View source for 1908 United States presidential election

{{Short description|none}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2013}}{{for|related races|1908 United States elections}}
{{Infobox election
| election_name = 1908 United States presidential election
| country = United States
| flag_year = 1908
| type = presidential
| ongoing = no
| previous_election = 1904 United States presidential election
| previous_year = 1904
| election_date = November 3, 1908
| next_election = 1912 United States presidential election
| next_year = 1912
| votes_for_election = 483 members of the [[Electoral College (United States)|Electoral College]]
| needed_votes = 242 electoral
| turnout = 65.7%<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.electproject.org/national-1789-present|title=National General Election VEP Turnout Rates, 1789-Present|work=United States Election Project|publisher=[[CQ Press]]}}</ref> {{increase}} 0.2 [[percentage point|pp]]
| image1 = [[File:William Howard Taft, Bain bw photo portrait, 1908 (cropped).jpg|x200px]]
| nominee1 = '''[[William Howard Taft]]'''
| party1 = Republican Party (United States)
| home_state1 = [[Ohio]]
| running_mate1 = '''[[James S. Sherman]]'''
| electoral_vote1 = '''321'''
| states_carried1 = '''29'''
| popular_vote1 = '''7,678,395'''
| percentage1 = '''51.6%'''
| image2 = [[File:William Jennings Bryan, 1860-1925 (closein cropped 3x4).jpg|x200px]]
| nominee2 = [[William Jennings Bryan]]
| party2 = Democratic Party (United States)
| home_state2 = [[Nebraska]]
| running_mate2 = [[John W. Kern]]
| electoral_vote2 = 162
| states_carried2 = 17
| popular_vote2 = 6,408,984
| percentage2 = 43.1%
| map_size = 350px
| map = {{1908 United States presidential election imagemap}}
| map_caption = Presidential election results map. <span style="color:red;">Red</span> denotes states won by Taft/Sherman, <span style="color:blue;">blue</span> denotes those won by Bryan/Kern. Numbers indicate the number of electoral votes allotted to each state.
| title = President
| before_election = [[Theodore Roosevelt]]
| before_party = Republican Party (United States)
| after_election = [[William Howard Taft]]
| after_party = Republican Party (United States)
}}
[[File:Unsuccessful 1912 2.jpg|thumb|189x189px|The [[incumbent]] in 1908, Theodore Roosevelt. His second term expired at noon on March 4, 1909.]]
[[United States presidential election|Presidential elections]] were held in the [[United States]] on November 3, 1908. [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] nominee [[William Howard Taft]] defeated threetime [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee [[William Jennings Bryan]]. [[Incumbent]] President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] honored his promise not to seek a third term (for him, a second full term), and persuaded his close friend, Taft, to become his successor. With Roosevelt's support, Taft won the presidential nomination at the [[1908 Republican National Convention]] on the first ballot. The Democratic Party nominated Bryan, who had been defeated twice previously, in [[1896 United States presidential election|1896]] and [[1900 United States presidential election|1900]], by Republican [[William McKinley]]. 

Bryan, part of the more liberal or progressive wing of the Democratic Party, ran a vigorous campaign against the nation's business elite. Despite this, he suffered the worst loss of his three presidential campaigns in his percentage of both the popular vote and electoral vote. Taft won 51.6% of the popular vote and carried most states outside of the [[Solid South]]. Taft's triumph gave Republicans their fourth consecutive presidential election victory. The Republican Party lost the presidency [[1912 United States presidential election|four years later]] to the Democrats, due to a party split between Taft and Roosevelt. Two [[third party (United States)|third-party]] candidates, [[Eugene V. Debs]] of the [[Socialist Party of America|Socialist Party]] and [[Eugene W. Chafin]] of the [[Prohibition Party]], each took over 1% of the popular vote. This would also be the last election before [[Arizona]] and [[New Mexico]] gained statehood on January 6 and February 14, 1912.

== Nominations ==

=== Republican Party nomination ===
{{main|1908 Republican National Convention}}

==== Nominees ====
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align:center;"
|-
| style="background:#f1f1f1;" colspan="30"|[[File:Republican Disc.svg|65px|center|link=Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party (United States)]]<big>'''1908 Republican Party ticket'''</big>
|-
! style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#E81B23; width:200px;"| [[William Howard Taft|{{color|white|William Howard Taft}}]]
! style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#E81B23; width:200px;"| [[James S. Sherman|{{color|white|James S. Sherman}}]]
|- style="color:#000; font-size:100%; background:#FFD0D7;"
| style="width:3em; width:200px;"|'''''for President'''''
| style="width:3em; width:200px;"|'''''for Vice President'''''
|-
| [[File:William Howard Taft by Pach Brothers (3x4 close cropped).jpg |center|200x200px]]
| [[File:James Schoolcraft Sherman.jpg|center|200x200px]]
|-
| 42nd<br>[[United States Secretary of War|U.S. Secretary of War]]<br><small>(1904–1908)</small>
| [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]]<br>for [[New York's 27th congressional district|New York's 27th]]<br><small>(1903–1909)</small>
|-
| colspan=2 |[[File:1908RepublicanPoster.png|300px]]
|-
|}

