1920 Democratic Party presidential primaries
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1,097 delegates to the Democratic National Convention 732 (two-thirds) votes needed to win | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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From March 9 to June 5, 1920, voters of the Democratic Party elected delegates to the 1920 Democratic National Convention, for the purposing of choosing a nominee for president in the 1920 United States presidential election.[1]
The race for delegates was made under a cloud of uncertainty because the party's two leading names, President Woodrow Wilson and three-time nominee William Jennings Bryan, withheld their intentions; both men privately hoped for the nomination, but neither's name was formally submitted before the voters or the convention as a candidate.
The delegate elections were inconclusive, with Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer, Treasury Secretary William Gibbs McAdoo, and Ohio governor James A. Cox leading the candidate field. With no clear front-runner, many states withheld their delegates from any one candidate, instead sending an uncommitted slate of delegates or preferring to back a favorite son on the first ballot. At the convention, Cox was ultimately nominated on the forty-fourth ballot.
Candidates
[edit]- Governor James M. Cox of Ohio
- Former Ambassador to Germany James Watson Gerard of New York
- Governor Edward I. Edwards of New Jersey
- Attorney General of the U.S. A. Mitchell Palmer from Pennsylvania
- Former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury William Gibbs McAdoo from California
- Senator Robert Latham Owen of Oklahoma
Not placed in nomination
[edit]- Former United States Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska
- House Minority Leader Champ Clark of Missouri
- President of the United States Woodrow Wilson of New Jersey
Favorite sons
[edit]- U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Edwin T. Meredith of Iowa
- Senator Carter Glass of Virginia
- Governor Al Smith of New York
- Senator Gilbert Hitchcock of Nebraska
- Ambassador to the United Kingdom John W. Davis of West Virginia
- Senator John Sharp Williams of Mississippi
- Party Chairman Homer Stille Cummings of Connecticut
- Senator Furnifold Simmons of North Carolina
- Vice President Thomas R. Marshall of Indiana
Primary and caucus results
[edit]Democratic Presidential Nominating State Conventions and Primaries | |||||||
Date | State | Contest Type |
Candidate | Votes Won (#) |
Votes Won (%) |
Delegates Won |
Reference(s) |
March 9 | New Hampshire |
Primary (8 of 8 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 7,103 | 100 / 100
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8 / 8
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March 16 | North Dakota |
Primary (10 of 10 delegates) |
William Jennings Bryan | 340 (W) | 87.40 / 100
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William Gibbs McAdoo | 49 (W) | 12.60 / 100
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Uninstructed | 10 / 10
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March 23 | South Dakota |
Primary (10 of 10 delegates) |
James W. Gerard | 2,530 | 38.26 / 100
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10 / 10
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Scattering | 2,162 | 32.70 / 100
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James O. Monroe | 1,920 | 29.04 / 100
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April 5 | Michigan | Primary (0 of 30 delegates) |
Herbert Hoover | 24,006 (W) | 27.17 / 100
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William Gibbs McAdoo | 18,665 (W) | 21.09 / 100
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William Jennings Bryan | 17,954 (W) | 20.29 / 100
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Edward I. Edwards | 16,642 (W) | 18.81 / 100
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Alexander Mitchell Palmer | 11,187 (W) | 12.64 / 100
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April 6 | New York |
Primary (90 of 90 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 113,300 | 100 / 100
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90 / 90
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Wisconsin | Primary (26 of 26 delegates) |
Scattering | 3,391 | 97.81 / 100
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[2] | ||
James M. Cox | 76 (W) | 2.19 / 100
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Uninstructed | 26 / 26
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April 13 | Illinois | Primary (50 of 58 delegates) |
Edward I. Edwards | 6,933 (W) | 32.31 / 100
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[2] | |
Scattering | 6,931 (W) | 32.31 / 100
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William Gibbs McAdoo | 3,838 (W) | 17.89 / 100
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William Jennings Bryan | 1,968 (W) | 9.17 / 100
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Woodrow Wilson | 931 (W) | 4.34 / 100
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Champ Clark | 548 (W) | 2.55 / 100
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James M. Cox | 266 (W) | 1.24 / 100
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James Hamilton Lewis | 40 (W) | 0.19 / 100
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Uninstructed | 50 / 50
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April 20 | Georgia | Primary (0 of 28 delegates) |
Thomas E. Watson | 51,974 | 35.60 / 100
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[3][4] | |
Alexander Mitchell Palmer | 48,460[c] | 33.19 / 100
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Michael Hoke Smith | 45,568 | 31.21 / 100
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Nebraska | Primary (16 of 16 delegates) |
