1928
The 1928 U.S. presidential election was won by Herbert Hoover (Republican) with 444 of 531 electoral votes, defeating Al Smith (Democratic). Electoral-vote margin: 357 (444 to 87). Popular-vote margin: 17.4 percentage points. Turnout was 56.9%. The cycle falls in the Roaring Twenties era of American electoral history.
Open the what-if calculator → — flip states and re-count. A toy, not history.
Herbert Hoover and the 1928 map
Republican Herbert Hoover won in a landslide over Democrat Al Smith, the first Catholic presidential nominee of a major party. Anti-Catholic prejudice, Smith's opposition to Prohibition, and Coolidge-era prosperity all worked against Smith, who lost several traditionally Democratic Southern states. Hoover promised continued prosperity but the stock market crashed in October 1929, just eight months into his term, triggering the Great Depression that would doom his presidency.
Prosperity; Prohibition; religious prejudice against the first Catholic major-party nominee
First Catholic nominee (Al Smith); stock market crashed 8 months into Hoover's term
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.
States · 48 reporting
State results · 1928
- Rhode Island Smith by 1,451 · 0.6 pts
- Massachusetts Smith by 17,192 · 1.1 pts
- New York Hoover by 103,481 · 2.3 pts
- Alabama Smith by 7,072 · 2.8 pts
- Texas Hoover by 26,004 · 3.7 pts
IllinoisHoover won it by 14.7 points; its electoral votes took the total to 293, past the 266 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 | Herbert Hoover Rep | Al Smith Dem | Also named | Margin | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 12 EV | 120,725 48.5% | 127,797 51.3% | None | 7,072 2.8 pts | Smith Dem |
| Arizona | 3 EV | 52,533 57.6% | 38,537 42.2% | None | 13,996 15.3 pts | Hoover Rep |
| Arkansas | 9 EV | 77,751 39.3% | 119,196 60.3% | None | 41,445 21.0 pts | Smith Dem |
| California1 | 13 EV | 1,162,3231 64.7% | 614,3651 34.2% | Norman Thomas 19,595 · 1.1%1 | 547,958 30.5 pts | Hoover Rep |
| Colorado | 6 EV | 253,872 64.7% | 133,131 33.9% | None | 120,741 30.8 pts | Hoover Rep |
| Connecticut2 | 7 EV | 296,6142 53.6% | 252,0402 45.6% | None | 44,574 8.1 pts | Hoover Rep |
| Delaware | 3 EV | 68,860 65.0% | 36,643 34.6% | None | 32,217 30.4 pts | Hoover Rep |
| Florida3 | 6 EV | 144,1683 56.8% | 101,7643 40.1% | Norman Thomas 4,036 · 1.6%3 William Z. Foster 3,704 · 1.5%3 | 42,404 16.7 pts | Hoover Rep |
| Georgia4 | 14 EV | 63,4984 27.7% | 129,6024 56.6% | None | 66,104 28.8 pts | Smith Dem |
| Idaho | 4 EV | 99,848 64.7% | 53,074 34.4% | None | 46,774 30.3 pts | Hoover Rep |
| Illinois | 29 EV | 1,769,141 56.9% | 1,313,817 42.3% | None | 455,324 14.7 pts | Hoover Rep |
| Indiana | 15 EV | 848,290 59.7% | 562,691 39.6% | None | 285,599 20.1 pts | Hoover Rep |
| Iowa5 | 13 EV | 623,8185 61.8% | 378,9365 37.5% | None | 244,882 24.3 pts | Hoover Rep |
| Kansas6 | 10 EV | 513,6726 72.0% | 193,0036 27.1% | None | 320,669 45.0 pts | Hoover Rep |
| Kentucky | 13 EV | 558,064 59.3% | 381,070 40.5% | None | 176,994 18.8 pts | Hoover Rep |
| Louisiana7 | 10 EV | 51,1607 23.7% | 164,6557 76.3% | None | 113,495 52.6 pts | Smith Dem |
| Maine8 | 6 EV | 179,9238 68.6% | 81,1798 31.0% | None | 98,744 37.7 pts | Hoover Rep |
| Maryland9 | 8 EV | 301,4799 57.1% | 223,6269 42.3% | None | 77,853 14.7 pts | Hoover Rep |
| Massachusetts10 | 18 EV | 775,56610 49.2% | 792,75810 50.2% | None | 17,192 1.1 pts | Smith Dem |
| Michigan | 15 EV | 965,396 70.4% | 396,762 28.9% | None | 568,634 41.4 pts | Hoover Rep |
| Minnesota11 | 12 EV | 560,97711 57.8% | 396,45111 40.8% | None | 164,526 16.9 pts | Hoover Rep |
| Mississippi12 | 10 EV | 27,15312 17.9% | 124,53912 82.1% | None | 97,386 64.2 pts | Smith Dem |
| Missouri | 18 EV | 834,080 55.6% | 662,562 44.1% | None | 171,518 11.4 pts | Hoover Rep |
| Montana | 4 EV | 113,300 58.4% | 78,578 40.5% | None | 34,722 17.9 pts | Hoover Rep |
| Nebraska | 8 EV | 345,745 63.2% | 197,959 36.2% | None | 147,786 27.0 pts | Hoover Rep |
| Nevada | 3 EV | 18,327 56.5% | 14,090 43.5% | None | 4,237 13.1 pts | Hoover Rep |
| New Hampshire | 4 EV | 115,404 58.7% | 80,715 41.0% | None | 34,689 17.6 pts | Hoover Rep |
| New Jersey | 14 EV | 926,050 59.8% | 616,517 39.8% | None | 309,533 20.0 pts | Hoover Rep |
