1924 United States presidential election — 35th quadrennial U.S. presidential election
Coolidge's 1924 landslide marked a high point of American conservatism and featured the strongest third-party popular vote since 1912.
Key Facts
- Winner
- Calvin Coolidge (Republican)
- La Follette popular vote share
- 16.6%
- Democratic convention ballots
- 103 ballots to nominate Davis
- Voter turnout
- Lowest per capita since records kept
- Coolidge succession year
- 1923 upon Harding's death
- Notable record
- Last Republican win without former Confederate states
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Calvin Coolidge ascended to the presidency in 1923 after Warren G. Harding's sudden death and benefited from a booming domestic economy and absence of major foreign crises. The Democratic Party was deeply divided between McAdoo and Al Smith factions, requiring 103 ballots to settle on compromise candidate John W. Davis, while progressive dissatisfaction with both major parties led to Robert La Follette's third-party candidacy.
On November 4, 1924, American voters chose among three significant tickets: incumbent Republican Calvin Coolidge with Charles Dawes, Democrat John W. Davis with Charles Bryan, and Progressive Robert La Follette with Burton Wheeler. Both major-party candidates campaigned on limited government and reduced taxes, while La Follette advocated railroad nationalization and higher taxes on the wealthy.
Coolidge won a landslide, carrying majorities in the popular vote and Electoral College and nearly all states outside the Solid South. Davis recorded the lowest popular vote share of any Democratic nominee in history. La Follette's 16.6% popular vote share remains the most recent instance of a third-party candidate winning a non-Southern state, and his policy platform foreshadowed the New Deal programs of the 1930s.
Political Outcome
Calvin Coolidge won a landslide victory with majorities in both the popular vote and Electoral College, defeating Democrat John W. Davis and Progressive Robert La Follette.
Calvin Coolidge as unelected incumbent president (ascended 1923)
Calvin Coolidge as elected president with a full term mandate