1912 United States presidential election in California
1912 United States presidential election in California Turnout 71.68% (of registered voters) 45.11% (of eligible voters) [ 1]
County Results
Roosevelt
30–40%
40–50%
50–60%
Wilson
40–50%
50–60%
60–70%
The 1912 United States presidential election in California took place on November 5 , 1912 , as part of the 1912 United States presidential election . State voters chose 13 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College , who voted for president and vice president .
California narrowly voted for the Progressive Party nominee, former president Theodore Roosevelt , over the Democratic nominee, New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson , though two electors cast their votes for Wilson. Although Roosevelt was the candidate of the “Bull Moose” Progressive Party nationally, in California and South Dakota he gained the support of the state Republican Party and acquired the "Republican" line, whilst the incumbent , and national GOP nominee William Howard Taft did not appear on the ballot and was a write-in candidate .[ a] Roosevelt's running mate was incumbent Governor of California Hiram Johnson .
This was the fourth occasion in which California's electoral vote was split, rather than being awarded to a single candidate. The previous occasions when this happened were in 1880 , 1892 , and 1896 .[ 2] This occurred because, at the time, electors were not awarded based upon the popular vote in the presidential preference vote. Instead, voters cast votes for individual electors, with the thirteen top vote-getters among elector nominees becoming elected the state's members of the United States Electoral College .[ 3] A split in the electoral vote would never again occur in California.
This was the closest presidential election in California history, with Roosevelt winning by just 174 votes out of 677,944 cast, a margin of 0.02567%. It remains the fourth-closest presidential race in any state in history, behind Florida in 2000 , Maryland in 1832 , and Maryland in 1904 , the latter of which also involved Roosevelt.[ b]
Although Wilson narrowly failed to win the state, he did become the first Democrat to carry Napa , Solano [ c] and Marin Counties since James Buchanan in 1856 , the first to carry San Mateo and Sierra County since Stephen A. Douglas in 1860, the first to win San Diego County since 1868 , the first to ever carry Ventura County , which had been created in 1872 , and the first to carry Calaveras County and Sutter County since 1876 .[ 4] Since this election, Solano County has voted Democratic in all but six Republican landslide elections of 1920 , 1924 , 1928 , 1972 , 1980 and 1984 .
With 41.83% of the popular vote, California would prove to be Roosevelt's second-strongest state in terms of popular vote percentage in the 1912 election after South Dakota .[ 5] California would not vote for the losing candidate again until 1960.
Results
General Election Results[ 6]
Party
Pledged to
Elector
Votes
Republican Party (Progressive)
Theodore Roosevelt
A. J. Wallace
283,610
Democratic Party
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas F. Griffin
283,436
Republican Party (Progressive)
Theodore Roosevelt
Charles S. Wheeler
283,193
Republican Party (Progressive)
Theodore Roosevelt
George C. Pardee
283,057