==== Candidates ====

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%"
|- <sup>†</sup>
| colspan="8" style="text-align:center; width:1500px; font-size:120%; color:white; background:{{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};"|''Candidates in this section are sorted by delegates won''
|-
! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:120%;"|[[William Howard Taft|William H. Taft]]
! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:120%;"|[[Philander C. Knox]]
! scope="col" style="width:9em; font-size:120%;"|[[Charles Evans Hughes|Charles E. Hughes]]
! scope="col" style="width:9em; font-size:120%;"|[[Joseph Gurney Cannon|Joseph G. Cannon]]
! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:120%;"|[[Charles W. Fairbanks]]
! scope="col" style="width:9em; font-size:120%;"|[[Robert M. La Follette]]
! scope="col" style="width:9em; font-size:120%;"|[[Joseph B. Foraker]]
! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:120%;"|[[L. M. Shaw|Leslie M. Shaw]]
|-
|[[File:William Howard Taft 1909b.jpg|center|124x124px]]
|[[File:Philander Knox, bw photo portrait, 1904.jpg|center|120x120px]]
|[[File:Charles Evans Hughes cph.3a02236.jpg|center|120x120px]]
|[[File:Joseph "Joe" G. Cannon, bust portrait, with cigar in his mouth LCCN2016651346.tiff|center|120x120px]]
|[[File:Charles W Fairbanks by Harris & Ewing (cropped 3x4).jpg|center|120x120px]]
|[[File:Robert M. La Follette Sr. cph.3b16031.jpg|center|120x120px]]
|[[File:Joseph Benson Foraker.jpg|center|120x120px]]
|[[File:Leslie Shaw, Bain photo portrait.jpg|center|120x120px]]
|- style="text-align:center"
|42nd [[United States Secretary of War|U.S. Secretary of War]]<br />from [[Ohio]]<br /><small>(1904–1908)</small>
|44th [[United States Attorney General|U.S. Attorney General]]<br />from [[Pennsylvania]]<br /><small>(1901–1904)</small>
|[[List of governors of New York|36th]] [[Governor of New York|Governor]]<br />of [[New York (state)|New York]]<br /><small>(1907–1910)</small>
|[[List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives|35th]] [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|House Speaker]]<br />from [[Illinois]]<br /><small>(1903–1911)</small>
|[[List of vice presidents of the United States|26th]] [[Vice President of the United States|U.S. Vice President]]<br />from [[Indiana]]<br /><small>(1905–1909)</small>
|[[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]]<br />from [[Wisconsin]]<br /><small>(1906–1925)</small>
|[[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]]<br />from [[Ohio]]<br /><small>(1897–1909)</small>
|43rd [[United States Secretary of the Treasury|U.S. Secretary of the Treasury]]<br />from [[Iowa]]<br /><small>(1902–1907)</small>
|- style="text-align:center"
|'''Delegates:''' 549<ref name="tm1">{{cite web |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/05/10/104724895.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/05/10/104724895.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Newspaper clipping|website=timesmachine.nytimes.com|access-date=2020-07-04}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/06/07/104804921.html?pageNumber=2|title=CHARGE FORGERY IN FLORIDA.; Representative Ames of Massachusetts Accused of Tricking Taftites.|work=The New York Times }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/06/10/104729923.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/06/10/104729923.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Newspaper clipping|website=timesmachine.nytimes.com|access-date=2020-07-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/06/12/104730451.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328224349/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/06/12/104730451.pdf |archive-date=2022-03-28 |url-status=live |title=Newspaper clipping|website=timesmachine.nytimes.com|access-date=2020-07-04}}</ref><ref name="tm2">{{cite web |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/06/13/104805494.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/06/13/104805494.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Newspaper clipping|website=timesmachine.nytimes.com|access-date=2020-07-04}}</ref>
|'''Delegates:''' 67<ref name="tm1" /><ref name="tm2" />
|'''Delegates:''' 54<ref name="tm1" /><ref name="tm2" />
|'''Delegates:''' 46<ref name="tm1" /><ref name="tm2" />
|'''Delegates:''' 32<ref name="tm1" /><ref name="tm2" />
|'''Delegates:''' 25<ref name="tm1" /><ref name="tm2" />
|'''Delegates:''' 5<ref name="tm1" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/06/11/105006613.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328224341/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/06/11/105006613.pdf |archive-date=2022-03-28 |url-status=live |title=Newspaper clipping|website=timesmachine.nytimes.com|access-date=2020-07-04}}</ref><ref name="tm2" />
|'''Delegates:''' 0<ref name="tm1" />
|- style="text-align:center"
|[[William Howard Taft#Presidential election of 1908|'''Campaign''']]
|
|
|
|
|[[Robert M. La Follette#Roosevelt administration (1906–1909)|'''Campaign''']]
|[[Joseph B. Foraker#Defeat for re-election|'''Campaign''']]
|
|}

The Republican nomination contest marked the introduction of the [[United States presidential primary|presidential preference primary]]. The idea of the primary to nominate candidates was sponsored by anti-machine politicians such as [[Governor of New York|New York Governor]] [[Charles Evans Hughes]] and [[List of governors of Iowa|Iowa Governor]] [[Albert B. Cummins]]. The first state to hold a presidential primary to select delegates to a national convention was Florida in [[1904 United States presidential election|1904]], when Democratic Party voters held a primary among uninstructed candidates for delegate. Early in 1908, the only two Republican contenders running nationwide campaigns for the presidential nomination were [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]] [[William Howard Taft]] and [[United States Senate|Senator]] [[Joseph B. Foraker]], both of Ohio. In the nomination contest, four states held primaries to select national [[Republican National Convention|convention]] [[Delegate (American politics)|delegate]]s. In Ohio, the state Republican Party held a primary on February 11. Candidates pledged to Taft were printed on the ballot in a Taft column, and candidates pledged to Foraker were printed in a column under his name. Taft won a resounding victory in Ohio. The three states holding primaries to select delegates without the preference component were split: California chose a slate of delegates that supported Taft; Wisconsin elected a slate that supported Wisconsin Senator [[Robert M. La Follette, Sr.]], and Pennsylvania elected a slate that supported its Senator [[Philander C. Knox]].

The 1908 Republican Convention was held in Chicago between June 16 and 19. [[William Howard Taft]] was nominated with 702 votes to 68 for Knox, 67 for Hughes, 58 for Cannon, 40 for Fairbanks, 25 for La Follette, 16 for Foraker, 3 for President Roosevelt, and one abstention.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bain|first1=Richard C.|last2=Parris|first2=Judith H.|title=Convention Decisions and Voting Records|date=1973 |page=174|publisher=Brookings Institution |isbn=0-8157-0768-1}}</ref>

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
| colspan="3" | '''Presidential ballot'''
|-
| '''Candidate'''
| '''1st'''
| '''Unanimous'''
|-
![[William Howard Taft]] !!702!!980
|-
![[Philander C. Knox]] !!68!!-
|-
![[Charles Evans Hughes]] !!67!!-
|-
![[Joseph Gurney Cannon]] !!58!!-
|-
![[Charles W. Fairbanks]] !!40!!-
|-
![[Robert M. La Follette]] !!25!!-
|-
![[Joseph B. Foraker]] !!16!!-
|-
![[Theodore Roosevelt]] !!3!!-
|-
!Not Voting !!1!!-
|}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/officialreporto00repu#page/182/mode/2up |title=Official report of the proceedings of the fourteenth Republican National Convention, held in Chicago, Illinois, June 16, 17, 18 and 19, 1908 |website=Archive.org |access-date=2016-08-18}}</ref>

Representative [[James S. Sherman]] from New York received the vice-presidential nomination.

