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...

nominee

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

’s 43.93%, winning him the state’s three electoral votes. Socialist candidate

Eugene Debs Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Eugene (actress) (born 1981), Kim Yoo-jin, South Korean actress and former member of the sin ...

received his highest percentage nationally in Nevada with 8.57% of the vote. Bryan, who had also carried the state against

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in t ...

in both

1896 Events January–March * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that ...

and

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...

saw a loss of 35.50% from his 1896 vote and of 16.54% from his 1900 vote. This was the last presidential election where a Democrat carried Nevada without winning the presidency until

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, and remains the last time that the state has supported a Democrat who lost the popular vote.

Campaign

The six Democratic Nevada delegates were selected at the state convention held in

Carson City Carson City is an independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the sixth largest city in Nevada. The majority of the city's population lives in Eagle Valley, on th ...

and consisted of Senator Francis G. Newlands, Governor

Denver S. Dickerson Denver Sylvester Dickerson (January 24, 1872 – November 28, 1925) was an American politician. He was the 11th governor of Nevada from 1908 to 1911. A member of the Silver – Democratic coalition party, he had previously held office as the 13t ...

, Winfield Scott Elliott, Ed W. Clark, John Sunderland, and Charles R. Evans with A. W. Dawley, Charles Green, Thomas Dunn, journalist A. P. Bettersworth, Fred L. White, and Captain G. W. Thatcher serving as alternative delegates with instruction to vote for Bryan. Recently elected Governor Dickerson lead the Nevada delegation at the

Democratic national convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

. Charles L. Sprague, L. L. Hudson, and Joseph A. Miller were selected as the three Democratic presidential electors. The five Republican Nevada delegates were selected at the state convention held in Winnemucca and consisted of J. F. Douglas, P. L. Flanigan, Wm. Easton, Hugh Brown, and Geo Russell and were to be accompanied by Senator

George S. Nixon George Stuart Nixon (April 2, 1860 – June 5, 1912) was an American who served as a member of the United States Senate from Nevada. Early life He was born in Newcastle, California. He went to work for a railroad company and studied telegraphy ...

and were left uninstructed as to whom to vote for, but stated that they favored Taft. M. D. Staunton, John G. Thompson, O. R. Morgan, O. J. Smith, and R. W. Parry were selected as alternative delegates. J. G. Thompson, H. A. Comins, and W. R. Thomas were selected as the Republican presidential electors. The Socialist Party of America's presidential electors were J. B. Gibson, Charles T. Williams, and A. E. Anderson. The Independence Party's presidential electors were H. W. Miles, Dean Martin, and J. C. Hagerman. In September Eugene V. Debs made a short stop in Caliente and addressed a crowd during a train stop. On October 31 a political rally in favor of Taft was held in Reno where Senatorial candidate P. L. Flanigan, former Nevada Supreme Court Justice William A. Massey, and others spoke in favor of Taft, their candidacies, and of the Republican platform.

Results

Results by county

References

{{United States elections

1908 1908 Nevada elections

Campaign

Results

Results by county

See also

References