Gilbert Hitchcock | 37,452 | 67.26 / 100
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16 / 16
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Robert G. Ross | 13,179 | 23.67 / 100
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William Jennings Bryan | 3,466 (W) | 6.23 / 100
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Scattering | 1,585 (W) | 2.85 / 100
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April 23 | Montana | Primary (8 of 8 delegates) |
Scattering[d] | 2,994 | 100 / 100
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[2] | |
Uninstructed | 8 / 8
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April 27 | Massachusetts | Primary (36 of 36 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 28,261 | 100 / 100
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36 / 36
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New Jersey |
Primary (28 of 28 delegates) |
Edward I. Edwards | 4,163 | 88.54 / 100
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28 / 28
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William Gibbs McAdoo | 180 (W) | 3.83 / 100
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Woodrow Wilson | 149 (W) | 3.17 / 100
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William Jennings Bryan | 64 (W) | 1.36 / 100
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Herbert Hoover | 64 (W) | 1.36 / 100
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Hiram Johnson | 55 (W) | 1.17 / 100
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Scattering | 27 (W) | 0.57 / 100
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Ohio | Primary (48 of 48 delegates) |
James M. Cox | 85,838 | 97.79 / 100
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48 / 100
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William Jennings Bryan | 971 (W) | 1.11 / 100
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Scattering | 394 (W) | 0.45 / 100
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William Gibbs McAdoo | 292 (W) | 0.33 / 100
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Herbert Hoover | 282 (W) | 0.32 / 100
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April 28 | Alaska | Primary (6 of 6 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 6 / 6
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[2] | ||
May 4 | California | Primary (26 of 26 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 23,861 | 100 / 100
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26 / 26
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May 10 | Alabama | Primary (24 of 24 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 24 / 24
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[2] | ||
May 18 | Pennsylvania | Primary (76 of 76 delegates) |
Alexander Mitchell Palmer | 80,356 | 73.70 / 100
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76 / 76
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William Gibbs McAdoo | 26,875 | 24.65 / 100
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Scattering | 718 (W) | 0.66 / 100
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Edward I. Edwards | 674 (W) | 0.62 / 100
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William Jennings Bryan | 285 (W) | 0.26 / 100
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Woodrow Wilson | 129 (W) | 0.12 / 100
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Vermont | Primary (0 of 8 delegates) |
William Gibbs McAdoo | 137 (W) | 33.83 / 100
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Woodrow Wilson | 68 (W) | 16.79 / 100
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Edward I. Edwards | 58 (W) | 14.32 / 100
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Herbert Hoover | 39 (W) | 9.63 / 100
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William Jennings Bryan | 26 (W) | 6.42 / 100
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Hiram Johnson | 18 (W) | 4.44 / 100
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Champ Clark | 16 (W) | 3.95 / 100
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James M. Cox | 14 (W) | 3.46 / 100
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Eugene V. Debs | 8 (W) | 1.93 / 100
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Henry Ford | 7 (W) | 1.73 / 100
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Thomas R. Marshall | 7 (W) | 1.73 / 100
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Alexander Mitchell Palmer | 7 (W) | 1.73 / 100
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May 21 | Oregon | Primary (10 of 10 delegates) |
William Gibbs McAdoo | 24,951 | 98.57 / 100
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10 / 10
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Scattering | 361 (W) | 1.43 / 100
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May 22 | Hawaii | Primary (6 of 6 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 6 / 6
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[2] | ||
May 25 | Texas | Primary (40 of 40 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 40 / 40
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[2] | ||
West Virginia |
Primary (16 of 16 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 16 / 16
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[2] | |||
June 8 | Florida | Primary (12 of 12 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 12 / 12
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[2] | ||
June 10 | Washington, D.C. | Primary (11 of 11 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 11 / 11
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[2] |
Delegates not selected in primaries
[edit]Many delegations were not selected in public primaries. The following table shows delegates awarded at a state level by convention, committees, and other means.