Republican Party (Progressive)
Theodore Roosevelt
Marshall Stimson
282,910
Republican Party (Progressive)
Theodore Roosevelt
Philip Bancroft
282,888
Republican Party (Progressive)
Theodore Roosevelt
John P. McLaughlin
282,868
Republican Party (Progressive)
Theodore Roosevelt
Frank H. Devlin
282,790
Republican Party (Progressive)
Theodore Roosevelt
Florence Collins Porter
282,781
Republican Party (Progressive)
Theodore Roosevelt
R. G. Fernald
282,676
Republican Party (Progressive)
Theodore Roosevelt
M. B. Harris
282,671
Republican Party (Progressive)
Theodore Roosevelt
Ralph W. Bull
282,653
Democratic Party
Woodrow Wilson
R. F. Del Valle
282,651
Republican Party (Progressive)
Theodore Roosevelt
J. W. Finney
282,594
Democratic Party
Woodrow Wilson
Henry E. Monroe
282,594
Democratic Party
Woodrow Wilson
T. W. H. Shanahan
282,579
Democratic Party
Woodrow Wilson
Clarence F. Lea
282,578
Democratic Party
Woodrow Wilson
Joseph F. Tobin
282,530
Democratic Party
Woodrow Wilson
F. B. Lynch
282,516
Democratic Party
Woodrow Wilson
Stephen J. Sill
282,432
Republican Party (Progressive)
Theodore Roosevelt
M. A. Luce
282,383
Democratic Party
Woodrow Wilson
George W. Mordecai
282,325
Democratic Party
Woodrow Wilson
E. L. Doheny
282,309
Democratic Party
Woodrow Wilson
Mary Bourn Tucker
282,215
Democratic Party
Woodrow Wilson
Mary E. Foy
282,213
Democratic Party
Woodrow Wilson
George M. Cooley
282,198
Socialist Party
Eugene V. Debs
W. M. Boyd
79,201
Socialist Party
Eugene V. Debs
Job Harriman
78,910
Socialist Party
Eugene V. Debs
Dr. A. E. Briggs
78,905
Socialist Party
Eugene V. Debs
H. F. Whitley
78,867
Socialist Party
Eugene V. Debs
T. W. Williams
78,860
Socialist Party
Eugene V. Debs
James Andrews
78,813
Socialist Party
Eugene V. Debs
Rose Walker
78,791
Socialist Party
Eugene V. Debs
Jennie Ream
78,757
Socialist Party
Eugene V. Debs
H. J. Duffy
78,740
Socialist Party
Eugene V. Debs
Ida Kinney
78,735
Socialist Party
Eugene V. Debs
J. R. Cothran
78,709
Socialist Party
Eugene V. Debs
Ethel Lynn
78,689
Socialist Party
Eugene V. Debs
Mary Garbutt
78,534
Prohibition Party
Eugene W. Chafin
Annie E. K. Bidwell
23,366
Prohibition Party
Eugene W. Chafin
Stephen H. Taft
23,265
Prohibition Party
Eugene W. Chafin
Frank Willard Emerson
23,144
Prohibition Party
Eugene W. Chafin
Ellsworth L. Rich
23,053
Prohibition Party
Eugene W. Chafin
Lucy S. Blanchard
23,052
Prohibition Party
Eugene W. Chafin
William P. Fassett
23,040
Prohibition Party
Eugene W. Chafin
Frederick Head
23,010
Prohibition Party
Eugene W. Chafin
Stella B. Irvine
23,004
Prohibition Party
Eugene W. Chafin
Henry French
23,001
Prohibition Party
Eugene W. Chafin
Simeon P. Meads
22,997
Prohibition Party
Eugene W. Chafin
Byron E. Paddock
22,995
Prohibition Party
Eugene W. Chafin
Edward F. Van Vlear
22,988
Prohibition Party
Eugene W. Chafin
Thomas K. Bear
22,983
Republican Party
William Howard Taft
Anson S. Blake
3,914
Republican Party
William Howard Taft
Fred A. Dodge
3,908
Republican Party
William Howard Taft
Arthur E. Miller
3,903
Republican Party
William Howard Taft
Jotham Bixby
3,902
Republican Party
William Howard Taft
Charles N. Felton
3,896
Republican Party
William Howard Taft
Norman Bridge
3,783
Republican Party
William Howard Taft
Ross Campbell
3,753
Republican Party
William Howard Taft
Charles E. Clinch
3,677
Republican Party
William Howard Taft
Mrs. K. M. Flynn
