1912 Democratic Party presidential primaries

1912 Democratic Party presidential primaries
March 19 to June 4, 1912 1916 →
1,088 delegates to the 1912 Democratic National Convention
726 (two-thirds) votes needed to win
 
Candidate Woodrow Wilson Champ Clark
Home state New Jersey Missouri
Delegate count 324 440.5
Contests won 5 5
Popular vote 435,169 405,537
Percentage 44.6% 41.6%
 
Candidate Judson Harmon Oscar Underwood
Home state Ohio Alabama
Delegate count 148 117.5
Contests won 1 –
Popular vote 116,294 –
Percentage 11.9% –
     Wilson      Clark      Underwood
     Harmon      Baldwin      Various[a]
Previous Democratic nominee

William Jennings Bryan

 Democratic nominee

Woodrow Wilson

From March 19 to June 4, 1912, voters of the Democratic Party elected delegates to the 1912 Democratic National Convention for the purpose of choosing a nominee for president in the 1912 election.[1]

The primaries were inconclusive, with Speaker of the House Champ Clark holding a lead over Woodrow Wilson, but neither candidate close to the two-thirds of the delegates necessary to secure the nomination. In third place, Ohio governor Judson Harmon boasted the support of his home state and New York, the largest single delegation. House Majority Leader Oscar Underwood had strong support from the Deep South but little appeal outside the region.

At the convention, Wilson eventually secured the nomination over Clark after forty back-and-forth ballots.

Candidates

Nominee

Candidate Experience Home state Campaign Popular vote Contests won Running mate
Woodrow Wilson Governor of New Jersey
(1910–1913)
President of Princeton University
(1902–1910) 		 New Jersey (Campaign)
Secured nomination:
July 2, 1912 		435,169
(44.6%) 		[data missing] Thomas R. Marshall

Defeated at convention

Candidate Experience Home state Campaign Popular vote Contests won
Champ Clark Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
(1911–1919)
Leader of the House Democratic Caucus
(1909–1921)
U.S. Representative from Missouri
(1893–95, 1897–1921) 		 Missouri (Campaign)

Defeated at convention:
July 2, 1912

405,537
(41.6%) 		[data missing]
Judson Harmon Governor of Ohio
(1909–1913)
United States Attorney General
(1895–1897) 		 Ohio (Campaign)
Defeated at convention:
July 2, 1912 		116,294
(11.9%) 		[data missing]
Oscar Underwood House Majority Leader
(1911–1915)
House Minority Whip
(1899–1901)
U.S. Representative from Alabama
(1895–96, 1897–1915) 		 Alabama (Campaign)

Defeated at convention:
July 2, 1912

— [data missing]
Simeon E. Baldwin Governor of Connecticut
(1911–1915)
Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court
(1907–1910)
Associate Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court
(1897–1907) 		 Connecticut Withdrew at convention — [data missing]

Favorite sons

Results

State Date Woodrow Wilson Champ Clark Judson Harmon John Burke
North Dakota March 19 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 100.0%
Wisconsin April 2 55.7% 44.2% 0.0% 0.0%
Illinois April 9 25.7% 74.3% 0.0% 0.0%
Pennsylvania April 13 100.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Nebraska April 19 27.9% 41.0% 24.3% 0.0%
Oregon April 19 53.0% 43.4% 3.3% 0.0%
Massachusetts April 30 29.9% 68.9% 0.0% 0.0%
Maryland May 6 34.3% 54.4% 11.3% 0.0%
California May 14 28.5% 71.5% 0.0% 0.0%
Ohio May 21 45.7% 1.3% 51.7% 0.0%
New Jersey May 28 98.9% 1.1% 0.0% 0.0%
South Dakota June 4 35.2% 32.0%[notes 1] 0.0% 0.0%
Legend:   1st place
(popular vote) 		2nd place
(popular vote) 		3rd place
(popular vote)

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The pro-Clark vote was split between two slates of delegates. The first one, labeled "Wilson-Clark-Bryan" received 32% while the second one, labeled "Champ Clark" received 20%. Clark's people accused the latter slate of being a scheme to split the vote. Only the votes received by the Wilson-Clark-Bryan slate are included in this total.
  1. ^ Favorite sons received the support of Indiana (Thomas R. Marshall) and North Dakota (John Burke).

References

  1. ^ Kalb, Deborah (2016-02-19). Guide to U.S. Elections - Google Books. ISBN 9781483380353. Retrieved 2016-02-19.