1908 Presidential Election
November 3, 1908 · Progressive Era to Normalcy · 483 electoral votes, 242 to win
Taft, Roosevelt's chosen successor, dispatched Bryan's third and final campaign comfortably; the Great Commoner remains the only major-party nominee beaten three times.
Elected
William Howard Taft
Republican
Electoral vote
321 of 483
Popular vote
51.6%
7,678,335 votes
Turnout
65.7%
The result
| EV share | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Howard Taft | Republican | James S. Sherman | 321 | 7,678,335 | 51.60% | 29 | |
| William Jennings Bryan | Democratic | John W. Kern | 162 | 6,408,979 | 43.00% | 17 | |
| Eugene V. Debs | Socialist | Benjamin Hanford | — | 420,852 | 2.83% | — | |
| Eugene W. Chafin | Prohibition | Aaron S. Watkins | — | 254,087 | 1.71% | — | |
| Thomas L. Hisgen | Independence | John Temple Graves | — | 82,574 | 0.55% | — | |
| Thomas E. Watson | Populist | Samuel Williams | — | 28,862 | 0.19% | — |
14,873,689 votes recorded for the candidates listed.
Results by state
| Alabama | William Jennings Bryan | 70.8% | 11 | William Howard Taft · 24.3% |
| Arkansas | William Jennings Bryan | 57.3% | 9 | William Howard Taft · 37.3% |
| California | William Howard Taft | 55.5% | 10 | William Jennings Bryan · 33.0% |
| Colorado | William Jennings Bryan | 48.0% | 5 | William Howard Taft · 46.9% |
| Connecticut | William Howard Taft | 59.4% | 7 | William Jennings Bryan · 35.9% |
| Delaware | William Howard Taft | 52.1% | 3 | William Jennings Bryan · 45.9% |
| Florida | William Jennings Bryan | 63.0% | 5 | William Howard Taft · 21.6% |
| Georgia | William Jennings Bryan | 54.6% | 13 | William Howard Taft · 31.2% |
| Idaho | William Howard Taft | 54.1% | 3 | William Jennings Bryan · 37.2% |
| Illinois | William Howard Taft | 54.5% | 27 | William Jennings Bryan · 39.0% |
| Indiana | William Howard Taft | 48.4% | 15 | William Jennings Bryan · 46.9% |
| Iowa | William Howard Taft | 55.6% | 13 | William Jennings Bryan · 40.6% |
| Kansas | William Howard Taft | 52.5% | 10 | William Jennings Bryan · 42.9% |
| Kentucky | William Jennings Bryan | 49.7% | 13 | William Howard Taft · 48.0% |
| Louisiana | William Jennings Bryan | 84.6% | 9 | William Howard Taft · 11.9% |
| Maine | William Howard Taft | 63.0% | 6 | William Jennings Bryan · 33.3% |
| Maryland | William Jennings Bryan | 48.6% | 6 Bryan · 2 Taft | William Howard Taft · 48.9% |
| Massachusetts | William Howard Taft | 58.2% | 16 | William Jennings Bryan · 34.0% |
| Michigan | William Howard Taft | 61.9% | 14 | William Jennings Bryan · 32.5% |
| Minnesota | William Howard Taft | 59.3% | 11 | William Jennings Bryan · 33.1% |
| Mississippi | William Jennings Bryan | 90.1% | 10 | William Howard Taft · 6.5% |
| Missouri | William Howard Taft | 48.5% | 18 | William Jennings Bryan · 48.4% |
| Montana | William Howard Taft | 46.9% | 3 | William Jennings Bryan · 42.6% |
| Nebraska | William Jennings Bryan | 49.1% | 8 | William Howard Taft · 47.6% |
| Nevada | William Jennings Bryan | 45.7% | 3 | William Howard Taft · 43.9% |
| New Hampshire | William Howard Taft | 59.3% | 4 | William Jennings Bryan · 37.6% |
| New Jersey | William Howard Taft | 56.8% | 12 | William Jennings Bryan · 39.1% |
| New York | William Howard Taft | 53.1% | 39 | William Jennings Bryan · 40.7% |
| North Carolina | William Jennings Bryan | 54.2% | 12 | William Howard Taft · 45.5% |
| North Dakota | William Howard Taft | 61.0% | 4 | William Jennings Bryan · 34.8% |
| Ohio | William Howard Taft | 51.0% | 23 | William Jennings Bryan · 44.8% |
| Oklahoma | William Jennings Bryan | 48.1% | 7 | William Howard Taft · 43.5% |
| Oregon | William Howard Taft | 56.5% | 4 | William Jennings Bryan · 34.2% |
| Pennsylvania | William Howard Taft | 58.8% | 34 | William Jennings Bryan · 35.4% |
| Rhode Island | William Howard Taft | 60.8% | 4 | William Jennings Bryan · 34.2% |
| South Carolina | William Jennings Bryan | 93.8% | 9 | William Howard Taft · 5.9% |
| South Dakota | William Howard Taft | 58.8% | 4 | William Jennings Bryan · 35.1% |
| Tennessee | William Jennings Bryan | 52.7% | 12 | William Howard Taft · 45.9% |
| Texas | William Jennings Bryan | 74.0% | 18 | William Howard Taft · 22.4% |
| Utah | William Howard Taft | 56.2% | 3 | William Jennings Bryan · 39.2% |
| Vermont | William Howard Taft | 75.1% | 4 | William Jennings Bryan · 21.8% |
| Virginia | William Jennings Bryan | 60.5% | 12 | William Howard Taft · 38.4% |
| Washington | William Howard Taft | 57.8% | 5 | William Jennings Bryan · 31.8% |
| West Virginia | William Howard Taft | 53.4% | 7 | William Jennings Bryan · 43.2% |
| Wisconsin | William Howard Taft | 54.5% | 13 | William Jennings Bryan · 36.7% |
| Wyoming | William Howard Taft | 55.4% | 3 | William Jennings Bryan · 39.7% |
The Congress it seated
61th Congress
1909–1911
Unified government
Senate
32–59
Democratic vs Republican
House
172–219
Democratic vs Republican