The 1916 United States presidential election in North Dakota was part of the nationwide election held on Tuesday, November 8, 1916. Voters in North Dakota chose five electors to the Electoral College, who in turn voted for president and vice president.
Candidates and parties
| Party | Nominee | Running mate |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Woodrow Wilson (incumbent President) | Thomas R. Morrison |
| Republican | Charles E. Hughes (former Governor of New York) | Charles W. Fairbanks |
| Socialist | Allan L. Burris | (none) |
| Prohibition | J. R. Chellie | (none) |
Result in North Dakota
| Candidate | Party | Popular vote | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charles E. Hughes | Republican | 84,331 | 55.24 % |
| Woodrow Wilson | Democratic | 68,332 | 44.74 % |
| Allan L. Burris | Socialist | — | — |
| J. R. Chellie | Prohibition | — | — |
All five of North Dakota’s electoral votes were awarded to Charles E. Hughes.
Context
- The election occurred during World War I, although the United States had not yet entered the conflict. President Wilson’s campaign emphasized his slogan “He kept us out of war.”
- In North Dakota, the Republican Party retained its dominance from the state’s admission to the Union in 1889. The Republican vote was supported by a coalition of agrarian interests and progressive reformers who were skeptical of Wilson’s New Freedom policies.
- The Socialist and Prohibition parties fielded candidates, but they received only a marginal share of the vote in North Dakota and did not affect the allocation of electoral votes.
Aftermath
- Nationally, Woodrow Wilson was re‑elected president, winning 277 electoral votes to Hughes’s 254.
- In North Dakota, the 1916 result continued the state’s pattern of voting Republican in presidential elections, a trend that would persist through most of the 20th century, with a few notable exceptions.
Sources
- “1916 United States presidential election – North Dakota results,” U.S. Election Atlas (Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections).
- “North Dakota: Official Election Returns, 1916,” North Dakota Secretary of State archives.
- “United States presidential election of 1916,” Encyclopædia Britannica.
