1920 Democratic Party presidential primaries
← 1916 March 9 to June 5, 1920 1924 →
1,097 delegates to the Democratic National Convention
732 (two-thirds) votes needed to win
 
Candidate A. Mitchell Palmer James M. Cox William G. McAdoo
Home state Pennsylvania Ohio California
Delegate count 104 (256) 74 (134) 10 (266)
Contests won 2 2 1
Popular vote 140,010 86,194 74,987
Percentage 19.32% 11.89% 10.35%
 
Candidate James Watson Gerard Robert Latham Owen Edward I. Edwards
Home state New York Oklahoma New Jersey
Contests won 2 2 1
     McAdoo      Palmer      Cox      Gerard
     Owen      Edwards      Uncommitted      Various[b][a]
Previous Democratic nominee

Woodrow Wilson

 Democratic nominee

James M. Cox

From March 9 to June 5, 1920, voters of the Democratic Party elected delegates to the 1920 Democratic National Convention, for the purposing of choosing a nominee for president in the 1920 United States presidential election.[1]

The race for delegates was made under a cloud of uncertainty because the party's two leading names, President Woodrow Wilson and three-time nominee William Jennings Bryan, withheld their intentions; both men privately hoped for the nomination, but neither's name was formally submitted before the voters or the convention as a candidate.

The delegate elections were inconclusive, with Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer, Treasury Secretary William Gibbs McAdoo, and Ohio governor James A. Cox leading the candidate field. With no clear front-runner, many states withheld their delegates from any one candidate, instead sending an uncommitted slate of delegates or preferring to back a favorite son on the first ballot. At the convention, Cox was ultimately nominated on the forty-fourth ballot.