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
| colspan="3" | '''Vice-presidential ballot'''
|-
| '''Candidate'''
| '''1st'''
| '''Unanimous'''
|-
![[James S. Sherman]] !!816!!980
|-
![[Franklin Murphy (governor)|Franklin Murphy]] !!77!!-
|-
![[Curtis Guild, Jr.]] !!75!!-
|-
![[George L. Sheldon]] !!10!!-
|-
![[Charles W. Fairbanks]] !!1!!-
|-
!Not Voting !!1!!-
|}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/officialreporto00repu#page/196/mode/2up |title=Official report of the proceedings of the fourteenth Republican National Convention, held in Chicago, Illinois, June 16, 17, 18 and 19, 1908 |website=Archive.org |access-date=2016-08-18}}</ref>

=== Democratic Party nomination ===
{{Main|1908 Democratic National Convention}}

==== Nominees ====
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align:center;"
|-
| style="background:#f1f1f1;" colspan="30"|[[File:Democratic Disc.svg|65px|center|link=Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party (United States)]]<big>'''1908 Democratic Party ticket '''</big>
|-
! style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#3333FF; width:200px;"| [[William Jennings Bryan|{{color|white|William Jennings Bryan}}]]
! style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#3333FF; width:200px;"| [[John W. Kern|{{color|white|John W. Kern}}]]
|-
| style="width:3em; font-size:100%; color:#000; background:#C8EBFF; width:200px;"|'''''for President'''''
| style="width:3em; font-size:100%; color:#000; background:#C8EBFF; width:200px;"|'''''for Vice President'''''
|-
| [[File:Unsuccessful 1908.jpg|center|200x200px]]
| [[File:JohnWKern.jpg|center|200x200px]]
|-
| [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]]<br>for [[Nebraska's 1st congressional district]]<br><small>(1891–1895)</small>
| [[Indiana Senate|Indiana State Senator]]<br><small>(1893–1897)</small>
|-
| colspan=2 |[[William Jennings Bryan 1908 presidential campaign|'''Campaign''']]
|-
| colspan=2 |[[File:1908DemocraticPoster.png|400px]]
|-
|}

==== Candidates ====

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%"
|- <sup>†</sup>
| colspan="9" style="text-align:center; width:750px; font-size:120%; color:white; background:{{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};"|''Candidates in this section are sorted by delegates won''
|-
! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:120%;"|[[William Jennings Bryan|William J. Bryan]]
! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:120%;"|[[John Albert Johnson|John A. Johnson]]
! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:120%;"|[[George Gray (Delaware politician)|George Gray]]
! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:120%;"|[[Jesse Root Grant (politician)|Jesse R. Grant]]
|-
|[[File:BRYAN, WILLIAM JENNINGS LCCN2016856654 (cropped).jpg|center|120x120px]]
|[[File:Portrait of Governor John A. Johnson from St. Peter, Minnesota - DPLA - 90bba407f71ac3a5947dbb4d01af5685 (cropped).jpg|center|120x120px]]
|[[File:George Gray Senator.jpg|center|120x120px]]
|[[File:Jesse Root Grant (cropped).jpg|center|120x120px]]
|- style="text-align:center"
|[[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]]<br />for [[Nebraska|Nebraska's]] [[Nebraska's 1st congressional district|1st district]]<br /><small>(1891–1895)</small>
|[[List of Governors of Minnesota|16th]]<br />[[Governor of Minnesota]]<br /><small>(1905–1909)</small>
|[[United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit|Federal Appeals Judge]]<br />from [[Delaware]]<br /><small>(1899–1914)</small>
|Engineer and businessman<br />from [[California]]
|- style="text-align:center"
|'''Delegates:''' 549<ref name="tm3">{{cite web |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/06/08/104805265.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010125350/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/06/08/104805265.pdf |archive-date=2021-10-10 |url-status=live |title=Newspaper clipping|website=timesmachine.nytimes.com|access-date=2020-07-04}}</ref>
|'''Delegates:''' 25<ref name="tm3" />
|'''Delegates:''' 6<ref name="tm3" />
|'''Delegates:''' 0<ref name="tm3" />
|- style="text-align:center"
|[[William Jennings Bryan presidential campaign, 1908|'''Campaign''']]
|
|
|
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Convention vote

|-
! colspan=2 | President
! colspan=2 | Vice President

|-
| √ '''[[William Jennings Bryan|William J. Bryan]]'''
| 888.5 / Unanimous
| √ '''[[John W. Kern]]'''
| Unanimous

|-
| [[George Gray (Delaware politician)|George Gray]]
| 59.5
|
|
|-
| [[John Albert Johnson|John A. Johnson]]
| 46
|
|
|-
| Not Voting
| 8
|
|
|}

As the 1908 election approached, [[William Jennings Bryan]] was the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination. Bryan's most formidable challenger for the nomination was [[Minnesota Governor]] [[John Albert Johnson]]. Johnson's [[rags-to-riches story]], honesty, reformist credentials, and ability to win in a heavily Republican state made him popular within the Democratic Party. In March, the Minnesota Democratic State Convention endorsed Johnson for president. By the end of June, however, Bryan had amassed more than the requisite two-thirds of the delegates needed for nomination.

The [[1908 Democratic National Convention]] was held in [[Denver]] between July 7 and 10. Johnson, aware of the fact that Bryan's nomination was a foregone conclusion, released his delegates, thereby allowing Bryan to win the nomination on the first ballot.<ref name="harpweek1908">{{cite web|url=http://elections.harpweek.com/1908/Overview-1908-2.htm |title=HarpWeek &#124; Elections &#124; The Democratic Nomination |publisher=Elections.harpweek.com |access-date=2017-09-23}}</ref>

Bryan left the choice of vice-president to the delegates. [[John W. Kern]] from [[Indiana]] was unanimously declared the candidate for vice-president without a formal ballot after the names of [[Charles A. Towne]], [[Archibald McNeil]], and [[Clark Howell]] were withdrawn from consideration. Kern was a former [[Indiana Senate|state senator]] (1893-1897) and two-time [[Indiana Governor|gubernatorial]] candidate ([[Indiana gubernatorial election, 1900|1900]] and [[Indiana gubernatorial election, 1904|1904]]).

