1920
Socialist
(Eugene Debs)
Democrats (James Cox)
Republican
(Warren Harding)
• had been placed in
prison by the Wilson
administration for
sedition in 1919
• party was divided
between the radicals,
militants, and
conservatives
• initially favoring the
Russian Revolution, he
later spoke out against
it
• spoke against the
League of Nations
• called for full equality
for Blacks
• a journalist by training
• Governor of Ohio who had done
considerable work there
• selected Wilson's Assistant
Secretary of the Navy Franklin
Roosevelt as his running mate
• platform favored the League of
Nations
• there was some campaign concerns
regarding Cox's divorce from his
wife
• “negative campaigning” by Cox
seemed to backfire
• Harding was a U.S. Senator from
Ohio, nominated on the 10th ballot
• Harding had no political enemies
and appealed to voters interested in
the good old days (normalcy)
• selected Calvin Coolidge as his
running mate, known for breaking a
police strike in Massachusetts
while Governor
• wouldn't directly support the
League, but did agree that nations
should preserve peace
• the phrase “return to normalcy” was
actually coined by the press based
on a Harding speech
• hated the 18th Amendment, was
known to chew tobacco, drink
whiskey, and cavort with other
women
PV = 919,799
EV = 0
PV = 9,130,328
EV = 127
PV = 16,143,407
EV = 404
67th Congress -> House = 131; Senate = 37
68th Congress -> House = 205; Senate = 43
67th Congress -> House = 301; Senate = 59
68th Congress -> House = 205; Senate = 51
Created and compiled by
© Steve Armstrong
Harding/Coolidge
24%
76%
Electoral Vote
Cox
Debs
31
34%
60.5%
Christensen Popular Vote
Farmer-Laborer
(P.P. Christensen)
PV = 265,411
EV = 0