Candidates

Not placed in nomination

Favorite sons

Primary and caucus results

Democratic Presidential Nominating State Conventions and Primaries
Date State Contest
Type 		Candidate Votes
Won (#) 		Votes
Won (%) 		Delegates
Won 		Reference(s)
March 9 New
Hampshire 		Primary
(8 of 8 delegates) 		Uninstructed 7,103
100 / 100
8 / 8
March 16 North
Dakota 		Primary
(10 of 10 delegates) 		William Jennings Bryan 340 (W)
87.40 / 100
William Gibbs McAdoo 49 (W)
12.60 / 100
Uninstructed
10 / 10
March 23 South
Dakota 		Primary
(10 of 10 delegates) 		James W. Gerard 2,530
38.26 / 100
10 / 10
Scattering 2,162
32.70 / 100
James O. Monroe 1,920
29.04 / 100
April 5 Michigan Primary
(0 of 30 delegates) 		Herbert Hoover 24,006 (W)
27.17 / 100
William Gibbs McAdoo 18,665 (W)
21.09 / 100
William Jennings Bryan 17,954 (W)
20.29 / 100
Edward I. Edwards 16,642 (W)
18.81 / 100
Alexander Mitchell Palmer 11,187 (W)
12.64 / 100
April 6 New
York 		Primary
(90 of 90 delegates) 		Uninstructed 113,300
100 / 100
90 / 90
Wisconsin Primary
(26 of 26 delegates) 		Scattering 3,391
97.81 / 100
 [2]
James M. Cox 76 (W)
2.19 / 100
Uninstructed
26 / 26
April 13 Illinois Primary
(50 of 58 delegates) 		Edward I. Edwards 6,933 (W)
32.31 / 100
 [2]
Scattering 6,931 (W)
32.31 / 100
William Gibbs McAdoo 3,838 (W)
17.89 / 100
William Jennings Bryan 1,968 (W)
9.17 / 100
Woodrow Wilson 931 (W)
4.34 / 100
Champ Clark 548 (W)
2.55 / 100
James M. Cox 266 (W)
1.24 / 100
James Hamilton Lewis 40 (W)
0.19 / 100
Uninstructed
50 / 50
April 20 Georgia Primary
(0 of 28 delegates) 		Thomas E. Watson 51,974
35.60 / 100
 [3][4]
Alexander Mitchell Palmer 48,460[c]
33.19 / 100
Michael Hoke Smith 45,568
31.21 / 100
Nebraska Primary
(16 of 16 delegates) 		Gilbert Hitchcock 37,452
67.26 / 100
16 / 16
Robert G. Ross 13,179
23.67 / 100
William Jennings Bryan 3,466 (W)
6.23 / 100
Scattering 1,585 (W)
2.85 / 100
April 23 Montana Primary
(8 of 8 delegates) 		Scattering[d] 2,994
100 / 100
 [2]
Uninstructed
8 / 8
April 27 Massachusetts Primary
(36 of 36 delegates) 		Uninstructed 28,261
100 / 100
36 / 36
New
Jersey 		Primary
(28 of 28 delegates) 		Edward I. Edwards 4,163
88.54 / 100
28 / 28
William Gibbs McAdoo 180 (W)
3.83 / 100
Woodrow Wilson 149 (W)
3.17 / 100
William Jennings Bryan 64 (W)
1.36 / 100
Herbert Hoover 64 (W)
1.36 / 100
Hiram Johnson 55 (W)
1.17 / 100
Scattering 27 (W)
0.57 / 100
Ohio Primary
(48 of 48 delegates) 		James M. Cox 85,838
97.79 / 100
48 / 100
William Jennings Bryan 971 (W)
1.11 / 100
Scattering 394 (W)
0.45 / 100
William Gibbs McAdoo 292 (W)
0.33 / 100
Herbert Hoover 282 (W)
0.32 / 100
April 28 Alaska Primary
(6 of 6 delegates) 		Uninstructed
6 / 6
 [2]
May 4 California Primary
(26 of 26 delegates) 		Uninstructed 23,861
100 / 100
26 / 26
May 10 Alabama Primary
(24 of 24 delegates) 		Uninstructed
24 / 24
 [2]
May 18 Pennsylvania Primary
(76 of 76 delegates) 		Alexander Mitchell Palmer 80,356
73.70 / 100
76 / 76
William Gibbs McAdoo 26,875
24.65 / 100
Scattering 718 (W)
0.66 / 100
Edward I. Edwards 674 (W)
0.62 / 100
William Jennings Bryan 285 (W)
0.26 / 100
Woodrow Wilson 129 (W)
0.12 / 100
Vermont Primary
(0 of 8 delegates) 		William Gibbs McAdoo 137 (W)
33.83 / 100
Woodrow Wilson 68 (W)
16.79 / 100
Edward I. Edwards 58 (W)
14.32 / 100
Herbert Hoover 39 (W)
9.63 / 100
William Jennings Bryan 26 (W)
6.42 / 100
Hiram Johnson 18 (W)
4.44 / 100
Champ Clark 16 (W)
3.95 / 100
James M. Cox 14 (W)
3.46 / 100
Eugene V. Debs 8 (W)
1.93 / 100
Henry Ford 7 (W)
1.73 / 100
Thomas R. Marshall 7 (W)
1.73 / 100
Alexander Mitchell Palmer 7 (W)
1.73 / 100
May 21 Oregon Primary
(10 of 10 delegates) 		William Gibbs McAdoo 24,951
98.57 / 100
10 / 10
Scattering 361 (W)
1.43 / 100
May 22 Hawaii Primary
(6 of 6 delegates) 		Uninstructed
6 / 6
 [2]
May 25 Texas Primary
(40 of 40 delegates) 		Uninstructed
40 / 40
 [2]
West
Virginia 		Primary
(16 of 16 delegates) 		Uninstructed
16 / 16
 [2]
June 8 Florida Primary
(12 of 12 delegates) 		Uninstructed
12 / 12
 [2]
June 10 Washington, D.C. Primary
(11 of 11 delegates) 		Uninstructed
11 / 11
 [2]

Delegates not selected in primaries

Many delegations were not selected in public primaries. The following table shows delegates awarded at a state level by convention, committees, and other means.