In response to nomination of Bryan and Kern, ''[[The New York Times]]'' disparagingly pointed out that the Democratic national ticket was consistent because "a man twice defeated for the Presidency was at the head of it, and a man twice defeated for governor of his state was at the tail of it."<ref name="harpweek1908"/>

=== Third parties and independents ===
==== People's Party nomination ====
===== Nominees =====
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align:center;"
|-
| style="background:#f1f1f1;" colspan="30"|<big>'''1908 People's Party ticket'''</big>
|-
! style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#ACE1AF; width:200px;"| [[Thomas E. Watson|{{color|white|Thomas E. Watson}}]]
! style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#ACE1AF; width:200px;"| [[Samuel Williams (American politician)|{{color|white|Samuel Williams}}]]
|- style="color:#000; font-size:100%; background:#dcf0dc;"
| style="width:3em; width:200px;"|'''''for President'''''
| style="width:3em; width:200px;"|'''''for Vice President'''''
|-
| [[File:Tom E Watson.jpg|center|200x200px]]
| [[File:Samuel Williams.jpg|center|200x200px]]
|-
|[[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]]<br />for [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia's]] [[Georgia's 10th congressional district|10th district]]<br /><small>(1891–1893)</small>
|[[Indiana House of Representatives|State Representative]]<br />from [[Indiana]]<br /><small>(1885–1887)</small>
|-
| colspan=2 |[[Thomas E. Watson#Presidential candidacies|'''Campaign''']]
|-
|}

In 1904 the national [[People's Party (United States)|Populist Party]] ticket fared fairly well. Its total was twice the party's total in the previous presidential election, and in ten states, it received over 1% of the vote. It also offered 47 candidates for the House of Representatives, though the only ones elected were cross-endorsed by one of the major parties. The party remained in fusion with either the Democrats or the Republicans in many states.
 
The following three years were a trying time for the party. When Democrats began to call for the nomination of Bryan in 1908, western Populist leader [[Thomas Tibbles]] announced that the People's Party would probably not support him since he had gone into the hands of the Eastern business interests.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1906/06/11/101781931.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1906/06/11/101781931.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Newspaper clipping|website=timesmachine.nytimes.com|access-date=2020-07-04}}</ref> Two months later, Nebraska Democrats decided in their state convention to end fusion with the Populists, but they changed their mind after an all-night conference.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1906/08/17/101794083.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1906/08/17/101794083.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Newspaper clipping|website=timesmachine.nytimes.com|access-date=2020-07-04}}</ref> In the midterm elections the party only offered 10 candidates for House, and the Kansas People's Party officially disbanded in December when that state party's leader announced that he was joining the Republicans.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1906/12/08/101852309.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1906/12/08/101852309.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Newspaper clipping|website=timesmachine.nytimes.com|access-date=2020-07-04}}</ref>

By late 1907, many Populists were hoping that Thomas Watson would agree to run for president again. The previous three years had been unusual for Watson. He gave a speech to a gathering of farmers in Greensborough, Georgia and while preparing for supper, the house where he was staying was burned.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1905/01/04/102419089.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1905/01/04/102419089.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Newspaper clipping|website=timesmachine.nytimes.com|access-date=2020-07-04}}</ref> In mid-1906, Watson called on Georgia Populists to vote for [[M. Hoke Smith|Hoke Smith]] for governor in the Democratic primary, which fueled speculation that Watson was thinking of returning to the Democrats.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1906/07/26/101790124.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1906/07/26/101790124.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Newspaper clipping|website=timesmachine.nytimes.com|access-date=2020-07-04}}</ref> In early 1907, Watson started a network of Populist-leaning publications to keep the party's principles alive; Tibbles was chosen to serve as the chief editor.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1907/02/10/106739469.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1907/02/10/106739469.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Newspaper clipping|website=timesmachine.nytimes.com|access-date=2020-07-04}}</ref> One month later, someone fired shots into the Watsons' house in Augusta.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1907/03/16/106110680.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1907/03/16/106110680.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Newspaper clipping|website=timesmachine.nytimes.com|access-date=2020-07-04}}</ref> He had an altercation with an African-American porter on a train; when the porter said that he was unable to increase the train's speed, Watson hit the man in the face with the cap of his cane.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1907/04/15/106707137.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1907/04/15/106707137.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Newspaper clipping|website=timesmachine.nytimes.com|access-date=2020-07-04}}</ref>

The People's Party National Committee met on November 26, 1907, to make preparations for the 1908 national convention. National chairman [[James Ferriss]] indicated that Thomas Watson was the front runner for the nomination, saying that the party hoped to forge an alliance with one or more of the other minor parties, including possibly the Independence League or the Prohibitionists.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1907/11/24/106768999.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1907/11/24/106768999.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Newspaper clipping|website=timesmachine.nytimes.com|access-date=2020-07-04}}</ref> In early 1908, however, at least one member of the national committee believed that Senator [[Robert M. La Follette|Robert La Follette]] of Wisconsin would win the Populist nomination.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/03/30/104721255.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/03/30/104721255.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Newspaper clipping|website=timesmachine.nytimes.com|access-date=2020-07-04}}</ref>

On the first day of the convention, the delegation from Nebraska worked to adjourn the convention; they had already decided to support Bryan if he became the Democratic nominee. They managed to delay the official organization of the convention all day. One of their delegates, A.M. Walling of Nebraska, told the New York Times "we shall bolt if the convention attempts to nominate Thomas E. Watson, or any one else. We are not alone, for we have assurances that Minnesota, Georgia, and possibly Michigan and Kansas will walk out when we do".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/04/03/104851342.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/04/03/104851342.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Newspaper clipping|website=timesmachine.nytimes.com|access-date=2020-07-04}}</ref>

