The 1912 United States presidential election in Connecticut took place on November 5, 1912, as part of the
1912 United States presidential election
The 1912 United States presidential election was the 32nd quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 5, 1912. Democratic Governor Woodrow Wilson unseated incumbent Republican President William Howard Taft and defeated former Pr ...
which was held throughout all contemporary 48 states. Voters chose seven representatives, or electors to the
Electoral College, who voted for
president and
vice president.
During the
Third Party System,
Connecticut was one of a small number of critical
swing states due to its opposing Democratic Catholic and Republican Yankee populations being closely matched at the polls. However, the fear
William Jennings Bryan generated amongst the northeastern industrial elite, and among Catholic voters who belonged to a church that condemned
free silver
Free silver was a major economic policy issue in the United States in the late 19th-century. Its advocates were in favor of an expansionary monetary policy featuring the unlimited coinage of silver into money on-demand, as opposed to strict adhe ...
, meant that after the “Panic of 1893” Connecticut became substantially a one-party Republican state, although not to the same degree as many states in upper New England,
the Midwest
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
or
the Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
. No Democrat would serve as
a United States Senator from the state during the “
System of 1896
The Fourth Party System is the term used in political science and history for the period in American political history from about 1896 to 1932 that was dominated by the Republican Party, except the 1912 split in which Democrats captured the Whit ...
”, and only one Democrat would serve as Governor — the aging
Simeon Eben Baldwin, who had been elected in 1910.
Despite the severe divisions that had been affecting the dominant Republican Party since 1910, incumbent
President William Howard Taft and
Vice President James S. Sherman
James Schoolcraft Sherman (October 24, 1855 – October 30, 1912) was an American politician who was a United States representative from New York from 1887 to 1891 and 1893 to 1909, and the 27th vice president of the United States under President ...
led the state in the earliest polls from July. However, when a better poll was taken in October, it was clear that
Progressive Party candidates, former President
Theodore Roosevelt and his running mate California
Governor Hiram Johnson were taking too many votes to hang on even to the forty-four-thousand vote majority Taft had gained in 1908. The later poll proved accurate and
Connecticut was won by the
Democratic
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
nominees, New Jersey
Governor Woodrow Wilson and Indiana
Governor Thomas R. Marshall won Connecticut by a narrow margin of 3.28 percent, becoming the first Democratic presidential candidate since
Grover Cleveland in
1892
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Ellis Island begins accommodating immigrants to the United States.
* February 1 - The historic Enterprise Bar and Grill was established in Rico, Colorado.
* February 27 – Rudolf Diesel applies for ...
to win the state or any county. Fairfield County last voted Democratic in
1884
Events
January–March
* January 4 – The Fabian Society is founded in London.
* January 5 – Gilbert and Sullivan's ''Princess Ida'' premières at the Savoy Theatre, London.
* January 18 – Dr. William Price atte ...
.
While Taft lost the state, his 35.88 percent of the popular vote made it his fifth strongest state in terms of popular vote percentage after
Utah,
New Hampshire,
Vermont and
New Mexico.
Connecticut was also the only northeastern state where Socialist Eugene V. Debs received over 5 percent of the vote. This was the first occasion since
1852
Events
January–March
* January 14 – President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte proclaims a new constitution for the French Second Republic.
* January 15 – Nine men representing various Jewish charitable organizations come tog ...
that a Democrat won New London County. As of 2023, this was the most recent presidential election in which the Democratic nominee carried the town of
Monroe.
Results
Results by town
See also
*
United States presidential elections in Connecticut
Notes
References
{{1912 United States elections
Connecticut
1912
Events January
* January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established.
* January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens.
* January 6 ...
1912 Connecticut elections