3,582
Republican Party
William Howard Taft
Joseph Martin
3,525
Republican Party
William Howard Taft
Robert Sweeney
3,313
Republican Party
William Howard Taft
Simon Levi
3,057
Republican Party
William Howard Taft
Andrea Sbarboro
2,847
Write-in
Scattering
4,417
Votes cast[ d]
677,944
Results by county
County
Theodore Roosevelt Republican/Progressive "Bull Moose"
Woodrow Wilson Democratic
Eugene V. Debs Socialist
Eugene W. Chafin Prohibition
William Howard Taft Republican (write-in)
Scattering Write-in
Margin
Total votes cast[ e]
#
%
#
%
#
%
#
%
#
%
#
%
#
%
Alameda
31,542
47.47%
24,418
36.75%
9,332
14.04%
1,160
1.75%
0
0.00%
0
0.00%
7,124
10.72%
66,452
Alpine
36
45.00%
34
42.50%
2
2.50%
0
0.00%
8
10.00%
0
0.00%
2
2.50%
80
Amador
684
27.33%
1,622
64.80%
135
5.39%
57
2.28%
5
0.20%
0
0.00%
-938
-37.48%
2,503
Butte
3,365
38.14%
4,028
45.66%
930
10.54%
489
5.54%
10
0.11%
0
0.00%
-663
-7.52%
8,822
Calaveras
750
24.28%
1,869
60.51%
399
12.92%
66
2.14%
5
0.16%
0
0.00%
-1,119
-36.23%
3,089
Colusa
810
29.26%
1,760
63.58%
111
4.01%
84
3.03%
3
0.11%
0
0.00%
-950
-34.32%
2,768
Contra Costa
3,539
42.38%
3,290
39.40%
1,300
15.57%
181
2.17%
40
0.48%
0
0.00%
249
2.98%
8,350
Del Norte
376
44.60%
323
38.32%
104
12.34%
40
4.74%
0
0.00%
0
0.00%
53
6.29%
843
El Dorado
776
28.40%
1,613
59.04%
278
10.18%
49
1.79%
16
0.59%
0
0.00%
-837
-30.64%
2,732
Fresno
8,839
42.71%
8,891
42.96%
2,278
11.01%
590
2.85%
95
0.46%
3
0.01%
-52
-0.25%
20,696
Glenn
906
37.21%
1,325
54.41%
126
5.17%
67
2.75%
11
0.45%
0
0.00%
-419
-17.21%
2,435
Humboldt
3,609
42.20%
2,887
33.76%
1,781
20.83%
177
2.07%
93
1.09%
5
0.06%
722
8.44%
8,552
Imperial
1,420
42.17%
1,295
38.46%
446
13.25%
193
5.73%
13
0.39%
0
0.00%
125
3.71%
3,367
Inyo
431
26.49%
806
49.54%
305
18.75%
77
4.73%
8
0.49%
0
0.00%
-375
-23.05%
1,627
Kern
3,647
33.88%
5,569
51.73%
1,300
12.08%
182
1.69%
67
0.62%
0
0.00%
-1,922
-17.85%
10,765
Kings
1,419
35.94%
1,967
49.82%
406
10.28%
156
3.95%
0
0.00%
0
0.00%
-548
-13.88%
3,948
Lake
649
30.10%
1,118
51.86%
266
12.34%
123
5.71%
0
0.00%
0
0.00%
-469
-21.75%
2,156
Lassen
559
39.59%
644
45.61%
148
10.48%
34
2.41%
27
1.91%
0
0.00%
-85
-6.02%
1,412
Los Angeles
75,593
45.73%
55,110
33.34%
19,895
12.04%
8,190
4.95%
2,181
1.32%
4,327
2.62%
20,483
12.39%
165,296
Madera
943
38.98%
1,154
47.71%
226
9.34%
89
3.68%
1
0.04%
6
0.25%
-211
-8.72%
2,419
Marin
2,750
42.97%
2,849
44.52%
733
11.45%
68
1.06%
0
0.00%
0
0.00%
-99
-1.55%
6,400
Mariposa
306
26.15%
689
58.89%
138
11.79%
17
1.45%
20
1.71%
0
0.00%
-393
-32.74%
1,170
Mendocino
2,237
39.61%
2,507
44.39%
752
13.31%
141
2.50%
11
0.19%
0
0.00%
-270
-4.78%
5,648
Merced
1,571
37.16%
1,978
46.78%
441
10.43%
228
5.39%
10
0.24%
0
0.00%
-407
-9.63%
4,228
Modoc
608
35.47%
941
54.90%
119
6.94%
45
2.63%
1
0.06%
0
0.00%
-333
-19.43%
1,714
Mono
106
28.73%
182
49.32%
67
18.16%
11
2.98%
3
0.81%
0
0.00%
-76
-20.60%
369
Monterey
3,081
42.02%
3,392
46.26%
557
7.60%
301
4.11%
1
0.01%
0
0.00%
-311
-4.24%
7,332
Napa
2,432
42.52%
2,662
46.55%
478
8.36%
126
2.20%
0
0.00%
21
0.37%
-230
-4.02%
5,719
Nevada
1,381
34.40%
1,851
46.11%
648
16.14%
111
2.77%
23
0.57%
0
0.00%
-470
-11.71%
4,014
Orange
5,143
45.03%
4,406
38.58%
896
7.85%
852
7.46%
123
1.08%
1
0.01%
737
6.45%
11,421
Placer
1,913
43.91%
1,823
41.84%
481
11.04%
125
2.87%
15
0.34%
0
0.00%
90
2.07%
4,357
Plumas
762
42.78%
742
41.66%
236
13.25%
30
1.68%
11
0.62%
0
0.00%
20
