1908
The 1908 U.S. presidential election was won by William Howard Taft (Republican) with 321 of 483 electoral votes, defeating William Jennings Bryan (Democratic). Electoral-vote margin: 159 (321 to 162). Popular-vote margin: 8.5 percentage points. Turnout was 65.7%. The cycle falls in the Progressive Era of American electoral history.
Open the what-if calculator → — flip states and re-count. A toy, not history.
William Howard Taft and the 1908 map
William Howard Taft, handpicked by Theodore Roosevelt as his successor, easily defeated William Jennings Bryan in his third and final presidential run. Roosevelt personally campaigned for Taft and essentially guaranteed his election. Bryan's progressive positions had moved closer to Roosevelt's, but he could not overcome the Republican advantage in a prosperous era. Taft's more conservative governing style would eventually alienate Roosevelt and lead to their epic 1912 split.
Continuation of Roosevelt's progressive policies; tariff reform
Taft was Roosevelt's chosen successor; Bryan's third and final presidential defeat
This summary was drafted with AI tools and has not yet been checked sentence by sentence. The vote table and the National Archives note on this page come from named sources; where they differ from the summary, rely on them. Tell us about an error.
V.P. James S. Sherman died October 30, 1912.
National Archives, Electoral College results for 1908, archives.gov, read October 3, 2026. Quoted as published.
States · 46 reporting
State results · 1908
West VirginiaTaft won it by 10.2 points; its electoral votes took the total to 247, past the 242 needed.
Line up the states the winner carried from widest margin to narrowest and add up their electoral votes: the tipping point is the state that takes the total past a majority.
Scroll the table sideways for every column.
| State | Electoral votes | William Howard Taft Rep | William Jennings Bryan Dem | Eugene V. Debs Soc | Eugene W. Chafin Proh | Also named | Margin | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama1 | 11 EV | 25,3051 24.4% | 74,3741 71.6% | 1,3991 1.3% | Not named | Thomas E. Watson 1,565 · 1.5%1 | 49,069 47.3 pts | Bryan Dem |
| Arkansas | 9 EV | 56,760 37.3% | 87,015 57.2% | 5,842 3.8% | Not named | None | 30,255 19.9 pts | Bryan Dem |
| California | 10 EV | 214,398 55.5% | 127,492 33.0% | 28,659 7.4% | 11,770 3.0% | Thomas L. Hisgen 4,278 · 1.1% | 86,906 22.5 pts | Taft Rep |
| Colorado2 | 5 EV | 123,7002 46.9% | 126,6442 48.0% | 7,9472 3.0% | 5,5592 2.1% | None | 2,944 1.1 pts | Bryan Dem |
| Connecticut | 7 EV | 112,915 59.4% | 68,255 35.9% | 5,113 2.7% | 2,380 1.3% | None | 44,660 23.5 pts | Taft Rep |
| Delaware | 3 EV | 25,014 52.1% | 22,071 46.0% | Not named | 670 1.4% | None | 2,943 6.1 pts | Taft Rep |
| Florida | 5 EV | 10,654 21.6% | 31,104 63.0% | 3,747 7.6% | 1,356 2.7% | Thomas E. Watson 1,946 · 3.9% Thomas L. Hisgen 553 · 1.1% | 20,450 41.4 pts | Bryan Dem |
| Georgia | 13 EV | 41,692 31.4% | 72,413 54.5% | Not named | Not named | Thomas E. Watson 16,969 · 12.8% | 30,721 23.1 pts | Bryan Dem |
| Idaho | 3 EV | 52,621 54.1% | 36,162 37.2% | 6,400 6.6% | 1,986 2.0% | None | 16,459 16.9 pts | Taft Rep |
| Illinois | 27 EV | 629,929 54.6% | 450,795 39.0% | 34,691 3.0% | 29,343 2.5% | None | 179,134 15.5 pts | Taft Rep |
| Indiana | 15 EV | 348,993 48.4% | 338,262 46.9% | 13,476 1.9% | 18,045 2.5% | None | 10,731 1.5 pts | Taft Rep |
| Iowa | 13 EV | 275,210 55.6% | 200,771 40.6% | 8,287 1.7% | 9,837 2.0% | None | 74,439 15.0 pts | Taft Rep |
| Kansas | 10 EV | 197,216 52.5% | 161,209 42.9% | 12,420 3.3% | 5,033 1.3% | None | 36,007 9.6 pts | Taft Rep |
| Kentucky | 13 EV | 235,711 48.0% | 244,092 49.7% | Not named | 5,887 1.2% | None | 8,381 1.7 pts | Bryan Dem |
| Louisiana | 9 EV | 8,958 11.9% | 63,568 84.6% | 2,538 3.4% | Not named | None | 54,610 72.7 pts | Bryan Dem |
| Maine | 6 EV | 66,987 63.0% | 35,403 33.3% | 1,758 1.7% | 1,487 1.4% | None | 31,584 29.7 pts | Taft Rep |
| Maryland | 8 EV Bryan 6, Taft 2 | 116,513 48.8% | 115,908 48.6% | Not named | 3,302 1.4% | None | 605 0.3 pts | Taft Rep |
| Massachusetts | 16 EV | 265,966 58.2% | 155,543 34.0% | 10,781 2.4% | Not named | Thomas L. Hisgen 19,239 · 4.2% | 110,423 24.2 pts | Taft Rep |
