1928 Presidential Election

November 6, 1928 · Progressive Era to Normalcy · 531 electoral votes, 266 to win

Hoover's landslide over Al Smith, the first Catholic major-party nominee, cracked the Solid South for the Republicans while Smith's urban gains quietly prefigured the New Deal coalition.

Elected

Herbert Hoover

Republican

Electoral vote

444 of 531

Popular vote

58.2%

21,427,123 votes

Turnout

56.9%

The result

EV share
Herbert HooverRepublicanCharles Curtis444
21,427,12358.20%40
Al SmithDemocraticJoseph Taylor Robinson87
15,015,46440.80%8
Norman ThomasSocialistJames H. Maurer267,4780.73%
William Z. FosterCommunistBenjamin Gitlow48,5510.13%
Verne L. ReynoldsSocialist LaborJeremiah D. Crowley21,5900.06%
William F. VarneyProhibitionJames A. Edgerton20,0950.05%

36,800,301 votes recorded for the candidates listed.

Results by state

AlabamaAl Smith51.3%11Herbert Hoover · 48.5%
ArizonaHerbert Hoover57.6%3Al Smith · 42.2%
ArkansasAl Smith60.3%9Herbert Hoover · 39.3%
CaliforniaHerbert Hoover63.9%13Al Smith · 34.2%
ColoradoHerbert Hoover53.6%6Al Smith · 34.0%
ConnecticutHerbert Hoover53.6%7Al Smith · 45.6%
DelawareHerbert Hoover65.8%3Al Smith · 33.8%
FloridaHerbert Hoover57.1%6Al Smith · 39.9%
GeorgiaAl Smith56.6%14Herbert Hoover · 43.4%
IdahoHerbert Hoover64.2%4Al Smith · 34.9%
IllinoisHerbert Hoover57.0%29Al Smith · 42.2%
IndianaHerbert Hoover59.7%15Al Smith · 39.6%
IowaHerbert Hoover61.8%13Al Smith · 37.6%
KansasHerbert Hoover72.0%10Al Smith · 27.1%
KentuckyHerbert Hoover59.3%13Al Smith · 40.5%
LouisianaAl Smith76.3%10Herbert Hoover · 23.7%
MaineHerbert Hoover68.6%6Al Smith · 31.0%
MarylandHerbert Hoover57.1%8Al Smith · 42.3%
MassachusettsAl Smith50.2%18Herbert Hoover · 49.2%
MichiganHerbert Hoover70.4%15Al Smith · 28.9%
MinnesotaHerbert Hoover57.8%12Al Smith · 40.8%
MississippiAl Smith82.2%10Herbert Hoover · 17.3%
MissouriHerbert Hoover55.6%18Al Smith · 44.2%
MontanaHerbert Hoover58.4%4Al Smith · 40.5%
NebraskaHerbert Hoover63.2%8Al Smith · 36.2%
NevadaHerbert Hoover56.5%3Al Smith · 43.5%
New HampshireHerbert Hoover58.7%4Al Smith · 41.0%
New JerseyHerbert Hoover59.8%14Al Smith · 39.8%
New MexicoHerbert Hoover59.0%3Al Smith · 40.8%
New YorkHerbert Hoover49.8%45Al Smith · 47.4%
North CarolinaHerbert Hoover54.9%12Al Smith · 45.1%
North DakotaHerbert Hoover54.8%5Al Smith · 44.5%
OhioHerbert Hoover64.9%24Al Smith · 34.5%
OklahomaHerbert Hoover63.7%10Al Smith · 35.4%
OregonHerbert Hoover64.2%5Al Smith · 34.1%
PennsylvaniaHerbert Hoover65.2%38Al Smith · 33.9%
Rhode IslandAl Smith50.2%5Herbert Hoover · 49.6%
South CarolinaAl Smith91.4%9Herbert Hoover · 8.5%
South DakotaHerbert Hoover60.2%5Al Smith · 39.2%
TennesseeHerbert Hoover55.5%12Al Smith · 44.4%
TexasHerbert Hoover51.7%20Al Smith · 48.1%
UtahHerbert Hoover53.5%4Al Smith · 45.9%
VermontHerbert Hoover66.9%4Al Smith · 32.9%
VirginiaHerbert Hoover53.9%12Al Smith · 45.9%
WashingtonHerbert Hoover67.1%7Al Smith · 31.4%
West VirginiaHerbert Hoover58.4%8Al Smith · 41.0%
WisconsinHerbert Hoover53.5%13Al Smith · 44.3%
WyomingHerbert Hoover63.7%3Al Smith · 35.4%

The state table accounts for 86 of Al Smith's 87 official electoral votes. The remainder reflect split delegations, district allocations, faithless electors or votes not counted, as recorded at the electoral count.

The Congress it seated

71th Congress

1929–1931

Unified government

Senate

39–56

Democratic vs Republican · 1 others

House

163–267

Democratic vs Republican · 1 others