1904 United States presidential election

Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 8, 1904. The person who was already president, Theodore Roosevelt, won against a man named Alton B. Parker from the other big political group. Roosevelt became the first president to take over when his predecessor could no longer be president and then win a full term all by himself.

Roosevelt became president in September 1901 after the death of his predecessor, William McKinley. When it was time to choose their candidate, the Republicans did not argue much because Roosevelt was already doing well. The Democrats picked Alton B. Parker, who was a judge in New York.

Since the two men did not disagree on many issues, the election was more about who people liked better. The Democrats said Roosevelt was unpredictable, while the Republicans praised his strong actions in foreign places and his efforts against big, unfair businesses called monopolies. Roosevelt won easily, getting votes from almost everywhere except the South. He received more votes than anyone had in a long time and became the first candidate to get over 300 electoral votes.

Nominations

Republican Party nomination

Main article: 1904 Republican National Convention

In June 1904, Republicans met in Chicago. They chose President Theodore Roosevelt to lead the party. Roosevelt had worked hard to become the leader. A movement against him ended when Senator Mark Hanna of Ohio passed away. Roosevelt was nominated without any arguments. Senator Charles W. Fairbanks from Indiana was chosen as the vice-presidential candidate.

The Republican party supported fair trade rules, more trade with other countries, keeping the same money system, growing trade ships, a strong navy, and praised Roosevelt's work as president.

Democratic Party nomination

Main article: 1904 Democratic National Convention

In 1904, two past candidates decided not to run, so Alton B. Parker from New York became the front-runner. Parker was a respected judge. The Democratic convention in St. Louis in July 1904 was very exciting. Parker was nominated on the first vote.

Parker said he supported the same money system, which made some people unhappy. Former Senator Henry G. Davis from West Virginia was chosen as the vice-presidential candidate.

The Democratic party wanted to spend less money, stop unfair business practices, and support workers.

Socialist Party nomination

The Socialist Party chose Eugene V. Debs as their presidential candidate and Ben Hanford as the vice-presidential candidate. Debs received more votes than in past elections.

Minor party nominations

Continental Party

The Continental Party chose Austin Holcomb as their presidential candidate and A. King Percy as the vice-presidential candidate.

Populist Party

The Populist Party chose Thomas Watson as their presidential candidate and Thomas Tibbles as the vice-presidential candidate.

Prohibition Party

The Prohibition Party chose Silas C. Swallow as their presidential candidate and George W. Carrol as the vice-presidential candidate.

Socialist Labor Party

The Socialist Labor Party chose Charles H. Corregan as their presidential candidate and William W. Cox as the vice-presidential candidate.

National Liberty Party

The National Liberty Party planned to nominate Stanley P. Mitchell and William C. Payne but Mitchell declined, so they did not contest the election.

General election

The big political parties did not work as hard in this election as they did before. The mood was friendly, which helped fix some problems from past elections. This was because Parker and Roosevelt had very similar ideas, except for how friendly they were.

The two candidates were so alike that it was hard to find differences. Both wanted to use gold for money. Both believed workers should be treated fairly. But some people in the Democratic Party thought Parker was too careful, while some in the Republican Party thought Roosevelt was too bold.

In the election, Theodore Roosevelt won by a large margin. He got every state in the North and West. Roosevelt became the first president to win a full term after taking over when the president before him died.

Roosevelt got more than 2.5 million votes, which was a lot at the time. He got 56.4% of all votes. This was the biggest win between 1820 and 1920. He also won in many places that usually voted for the other party.

Roosevelt got support from many areas, including some in the South. He did very well in many counties across the country.

Results by county, shaded according to winning candidate's percentage of the vote

Cartographic gallery

Map of presidential election results by county

Map of Republican presidential election results by county

Map of Democratic presidential election results by county

Map of "other" presidential election results by county

[Cartogram](/wiki/Cartogram) of presidential election results by county

Cartogram of Republican presidential election results by county

Cartogram of Democratic presidential election results by county

Cartogram of "other" presidential election results by county

State Level Performance for Eugene Debs' Presidential Campaign, 1904 (Socialist Party)

States that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Colorado
• Idaho
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nevada

States that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Maryland

Close states

Margin of victory less than 1% (8 electoral votes):

1. Maryland, 0.02% (51 votes)

Margin of victory less than 5% (31 electoral votes):

1. Kentucky, 2.69% (11,713 votes)
2. Missouri, 3.90% (25,137 votes)

Margin of victory between 5% and 10% (3 electoral votes):

1. Delaware, 9.94% (4,358 votes)

Tipping point state:

1. New Jersey, 18.63% (80,598 votes)

Statistics

Counties with Highest Percent of Vote (Republican)

1. Keweenaw County, Michigan 94.55%
2. Mercer County, North Dakota 93.68%
3. Logan County, North Dakota 93.61%
4. McIntosh County, North Dakota 92.70%
5. Zapata County, Texas 92.48%

Counties with Highest Percent of Vote (Democratic)

1. Horry County, South Carolina 100.00%
2. Georgetown County, South Carolina 100.00%
3. Fairfield County, South Carolina 100.00%
4. Madison Parish, Louisiana 100.00%
5. Potter County, Texas 100.00%

Counties with Highest Percent of Vote (Populist)

1. Glascock County, Georgia 69.38%
2. McDuffie County, Georgia 58.59%
3. McIntosh County, Georgia 56.55%
4. Jackson County, Georgia 55.29%
5. Johnson County, Georgia 53.05%