Delegates not awarded via primaries
Other delegate allocation
Date State Contest
Type 		Candidate Votes
Won (#) 		Votes
Won (%) 		Delegates
Won 		Reference(s)
February 5 Oklahoma Convention
(20 of 20 delegates) 		Robert Latham Owen
20 / 20
 [2]
February 27 Arizona Convention
(6 of 6 delegates) 		Uninstructed
6 / 6
 [2]
February 28 Iowa Convention
(26 of 26 delegates) 		Uninstructed
(Later Supported Edwin T. Meredith)
26 / 26
 [2]
March 9 Nevada Convention
(6 of 6 delegates) 		Uninstructed
6 / 6
 [2]
April 6 Minnesota Convention
(24 of 24 delegates) 		Uninstructed
24 / 24
 [2]
Philippines Convention
(6 of 6 delegates) 		Uninstructed
6 / 6
 [2]
April 8 North
Carolina 		Convention
(24 of 24 delegates) 		Furnifold McLendel Simmons
24 / 24
 [2]
April 10 Puerto Rico Convention
(6 of 6 delegates) 		Uninstructed
6 / 6
 [2]
May 3 Maryland Convention
(16 of 16 delegates) 		Uninstructed
16 / 16
 [2]
May 4 Kentucky Convention
(26 of 26 delegates) 		James M. Cox
26 / 26
 [2]
May 6 Connecticut Convention
(14 of 14 delegates) 		Uninstructed
14 / 14
 [2]
Rhode
Island 		Convention
(10 of 10 delegates) 		Uninstructed
10 / 10
 [2]
May 10 Illinois Convention
(8 of 50 delegates) 		Uninstructed
8 / 8
 [2]
Michigan Convention
(30 of 30 delegates) 		Uninstructed
30 / 30
 [2]
Wyoming Convention
(6 of 6 delegates) 		Uninstructed
6 / 6
 [2]
April 22 Missouri Convention
(36 of 36 delegates) 		Uninstructed
36 / 36
 [2]
April 23 Kansas Convention
(20 of 20 delegates) 		Uninstructed
20 / 20
 [2]
May 17 Colorado Convention
(12 of 12 delegates) 		Uninstructed
12 / 12
 [2]
Washington Convention
(14 of 14 delegates) 		Uninstructed
14 / 14
 [2]
May 18 Georgia Convention
(28 of 28 delegates) 		Alexander Mitchell Palmer
28 / 28
 [2]
May 19 Virginia Convention
(24 of 24 delegates) 		Carter Glass
24 / 24
 [2]
May 20 Indiana Convention
(30 of 30 delegates) 		Uninstructed
30 / 30
 [2]
May 25 Delaware Convention
(6 of 6 delegates) 		Uninstructed
30 / 30
 [2]
May 26 South
Carolina 		Convention
(18 of 18 delegates) 		Uninstructed
18 / 18
 [2]
June 1 Indiana State Committee
(18 of 18 delegates) 		Uninstructed
18 / 18
 [2]
June 2 Vermont Convention
(8 of 8 delegates) 		Uninstructed
8 / 8
 [2]
June 3 Louisiana Convention
(20 of 20 delegates) 		Uninstructed
20 / 20
 [2]
New
Mexico 		Convention
(6 of 6 delegates) 		Uninstructed
6 / 6
 [2]
June 8 Tennessee Convention
(24 of 24 delegates) 		Uninstructed
24 / 24
 [2]
June 12 Utah Convention
(8 of 8 delegates) 		Uninstructed
8 / 8
 [2]
June 15 Idaho Convention
(8 of 8 delegates) 		Uninstructed
8 / 8
 [2]
June 16 Mississippi Convention
(20 of 20 delegates) 		Uninstructed
20 / 20
 [2]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Favorite sons received the support of the delegations of Nebraska (Gilbert Hitchcock), West Virginia (John W. Davis), Virginia (Carter Glass), New York (Al Smith), Mississippi (John Sharp Williams), Connecticut (Homer Stille Cummings), North Carolina (Furnifold Simmons), Iowa (Edwin T. Meredith), and Indiana(Thomas R. Marshall). Former Speaker of the House Champ Clark won the Louisiana delegation.
  2. ^ Delegates to the State Convention which officially chose delegates and their instruction were based not on the popular vote, but based on their performance under the county unit system. Palmer came second state-wide, but won the most unit votes. Despite attempts by Watson and some Smith supporters to send an uninstructed delegation to the National Convention, it was the delegation pledged to Palmer that was seated by the credentials committee.
  3. ^ No candidate technically filed for the Montana Democratic Presidential Primary.

References

  1. ^ Kalb, Deborah (2016-02-19). Guide to U.S. Elections – Google Books. ISBN 9781483380353. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap "Democratic National Convention, 1920". The New York Times. June 20, 1920.
  3. ^ "PALMER TO LEAD BY 12 IN GEORGIA CONVENTION; Controversy Is On as to Whether or Not He Can Control National Delegates". The New York Times. April 23, 1920.
  4. ^ "SEAT REFUSED REED IN BITTER CONTEST; Credentials Committee Seats Delegates from Georgia Pledged to Palmer. GAINS FOR ADMINISTRATION National Committee Overruled in Oregon Decision Giving Two Delegates Half Vote Each". The New York Times. June 29, 1920.
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