Delegates not awarded via primaries | |||||||
Other delegate allocation | |||||||
Date | State | Contest Type |
Candidate | Votes Won (#) |
Votes Won (%) |
Delegates Won |
Reference(s) |
February 5 | Oklahoma | Convention (20 of 20 delegates) |
Robert Latham Owen | 20 / 20
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[2] | ||
February 27 | Arizona | Convention (6 of 6 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 6 / 6
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[2] | ||
February 28 | Iowa | Convention (26 of 26 delegates) |
Uninstructed (Later Supported Edwin T. Meredith) |
26 / 26
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[2] | ||
March 9 | Nevada | Convention (6 of 6 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 6 / 6
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[2] | ||
April 6 | Minnesota | Convention (24 of 24 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 24 / 24
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[2] | ||
Philippines | Convention (6 of 6 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 6 / 6
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[2] | |||
April 8 | North Carolina |
Convention (24 of 24 delegates) |
Furnifold McLendel Simmons | 24 / 24
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[2] | ||
April 10 | Puerto Rico | Convention (6 of 6 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 6 / 6
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[2] | ||
May 3 | Maryland | Convention (16 of 16 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 16 / 16
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[2] | ||
May 4 | Kentucky | Convention (26 of 26 delegates) |
James M. Cox | 26 / 26
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[2] | ||
May 6 | Connecticut | Convention (14 of 14 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 14 / 14
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[2] | ||
Rhode Island |
Convention (10 of 10 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 10 / 10
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[2] | |||
May 10 | Illinois | Convention (8 of 50 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 8 / 8
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[2] | ||
Michigan | Convention (30 of 30 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 30 / 30
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[2] | |||
Wyoming | Convention (6 of 6 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 6 / 6
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[2] | |||
April 22 | Missouri | Convention (36 of 36 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 36 / 36
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[2] | ||
April 23 | Kansas | Convention (20 of 20 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 20 / 20
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[2] | ||
May 17 | Colorado | Convention (12 of 12 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 12 / 12
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[2] | ||
Washington | Convention (14 of 14 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 14 / 14
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[2] | |||
May 18 | Georgia | Convention (28 of 28 delegates) |
Alexander Mitchell Palmer | 28 / 28
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[2] | ||
May 19 | Virginia | Convention (24 of 24 delegates) |
Carter Glass | 24 / 24
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[2] | ||
May 20 | Indiana | Convention (30 of 30 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 30 / 30
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[2] | ||
May 25 | Delaware | Convention (6 of 6 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 30 / 30
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[2] | ||
May 26 | South Carolina |
Convention (18 of 18 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 18 / 18
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[2] | ||
June 1 | Indiana | State Committee (18 of 18 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 18 / 18
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[2] | ||
June 2 | Vermont | Convention (8 of 8 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 8 / 8
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[2] | ||
June 3 | Louisiana | Convention (20 of 20 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 20 / 20
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[2] | ||
New Mexico |
Convention (6 of 6 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 6 / 6
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[2] | |||
June 8 | Tennessee | Convention (24 of 24 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 24 / 24
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[2] | ||
June 12 | Utah | Convention (8 of 8 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 8 / 8
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[2] | ||
June 15 | Idaho | Convention (8 of 8 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 8 / 8
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[2] | ||
June 16 | Mississippi | Convention (20 of 20 delegates) |
Uninstructed | 20 / 20
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[2] |
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ a b Favorite sons Gilbert Hitchcock and Thomas E. Watson won the Nebraska and Georgia primary votes, respectively. William Jennings Bryan won North Dakota and Herbert Hoover won Michigan. Massachusetts elected a slate of uncommitted delegates.
- ^ a b Favorite sons received the support of the delegations of Nebraska (Gilbert Hitchcock), West Virginia (John W. Davis), Virginia (Carter Glass), New York (Al Smith), Mississippi (John Sharp Williams), Connecticut (Homer Stille Cummings), North Carolina (Furnifold Simmons), Iowa (Edwin T. Meredith), and Indiana(Thomas R. Marshall). Former Speaker of the House Champ Clark won the Louisiana delegation.
- ^ Delegates to the State Convention which officially chose delegates and their instruction were based not on the popular vote, but based on their performance under the county unit system. Palmer came second state-wide, but won the most unit votes. Despite attempts by Watson and some Smith supporters to send an uninstructed delegation to the National Convention, it was the delegation pledged to Palmer that was seated by the credentials committee.
- ^ No candidate technically filed for the Montana Democratic Presidential Primary.
References
[edit]- ^ Kalb, Deborah (2016-02-19). Guide to U.S. Elections – Google Books. ISBN 9781483380353. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap "Democratic National Convention, 1920". The New York Times. June 20, 1920.
- ^ "PALMER TO LEAD BY 12 IN GEORGIA CONVENTION; Controversy Is On as to Whether or Not He Can Control National Delegates". The New York Times. April 23, 1920.
- ^ "SEAT REFUSED REED IN BITTER CONTEST; Credentials Committee Seats Delegates from Georgia Pledged to Palmer. GAINS FOR ADMINISTRATION National Committee Overruled in Oregon Decision Giving Two Delegates Half Vote Each". The New York Times. June 29, 1920.