The convention was organized on the second day and completed all its relevant business. Watson supporters chose George A. Honnecker of New Jersey to serve as the permanent chairman, defeating the Bryan supporters' choice, [[Jacob S. Coxey Sr.|Jacob Coxey]]. The platform called for inflation of the currency, public ownership of railroads, telephones, and telegraphs, labor legislation, and a ban on futures gambling. When the time for nominations began, a schism took place; Watson's name was placed in nomination, and the Nebraska delegation bolted. They were followed by T.J. Weighan, the sole delegate from Minnesota. Watson was then nominated for president; his running mate was Samuel Williams of Indiana.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/04/04/104721909.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/04/04/104721909.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Newspaper clipping|website=timesmachine.nytimes.com|access-date=2020-07-04}}</ref>

==== Socialist Party nomination ====
===== Nominees =====
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align:center;"
|-
| style="background:#f1f1f1;" colspan="30"|[[File:Socialist Party of America - Logo.gif|70px|center|link=Socialist Party of America|Socialist Party of America]]<big>'''1920 Socialist Party ticket'''</big>
|-
! style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#CD3700; width:200px;"| [[Eugene V. Debs|{{color|white|Eugene V. Debs}}]]
! style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#CD3700; width:200px;"| [[Ben Hanford|{{color|white|Benjamin Hanford}}]]
|- style="color:#000; font-size:100%; background:#ff6b35;"
| style="width:3em; width:200px;"|'''''for President'''''
| style="width:3em; width:200px;"|'''''for Vice President'''''
|-
| [[File:EugeneVDebs.png|center|200x200px]]
| [[File:Hanford-Ben-portrait.jpg|center|200x200px]]
|-
|[[Indiana House of Representatives|State Representative]]<br />from [[Indiana]]<br /><small>(1885–1887)</small>
|Printer and Labor Organizer<br />from [[New York (state)|New York]]
|-
| colspan=2 |[[Eugene V. Debs#Presidential elections|'''Campaign''']]
|-
| colspan=2 |[[File:Debs-Hanford-postcard-1908.jpg|300px]]
|-
|}

===== Candidates =====

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%"
|- <sup>†</sup>
| colspan="5" style="text-align:center; width:938px; font-size:120%; color:white; background:{{party color|Socialist Party (United States)}};"|''Candidates in this section are sorted by convention vote''
|-
! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:120%;"|[[Eugene V. Debs]]
! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:120%;"|[[James F. Carey]]
! scope="col" style="width:9em; font-size:120%;"|[[Carl D. Thompson]]
! scope="col" style="width:9em; font-size:120%;"|[[Algie Martin Simons|Algie M. Simons]]
! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:120%;"|[[Max S. Hayes|Maximillian S. Hayes]]
|-
|[[File:EugeneVDebs.png|center|120x120px]]
|[[File:James F Carey.png|center|120x120px]]
|[[File:Carl D. Thompson 1908.jpg|center|120x120px]]
|[[File:A. M. Simons 1908.jpg|center|120x120px]]
|[[File:Hayes-Mas-S.jpg|center|120x120px]]
|- style="text-align:center"
|Former [[Indiana Senate|State Senator]]<br />from [[Indiana]]<br /><small>(1885–1889)</small>
|Former [[Massachusetts House of Representatives|State Representative]]<br />from [[Massachusetts]]<br /><small>(1899–1903)</small>
|[[Wisconsin State Assembly|State Representative]]<br />from [[Wisconsin]]<br /><small>(1906–1908)</small>
|Former Editor of the<br>[[International Socialist Review (1900)|International Socialist Review]]<br />from [[Illinois]]<br /><small>(1900–1908)</small>
|Editor of the Cleveland Citizen<br />from [[Ohio]]<br /><small>(1891–1940)</small>
|- style="text-align:center"
|'''Delegates:''' 159
|'''Delegates:''' 16<br>'''{{abbr|DTBN|Declined To Be Nominated}}'''
|'''Delegates:''' 14 
|'''Delegates:''' 9 
|'''Delegates:''' 0<br>'''{{abbr|DTBN|Declined To Be Nominated}}'''
|- style="text-align:center"
|<ref name="archive1">{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/1908soconAMerged|title=Proceedings of the National Convention of the Socialist Party|date=July 4, 1908|publisher=Chicago, Illinois; Socialist Party |via=Internet Archive}}</ref>
|<ref name="archive1" />
|<ref name="archive1" />
|<ref name="archive1" />
|<ref name="archive1" />
|}

The radical members of the party supported giving the nomination to [[Bill Haywood]]. Debs' health was in question until [[Ben Hanford]], a member of the New York delegation, read a letter from Debs stating that he was in good health and would give his support to whoever won the nomination. [[Seymour Stedman]], an opponent of Debs, proposed [[Algie Martin Simons]], who had the support of the right wing in the party, for the nomination. [[Victor L. Berger]] proposed [[Carl D. Thompson]] for the nomination and it was seconded by [[Winfield R. Gaylord]] and [[Carolyn Lloyd Strobell]]. [[James F. Carey]] was nominated by [[Ida Crouch-Hazlett]]. [[Max S. Hayes]] nomination was seconded by [[Alfred Wagenknecht]]. Phillip H. Callery nominated Debs on May 14, 1908, and it was seconded by [[John Spargo]] and he won the nomination on the first ballot with 159 votes out of the 198 cast. A motion by Berger and Stedman to make the selection unanimous was approved. Carey's name was put up for the vice-presidential nomination by the Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Montana delegations, but he declined to run, and Caleb Lipscomb too declined. Hanford won the vice-presidential selection with 106 votes on the first ballot, which was later made unanimous. Debs' campaign was managed by [[J. Mahlon Barnes]].<ref name="socialist">{{cite book |last=Morgan |first=H. Wayne |date=1962 |title=Eugene V. Debs: Socialist for President |publisher=[[Syracuse University Press]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Haynes |first=Fred |date=1924 |page=77 |title=Social Politics in the United States |publisher=[[Riverside Insights|The Riverside Press Cambridge]]}}</ref><ref name="selection">{{cite book |last=Work |first=John M. |author-link=John M. Work |date=1908 |title=Proceedings of the National Convention of the Socialist Party |publisher=[[Socialist Party of America]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Currie |first=Harold W. |date=1976 |title=Eugene V. Debs |publisher=[[Gale (publisher)|Twayne Publishers]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Karsner |first=David |author-link=David Karsner |date=1919 |title=Debs – Authorized Life and Letters}}</ref> This was the first time that a candidate besides Debs had been nominated for the Socialist presidential nomination.<ref>{{cite book |last=Coleman |first=McAlister |author-link=McAlister Coleman |date=1930 |title=Eugene V. Debs: A Man Unafraid |publisher=Greenberg Publisher}}</ref>

