1908 United States presidential election

1908 United States presidential election

November 3, 1908
483 members of the Electoral College 242 electoral votes needed to win
Turnout	65.7% 0.2 pp
Nominee William Howard Taft William Jennings Bryan Party Republican Democratic Home state Ohio Nebraska Running mate James S. Sherman John W. Kern Electoral vote 321 162 States carried 29 17 Popular vote 7,678,395 6,408,984 Percentage 51.6% 43.1%
Presidential election results map. Red denotes states won by Taft/Sherman, blue denotes those won by Bryan/Kern. Numbers indicate the number of electoral votes allotted to each state.
President before election Theodore Roosevelt Republican Elected President William Howard Taft Republican

The 1908 United States presidential election was the 31st election in the history of the United States. It occurred on November 3, 1908. This election was between Secretary of War William Howard Taft of Ohio and former Congressman from Ohio and Democratic Party Nominee in 1896 and 1900 William Jennings Bryan. Taft won the election with 321 electoral votes. Bryan got only 162 electoral votes.

This would be the fourth and most recent election in the history of the United States, where both major candidates share the same first name, with the last three being in 1860, 1896, and 1900.

Nominations

Republican Party

Republican Party (United States) 1908 Republican Party ticket
William Howard Taft	James S. Sherman
for President	for Vice President
42nd U.S. Secretary of War (1904–1908)	U.S. Representative from New York (1887-1891, 1903–1909)

Presidential

• William Howard Taft, 42nd U.S. Secretary of War from Ohio (1904-1908) (Nominee)
• Philander C. Knox, U.S. senator from Wisconsin (1904-1909; 1917-1921)
• Charles Evans Hughes, 36th Governor of New York (1907-1910)
• Joseph G. Cannon, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (1903-1911)
• Charles W. Fairbanks, 26th Vice President of the United States from Indiana (1905-1909)
• Robert M. La Follette, U.S. senator from Wisconsin (1906-1924)
• Joseph B. Foraker, U.S. senator from Ohio (1897-1909)
• L. M. Shaw, Secretary of the Treasury (1902-1907)
• George B. Cortelyou, Secretary of the Treasury from New York (1907-1909) (Withdrew before convention)
• Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States from New York (1901-1909) (Declined to seek nomination)
• Elihu Root, 38th U.S. Secreatry of State from New York (1905-1909) (Declined to seek nomination)

Vice Presidential

• James S. Sherman, U.S. representative from New York (1887-1891, 1893-1909) (Vice presidential nominee)
• Franklin Murphy, 31st Governor of New Jersey (1902-1905)
• Curtis Guild Jr., 43rd Governor of Massachusetts (1906-1909)
• Charles W. Fairbanks, 26th Vice President of the United States from Indiana (1905-1909)

Democratic Party

Democratic Party (United States) 1908 Democratic Party ticket
William Jennings Bryan	John W. Kern
for President	for Vice President
U.S. Representative from Nebraska (1891–1895)	Indiana State Senator (1893–1897)

Presidential

• William Jennings Bryan, former U.S. representative from Nebraska (1891-1895) and presidential nominee in 1896 and 1900 (Nominee)
• George Gray, Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (1899-1914)
• John A. Johnson, Governor of Minnesota (1905-1909)

Vice Presidential

• John W. Kern, former Indiana State Senator (1893–1897) (Vice presidential nominee)