| Michigan | 14 EV | 335,580 61.9% | 175,771 32.4% | 11,586 2.1% | 16,974 3.1% | None | 159,809 29.5 pts | Taft Rep |
| Minnesota | 11 EV | 195,843 59.1% | 109,401 33.0% | 14,527 4.4% | 11,107 3.4% | None | 86,442 26.1 pts | Taft Rep |
| Mississippi | 10 EV | 4,363 6.5% | 60,287 90.1% | 978 1.5% | Not named | Thomas E. Watson 1,276 · 1.9% | 55,924 83.6 pts | Bryan Dem |
| Missouri | 18 EV | 347,203 48.5% | 346,574 48.4% | 15,431 2.2% | Not named | None | 629 0.09 pts | Taft Rep |
| Montana | 3 EV | 32,333 47.0% | 29,326 42.6% | 5,855 8.5% | 827 1.2% | None | 3,007 4.4 pts | Taft Rep |
| Nebraska | 8 EV | 126,997 47.6% | 131,099 49.1% | 3,524 1.3% | 5,179 1.9% | None | 4,102 1.5 pts | Bryan Dem |
| Nevada | 3 EV | 10,775 43.9% | 11,212 45.7% | 2,103 8.6% | Not named | Thomas L. Hisgen 436 · 1.8% | 437 1.8 pts | Bryan Dem |
| New Hampshire | 4 EV | 53,149 59.3% | 33,655 37.6% | 1,299 1.4% | 905 1.0% | None | 19,494 21.8 pts | Taft Rep |
| New Jersey | 12 EV | 265,326 56.8% | 182,567 39.1% | 10,253 2.2% | 4,934 1.1% | None | 82,759 17.7 pts | Taft Rep |
| New York | 39 EV | 870,070 53.1% | 667,468 40.7% | 38,451 2.3% | 22,667 1.4% | Thomas L. Hisgen 35,817 · 2.2% | 202,602 12.4 pts | Taft Rep |
| North Carolina3 | 12 EV | 114,9373 45.5% | 136,9953 54.2% | Not named | Not named | None | 22,058 8.7 pts | Bryan Dem |
| North Dakota | 4 EV | 57,680 61.0% | 32,885 34.8% | 2,421 2.6% | 1,553 1.6% | None | 24,795 26.2 pts | Taft Rep |
| Ohio | 23 EV | 572,312 51.0% | 502,721 44.8% | 33,795 3.0% | 11,402 1.0% | None | 69,591 6.2 pts | Taft Rep |
| Oklahoma | 7 EV | 110,474 43.3% | 122,363 47.9% | 21,734 8.5% | Not named | None | 11,889 4.7 pts | Bryan Dem |
| Oregon | 4 EV | 62,530 56.4% | 38,049 34.3% | 7,339 6.6% | 2,682 2.4% | None | 24,481 22.1 pts | Taft Rep |
| Pennsylvania4 | 34 EV | 745,7794 58.8% | 448,7784 35.4% | 33,9134 2.7% | 36,6914 2.9% | None | 297,001 23.4 pts | Taft Rep |
| Rhode Island | 4 EV | 43,942 60.8% | 24,706 34.2% | 1,365 1.9% | 1,016 1.4% | Thomas L. Hisgen 1,105 · 1.5% | 19,236 26.6 pts | Taft Rep |
| South Carolina | 9 EV | 3,963 6.0% | 62,288 93.8% | Not named | Not named | None | 58,325 87.8 pts | Bryan Dem |
| South Dakota | 4 EV | 67,536 58.8% | 40,266 35.1% | 2,846 2.5% | 4,039 3.5% | None | 27,270 23.8 pts | Taft Rep |
| Tennessee | 12 EV | 118,324 45.9% | 135,608 52.7% | Not named | Not named | None | 17,284 6.7 pts | Bryan Dem |
| Texas | 18 EV | 65,666 22.4% | 217,302 74.0% | 7,870 2.7% | Not named | None | 151,636 51.7 pts | Bryan Dem |
| Utah | 3 EV | 61,015 56.2% | 42,601 39.2% | 4,895 4.5% | Not named | None | 18,414 17.0 pts | Taft Rep |
| Vermont | 4 EV | 39,552 75.1% | 11,496 21.8% | Not named | 799 1.5% | Thomas L. Hisgen 804 · 1.5% | 28,056 53.3 pts | Taft Rep |
| Virginia | 12 EV | 52,573 38.4% | 82,946 60.5% | Not named | Not named | None | 30,373 22.2 pts | Bryan Dem |
| Washington | 5 EV | 106,062 57.7% | 58,691 31.9% | 14,177 7.7% | 4,700 2.6% | None | 47,371 25.8 pts | Taft Rep |
| West Virginia | 7 EV | 137,869 53.4% | 111,418 43.2% | 3,679 1.4% | 5,139 2.0% | None | 26,451 10.2 pts | Taft Rep |
| Wisconsin | 13 EV | 247,747 54.5% | 166,632 36.7% | 28,170 6.2% | 11,572 2.5% | None | 81,115 17.8 pts | Taft Rep |
| Wyoming | 3 EV | 20,846 55.4% | 14,918 39.7% | 1,715 4.6% | Not named | None | 5,928 15.8 pts | Taft Rep |
Shares are of each state’s total vote for president. “Not named”: the figures do not give that candidate a line of their own in that state — for example under 1% of the vote, not on the ballot there, or counted on an unnamed line (see the state’s note). Margin is the leader’s lead over the second-placed candidate.
Notes on the figures
- Alabama The official table's state total (103,809) is 6 more than the tickets it lists; the difference is counted under other candidates.
- Colorado The official table's state total (263,877) is 27 more than the tickets it lists; the difference is counted under other candidates.
- North Carolina The official table prints a state total of 252,610, which does not agree with its own figures (they add up to 252,670); their sum is used.
- Pennsylvania The official table's state total (1,267,443) is 3 more than the tickets it lists; the difference is counted under other candidates.
SourceThe World Almanac and Encyclopedia 1910 . How these figures were compiled
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