[[Lincoln Steffens]] initially believed that Debs was not suitable for the presidency, but later told [[Brand Whitlock]], the [[List of mayors of Toledo, Ohio|mayor]] of [[Toledo, Ohio]], to vote for Debs after Steffens interviewed Debs and Berger. Haywood fundraised for the purchase of a train, which had over 200,000 contributors, that was later named the ''Red Special''. Debs' train left on August 30, 1908, and traveled over 9,000 miles and gave 187 speeches over twenty-five days. Twenty-two million copies of ''[[Appeal to Reason (newspaper)|Appeal to Reason]]'' were distributed during the campaign and the newspaper gained 50,000 subscribers.<ref name="socialist" /> 

Theodore Roosevelt believed that the Socialists would take progressive votes away from Taft and stated that Debs' speeches were "mere pieces of the literature of criminal violence". [[Samuel Gompers]], the president of the [[American Federation of Labor]] and who had endorsed Bryan, criticized Debs, accusing him of receiving secret funding for his train from the Republicans. The Socialists published the names of every contributor to the train fund and the amount they donated, and also challenged Gompers to a debate, but he refused. Former President [[Grover Cleveland]], and the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', predicted that the Socialists would receive over one million votes.<ref name="socialist" />

Debs hoped to receive over a million votes, but only received 420,852 votes which was a 20,000 vote increase from the 1904 election. Debs stated that the reason for the small increase was due to Democrats who had supported him in 1904 over Parker had voted for Bryan and that those who remained were pure socialist votes.<ref name="socialist" />

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left"
|-
!Presidential ballot || 1st ballot || 2nd ballot || Vice-presidential ballot || 1st ballot || 2nd ballot
|-
| '''[[Eugene V. Debs]]''' || 159 || Unanimous || '''[[Ben Hanford]]''' || 106 || Unanimous
|-
|| [[James F. Carey]] || 16 || || [[Seymour Stedman]] || 42 ||
|-
|| [[Carl D. Thompson]] || 14 || || [[May Wood Simons]] || 20 ||
|-
|| [[Algie Martin Simons]] || 9 || || [[John W. Slayton]] || 15 ||
|-
|| || || || Caleb Lipscomb || 1 ||
|-
|| || || || [[George W. Woodbey]] || 1 ||
|-
!Reference ||<ref name="selection" /> || <ref name="selection" /> || <ref name="selection" /> || <ref name="selection" /> || <ref name="selection" />
|}

==== Socialist Labor Party Nomination ====
===== Nominees =====
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align:center;"
|-
| style="background:#f1f1f1;" colspan="30"|<big>'''1908 Socialist Labor Party Ticket'''</big>
|-
! style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#EE1C25; width:200px;"| [[August Gillhaus|{{color|white|August Gillhaus}}]]
! style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#EE1C25; width:200px;"| [[Donald L. Munro|{{color|white|Donald L. Munro}}]]
|- style="color:#000; font-size:100%; background:#f7979b;"
| style="width:3em; width:200px;"|'''''for President'''''
| style="width:3em; width:200px;"|'''''for Vice President'''''
|-
| [[File:Gilhaus-august-08.jpg|center|200x200px]]
| [[File:Munro-donald-l-08.jpg|center|200x200px]]
|-
|Engineer<br />from [[New York (state)|New York]]
|Machinist<br />from [[Virginia]]
|-
|}

The [[Socialist Labor Party of America|Socialist Labor Party]] met in New York City from July 2 to July 5 in Arlington Hall, St. Mark's Place. While increasingly dwarfed by the growing membership of the [[Socialist Party of America|Socialist Party]] led by [[Eugene V. Debs|Eugene Debs]] and [[Bill Haywood]], [[Daniel De Leon]] and his compatriots remained committed to maintaining their separate course, considering Debs and his platform to be "reactionary".<ref>{{cite web |title=Newspaper clipping |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/07/03/104736757.pdf |url-status=live |website=timesmachine.nytimes.com |access-date=2020-07-04 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/07/03/104736757.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09}}</ref> An attempt was made to depose Leon from his position of editor of the Party's papers in favor of a more moderate candidate, for fear that Leon's writings were alienating voters who might otherwise be sympathetic to their cause. The report was overwhelmingly voted down after Leon spoke in defense of his conduct as the Party's editor, with a rival report being adopted praising his leadership.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/07/05/104737233.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/07/05/104737233.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Newspaper clipping|website=timesmachine.nytimes.com|access-date=2020-07-04}}</ref> When it came time for the nominations, Leon personally nominated Martin Preston of Nevada, who was currently serving a [[Goldfield, Nevada labor troubles of 1906-1907#The death of Anton Silva|twenty-five-year sentence for the murder of Anton Silva]]. While noting that Preston was only 32 at the time, Leon remarked that "it was for the working people to elect Preston, and if he was elected he would be seated". Preston's nomination was ratified unanimously, with [[Donald L. Munro|Donald Munro]] of Virginia winning in a contest against Arthur S. Dower of Texas for the vice presidential nomination. The nominations were later formalized at [[Cooper Union]] following the close of the convention.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/07/06/104737630.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/07/06/104737630.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Newspaper clipping|website=timesmachine.nytimes.com|access-date=2020-07-04}}</ref>

Only days later, however, Martin Preston replied in a telegram that he could not accept the Presidential nomination, a declination that had not been expected nor prepared for.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/07/09/105007294.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/07/09/105007294.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Newspaper clipping|website=timesmachine.nytimes.com|access-date=2020-07-04}}</ref> [[August Gillhaus]] of New York was later nominated in Preston's stead.