1.12%
1,781
Riverside
5,146
50.94%
2,963
29.33%
1,036
10.25%
834
8.25%
124
1.23%
0
0.00%
2,183
21.61%
10,103
Sacramento
7,534
39.23%
9,869
51.39%
1,553
8.09%
213
1.11%
36
0.19%
0
0.00%
-2,335
-12.16%
19,205
San Benito
1,054
40.96%
1,253
48.70%
179
6.96%
74
2.88%
13
0.51%
0
0.00%
-199
-7.73%
2,573
San Bernardino
6,202
40.42%
5,835
38.03%
1,901
12.39%
1,233
8.04%
172
1.12%
0
0.00%
367
2.39%
15,343
San Diego
7,922
36.46%
9,731
44.79%
2,873
13.22%
1,139
5.24%
63
0.29%
0
0.00%
-1,809
-8.33%
21,728
San Francisco
38,610
38.17%
48,953
48.40%
12,354
12.21%
1,158
1.14%
65
0.06%
8
0.01%
-10,343
-10.23%
101,148
San Joaquin
4,314
31.40%
7,969
58.00%
995
7.24%
426
3.10%
35
0.25%
0
0.00%
-3,655
-26.60%
13,739
San Luis Obispo
2,373
42.73%
2,248
40.48%
704
12.68%
214
3.85%
13
0.23%
1
0.02%
125
2.25%
5,553
San Mateo
2,825
40.44%
3,246
46.47%
827
11.84%
80
1.15%
7
0.10%
0
0.00%
-421
-6.03%
6,985
Santa Barbara
3,395
46.78%
2,819
38.84%
619
8.53%
357
4.92%
68
0.94%
0
0.00%
576
7.94%
7,258
Santa Clara
10,868
46.97%
9,173
39.64%
2,068
8.94%
824
3.56%
173
0.75%
33
0.14%
1,695
7.33%
23,139
Santa Cruz
3,059
42.77%
2,875
40.20%
892
12.47%
323
4.52%
3
0.04%
0
0.00%
184
2.57%
7,152
Shasta
1,636
34.93%
2,040
43.55%
938
20.03%
54
1.15%
16
0.34%
0
0.00%
-404
-8.63%
4,684
Sierra
483
41.71%
515
44.47%
133
11.49%
13
1.12%
10
0.86%
4
0.35%
-32
-2.76%
1,158
Siskiyou
1,740
34.99%
2,465
49.57%
633
12.73%
104
2.09%
29
0.58%
2
0.04%
-725
-14.58%
4,973
Solano
3,353
41.95%
3,650
45.66%
781
9.77%
169
2.11%
40
0.50%
0
0.00%
-297
-3.72%
7,993
Sonoma
5,806
40.89%
6,500
45.78%
1,494
10.52%
367
2.58%
32
0.23%
0
0.00%
-694
-4.89%
14,199
Stanislaus
3,143
39.78%
3,127
39.58%
749
9.48%
864
10.94%
17
0.22%
0
0.00%
16
0.20%
7,900
Sutter
846
41.11%
1,063
51.65%
79
3.84%
65
3.16%
5
0.24%
0
0.00%
-217
-10.54%
2,058
Tehama
1,218
36.01%
1,595
47.16%
388
11.47%
168
4.97%
13
0.38%
0
0.00%
-377
-11.15%
3,382
Trinity
343
34.44%
461
46.29%
182
18.27%
9
0.90%
1
0.10%
0
0.00%
-118
-11.85%
996
Tulare
4,283
42.21%
4,293
42.31%
1,233
12.15%
265
2.61%
73
0.72%
0
0.00%
-10
-0.10%
10,147
Tuolumne
755
28.76%
1,459
55.58%
363
13.83%
38
1.45%
8
0.30%
2
0.08%
-704
-26.82%
2,625
Ventura
2,055
42.52%
2,108
43.62%
426
8.81%
169
3.50%
71
1.47%
4
0.08%
-53
-1.10%
4,833
Yolo
1,332
33.35%
2,239
56.06%
301
7.54%
113
2.83%
9
0.23%
0
0.00%
-907
-22.71%
3,994
Yuba
1,132
43.36%
1,242
47.57%
186
7.12%
34
1.30%
17
0.65%
0
0.00%
-110
-4.21%
2,611
Total
283,610
41.834%
283,436
41.808%
79,201
11.68%
23,366
3.45%
3,914
0.58%
4,417
0.65%
174
0.026%
677,944
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
See also
Notes
References
^ "Historical Voter Registration and Participation in Statewide General Elections 1910-2018" (PDF) . California Secretary of State . Retrieved May 5, 2022 .
^ "DIVIDED ELECTORAL VOTES" . Newspapers.com . The Boston Globe. November 11, 1912. Retrieved June 1, 2021 .
^ "NEITHER SIDE WINS STATE" . Newspapers.com . Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. November 16, 1912. Retrieved June 1, 2021 .
^ Menendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004 , pp. 153-155 ISBN 0786422173
^ "1912 Presidential Election Statistics" . Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved March 5, 2018 .
^ Statement of the Vote of California at the General Election held November 5, 1912 . Sacramento, California. pp. 4–13. Retrieved July 15, 2024 .