| New Mexico | 3 EV | 69,645 59.0% | 48,211 40.9% | None | 21,434 18.2 pts | Hoover Rep |
| New York13 | 45 EV | 2,193,34413 49.1% | 2,089,86313 46.8% | Norman Thomas 107,332 · 2.4%13 | 103,481 2.3 pts | Hoover Rep |
| North Carolina | 12 EV | 348,992 54.9% | 287,078 45.1% | None | 61,914 9.7 pts | Hoover Rep |
| North Dakota | 5 EV | 131,441 54.8% | 106,648 44.5% | None | 24,793 10.3 pts | Hoover Rep |
| Ohio | 24 EV | 1,627,546 64.9% | 864,210 34.5% | None | 763,336 30.4 pts | Hoover Rep |
| Oklahoma | 10 EV | 394,046 63.7% | 219,174 35.4% | None | 174,872 28.3 pts | Hoover Rep |
| Oregon | 5 EV | 205,341 64.2% | 109,223 34.1% | None | 96,118 30.0 pts | Hoover Rep |
| Pennsylvania14 | 38 EV | 2,055,38214 65.2% | 1,067,58614 33.9% | None | 987,796 31.4 pts | Hoover Rep |
| Rhode Island15 | 5 EV | 117,52215 48.4% | 118,97315 49.0% | None | 1,451 0.6 pts | Smith Dem |
| South Carolina16 | 9 EV | 3,18816 4.6% | 62,70016 91.4% | None | 59,512 86.7 pts | Smith Dem |
| South Dakota | 5 EV | 157,603 60.2% | 102,660 39.2% | None | 54,943 21.0 pts | Hoover Rep |
| Tennessee | 12 EV | 195,388 53.8% | 167,343 46.0% | None | 28,045 7.7 pts | Hoover Rep |
| Texas | 20 EV | 367,036 51.8% | 341,032 48.1% | None | 26,004 3.7 pts | Hoover Rep |
| Utah | 4 EV | 94,618 53.6% | 80,985 45.9% | None | 13,633 7.7 pts | Hoover Rep |
| Vermont17 | 4 EV | 90,40417 66.9% | 44,44017 32.9% | None | 45,964 34.0 pts | Hoover Rep |
| Virginia | 12 EV | 164,609 53.9% | 140,146 45.9% | None | 24,463 8.0 pts | Hoover Rep |
| Washington | 7 EV | 335,844 67.1% | 156,772 31.3% | None | 179,072 35.8 pts | Hoover Rep |
| West Virginia | 8 EV | 375,551 58.4% | 263,784 41.0% | None | 111,767 17.4 pts | Hoover Rep |
| Wisconsin18 | 13 EV | 544,20518 53.5% | 450,25918 44.3% | Norman Thomas 18,213 · 1.8%18 | 93,946 9.2 pts | Hoover Rep |
| Wyoming19 | 3 EV | 52,74819 62.4% | 29,29919 34.7% | None | 23,449 27.8 pts | Hoover 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
- California The official table notes: Footnote 1: 'Scattering votes, 157, included in grand total.' Footnote 2 on the Foster figure: 'Includes 104 votes for Gitlow.'
- Connecticut The official table notes: Footnote 3: 'Scattering votes, 6, included in grand total.'
- Florida The official table notes: Footnote 4: 'Scattering votes, 2, included in grand total.'
- Georgia The official table notes: Footnote 5: 'Anti-Smith votes, 35,871, included in grand total.'
- Iowa The official table notes: Footnote 6: 'Scattering votes, 2, included in grand total.'
- Kansas The official table notes: Footnote 7 on the figure in the Foster column (320): 'Independent.'
- Louisiana The official table notes: Footnote 8: 'Scattering votes, 18, included in grand total.'
- Maine The official table notes: Footnote 9: 'Scattering votes, 1, included in grand total.'
- Maryland The official table notes: Footnote 10 on the figure in the Socialist-Labor column (906): 'Labor.'
- Massachusetts The official table notes: Footnote 11: 'Scattering, 4 votes, included in grand total.'
- Minnesota The official table notes: Footnote 12 on the figure in the Socialist-Labor column (1,921): 'Industrial.'
- Mississippi The official table notes: Footnote 13 on the Hoover figure: 'Includes 809 votes for electors headed by Ligon and Rogers.'
- New York The official table notes: Footnote 14: 'Void and scattering, 60,446, included in grand total.'
- Pennsylvania The official table notes: Footnote 15: 'Scattering votes, 14, included in grand total.' Footnote 16 on the Foster figure: 'Labor and Workers vote combined.' Footnote 17 on the figure in the Socialist-Labor column (380): 'Industrialist.'
- Rhode Island The official table notes: Footnote 18: 'Defective ballots and blanks, 5,590, included in grand total.'
- South Carolina The official table notes: Footnote 19: 'Anti-Smith votes, 2,670, included in grand total.'
- Vermont The official table notes: Footnote 20: 'Scattering votes, 9, included in grand total.'
- Wisconsin The official table notes: Footnote 21: 'Scattering votes, 41, included in grand total.'
- Wyoming The official table notes: Footnote 22: 'Blank or defective ballots, 1,661, included in grand total.'
SourceStatistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 6, 1928 . How these figures were compiled
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