==== Prohibition Party nomination ====
===== Nominees =====
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align:center;"
|-
| style="background:#f1f1f1;" colspan="30"|<big>'''1908 Prohibition Party ticket'''</big>
|-
! style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#FF00FF; width:200px;"| [[Eugene W. Chafin|{{color|white|Eugene W. Chafin}}]]
! style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#FF00FF; width:200px;"| [[Aaron S. Watkins|{{color|white|Aaron S. Watkins}}]]
|- style="color:#000; font-size:100%; background:#ffa3ff;"
| style="width:3em; width:200px;"|'''''for President'''''
| style="width:3em; width:200px;"|'''''for Vice President'''''
|-
| [[File:Eugene Chafin photo.jpg|center|200x200px]]
| [[File:Aaron S. Watkins (LOC).jpg|center|200x200px]]
|-
|[[Lawyer|Attorney at Law]]<br />from [[Illinois]]
|[[Professor]] and [[Minister (Christianity)|Methodist Minister]]<br />from [[Ohio]]
|-
| colspan=2 |[[Eugene W. Chafin|'''Campaign''']]
|-
| colspan=2 |[[File:Eugene Chafin - Aaron S. Watkins 1908.jpg|300px]]
|}

The Prohibition Party met in Columbus, Ohio, on July 14 and 15 to nominate its presidential ticket. [[Eugene W. Chafin|Eugene Chafin]] was nominated on the third ballot in an open contest. When the runner-up for the Presidential nomination William Palmore, a Methodist Minister from Missouri and Editor of the St. Louis Christian Advocate, declined his nomination for the Vice Presidency, the convention hurriedly allowed for a new set of nominations and another ballot. [[Aaron S. Watkins|Aaron Watkins]] of Ohio would win a majority on the first ballot.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Convention vote

|-
| colspan=5 | '''President''' {{abbr|<small>(Note)</small>|Information on the actual balloting is conflicting. The New York Times reported that when the National Committee met in 1907 they had allotted for 1,508 delegates to the National Convention, but there were only reportedly 1,083 and 1,087 votes on the first and second ballots for President respectively. This also clashes with those results reported by "Ohio Elects the President", where it is posited there were 1,025 votes cast on the first ballot and 1,273 votes cast on the second.}}
| colspan=4 | '''Vice President'''<ref>{{cite web |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/07/17/104739539.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/07/17/104739539.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Newspaper clipping|website=timesmachine.nytimes.com|access-date=2020-07-04}}</ref>

|-
| '''Candidate'''
| '''1st'''
| '''2nd'''
| '''3rd'''
| '''Unanimous'''
| '''Candidate'''
| '''Unanimous'''
| '''1st'''
| '''Unanimous'''

|-
! √ '''[[Eugene W. Chafin]]'''
! 195
! 376
! 636
! 1,087
! √ '''[[Aaron S. Watkins]]'''
! -
! ?
! 1,087

|-
! William A. Palmore
! 273
! 418
! 415
! -
! William A. Palmore
! 1,087
! -
! -

|-
! Alfred L. Manierre
! 159
! 121
! 4
! -
! T. B. Demaree
! -
! ?
! -

|-
! Daniel R. Sheen
! 124
! 157
! 12
! -
! Charles S. Holler
! -
! ?
! -

|-
! Will W. Tracy
! 105
! 81
! 7
! -
! -
! -
! -
! -

|-
! Frederick F. Wheeler
! 72
! 73
! -
! -
! -
! -
! -
! -

|-
! [[Oliver W. Stewart]]
! 61
! 47
! -
! -
! -
! -
! -
! -

|-
! [[James B. Cranfill]]
! 28
! -
! -
! -
! -
! -
! -
! -

|-
! George R. Stewart
! 7
! -
! -
! -
! -
! -
! -
! -

|-
! Charles Scanlon
! 1
! -
! -
! -
! -
! -
! -
! -

|}

==== Independence Party nomination ====
===== Nominees =====
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align:center;"
|-
| style="background:#f1f1f1;" colspan="30"|<big>'''1908 Independence Party ticket'''</big>
|-
! style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#FFC14E; width:200px;"| [[Thomas L. Hisgen|{{color|white|Thomas L. Hisgen}}]]
! style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#FFC14E; width:200px;"| [[John Temple Graves|{{color|white|John T. Graves}}]]
|- style="color:#000; font-size:100%; background:#ffe1a9;"
| style="width:3em; width:200px;"|'''''for President'''''
| style="width:3em; width:200px;"|'''''for Vice President'''''
|-
| [[File:Thomas L. Hisgen.jpg|center|200x200px]]
| [[File:John Temple Graves.jpg|center|200x200px]]
|-
|CEO of Hisgen Brothers<br />from [[Massachusetts]]<br /><small>(1888–1927)</small>
|Newspaper Editor<br />from [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
|-
|}

===== Candidates =====

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%"
|- <sup>†</sup>
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center; width:1125px; font-size:120%; color:white; background:{{party color|Independence Party (United States)}};"|''Candidates in this section are sorted by highest convention vote''
|-
! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:120%;"|[[Thomas L. Hisgen]]
! scope="col" style="width:9em; font-size:120%;"|[[John Temple Graves]]
! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:120%;"|[[Milford W. Howard]]
! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:120%;"|Reuben R. Lyon
! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:120%;"|[[William Randolph Hearst|William R. Hearst]]
! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:120%;"|[[William Jennings Bryan|William J. Bryan]]
|-
|[[File:Thomas L. Hisgen.jpg|center|120x120px]]
|[[File:John Temple Graves.jpg|center|120x120px]]
|[[File:MilfordWHoward.jpg|center|120x120px]]
|
|[[File:William Randolph Hearst cph 3a49373.jpg|center|120x120px]]
|[[File:BRYAN, WILLIAM JENNINGS LCCN2016856654 (cropped).jpg|center|120x120px]]
|- style="text-align:center"
|CEO of Hisgen Brothers<br />from [[Massachusetts]]<br /><small>(1888–1927)</small>
|Newspaper editor<br />from [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
|Former [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]]<br />for [[Alabama|Alabama's]] [[Alabama's 7th congressional district|7th district]]<br /><small>(1895–1899)</small>
|[[Lawyer|Attorney at Law]]<br />from [[New York (state)|New York]]
|Former [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]]<br />for [[New York (state)|New York's]] [[New York's 11th congressional district|11th district]]<br /><small>(1903–1907)</small>
|Former [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]]<br />for [[Nebraska|Nebraska's]] [[Nebraska's 1st congressional district|1st district]]<br /><small>(1891–1895)</small>
|- style="text-align:center"
|'''Delegates:''' 831
|'''Delegates:''' 213
|'''Delegates:''' 200
|'''Delegates:''' 71<br>'''{{abbr|NW|Name withdrawn}}:''' <small>Before 2nd ballot</small> 
|'''Delegates:''' 49<br>'''{{abbr|DTBN|Declined to be nominated}}'''
|'''Delegates:''' 0<br>'''{{abbr|NR|Nomination rejected}}'''
|- style="text-align:center"
|<ref name="tm4">{{cite web |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/07/29/104743252.pdf |title=Newspaper clipping|website=timesmachine.nytimes.com|access-date=2020-07-04}}</ref>
|<ref name="tm4" />
|<ref name="tm4" />
|<ref name="tm4" />
|<ref name="tm4" />
|<ref name="tm4" />
|}

Disappointed with his performance in the 1904 Democratic presidential nomination campaign, and disillusioned as to his chances of successfully attaining it in 1908, William Randolph Hearst decided to run instead on the ticket of a third party of his own making. Originally borne from the [[Municipal Ownership League]], a vehicle for Hearst's ultimately unsuccessful bid for the mayoralty of New York in 1905, it was Hearst's intention to fuse it with the remnants of the Populist Party led by [[Thomas E. Watson|Thomas Watson]], a former Representative from Georgia who had been its presidential nominee in 1904. However, these intentions were dashed when every candidate that the [[Independence Party (United States)|Independence Party]] put forth in elections held in New York was elected except Hearst himself, despite an endorsement by the Democratic Party. Devastated, Hearst declared his intention never again to be a candidate.

While Hearst would no longer be the nominee, he fully intended to exercise influence at the Independence Party's convention; the platform itself was in large part a statement of his own views. With its candidates nominated, the party's purpose was changed from being a path for Hearst's presidential ambitions to being an instrument of his wrath. Through the influence of his papers and generous financial donations, Hearst hoped that the Independence ticket would draw away votes from William Jennings Bryan and lead to his defeat by Taft; this personal vendetta stemmed from Bryan failing to support Hearst's own bid for the Presidency in 1904.

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
| colspan="4" | '''Presidential ballot'''
|-
!!!1st!!2nd!!3rd
|-
![[Thomas L. Hisgen]] !!396!!590!!831
|-
![[John Temple Graves|John T. Graves]] !!213!!189!!7
|-
![[Milford W. Howard]] !!200!!109!!38
|-
![[Reuben R. Lyon]]!!71!!0!!0
|-
![[William Randolph Hearst|William R. Hearst]] !!49!!49!!2
|}<ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/07/29/104743252.pdf |title=HISGEN AND GRAVES NEW PARTY TICKET – The Independence Convention Makes Its Choice in Early Morning. BRYAN'S NAME WAS HISSED Small Riot Followed Attempts to Nominate Him and His Sponsor Was Threatened by Delegates. HISGEN AND GRAVES NEW PARTY TICKET |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=1908-07-29 |access-date=2016-08-18}}</ref>

== General election ==

=== Campaign ===
[[File:WmJBryan-speech.jpg|thumb|left|The balding "Boy Orator of the [[Platte Center, Nebraska|Platte]]" delivers a speech.]]
[[File:Theodore Roosevelt by the Pach Bros.jpg|thumb|242x242px|[[Theodore Roosevelt]], the incumbent president in 1908, whose term expired on March 4, 1909]]
With the [[Free Silver]] issue no longer dominant, Bryan campaigned on a progressive platform attacking "government by privilege." His campaign slogan, "Shall the People Rule?", was featured on numerous posters and campaign memorabilia. However, Taft undercut Bryan's liberal support by accepting some of his reformist ideas, and Roosevelt's progressive policies blurred the distinctions between the parties. Republicans also used the slogan "Vote for Taft now, you can vote for Bryan anytime", a sarcastic reference to Bryan's two failed previous presidential campaigns.

The Socialist candidate, Eugene Debs, embarked on an ambitious [[whistle-stop tour]] aboard a train nicknamed the ''Red Special'', giving speeches regarding the Socialist cause across the country. The exertion of the tour exhausted Debs, and at certain points his brother Theodore - who bore a great resemblance to Eugene - substituted for him to allow the candidate to rest.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Morgan|first1=H. Wayne|title="Red Special": Eugene V. Debs and the Campaign of 1908|journal=Indiana Magazine of History|date=1958|volume=54|issue=3|pages=211–236|url=https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/imh/article/view/8625/10963|access-date=24 March 2017}}</ref>

Businessmen continued to support the Republican Party, and Bryan failed to secure the support of labor. As a result, Bryan ended up with the worst of his three defeats in the national popular vote. He lost almost all the northern states to Taft and the popular vote by 8 percentage points.

This would be Bryan's last campaign for the presidency, although he would remain a popular figure within the Democratic Party and in 1912 would play a key role in securing the presidential nomination for [[Woodrow Wilson]]. [[Charles W. Bryan]], William's brother, would become the (losing) Democratic nominee for Vice President [[1924 United States presidential election|in 1924]]. Bryan's 162 electoral votes from this election, combined with his 155 and 176 electoral votes from 1900 and 1896 respectively, make him the person with the most electoral votes never to be president.

=== Results ===
[[File:PresidentialCounty1908Colorbrewer.gif|right|thumb|400px|Results by county explicitly indicating the percentage for the winning candidate. Shades of red are for Taft (Republican), shades of blue are for Bryan (Democratic), shades of green are for "Other(s)" (Non-Democratic/Non-Republican), grey indicates zero recorded votes, and white indicates territories not elevated to statehood.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9WaaAAAAIAAJ |title=The Presidential Vote, 1896–1932 – Google Books |publisher=Stanford University Press |access-date=August 12, 2014|year=1934|isbn=9780804716963}}</ref>]]
[[File:TAFT1909.JPG|thumb|right|175px|Roosevelt handing over his policies to his political protégé, William H. Taft.]]
Turnout in the election was 65.7%, with 29.8% of the voting age population participating in the election.{{sfn|Abramson|Aldrich|Rohde|1995|p=99}} Forty-six states participated, as [[Oklahoma]] had joined the Union less than a year prior to the ballot. Bryan won forty-eight counties in the new state of Oklahoma. The most important increase in the number of counties carried by Bryan was in the [[West South Central States|West South Central]] section, in part due to the vote of newly admitted Oklahoma.<ref name="autogenerated13">''The Presidential Vote, 1896–1932'', Edgar E. Robinson, p. 13</ref>

Of the 2,858 counties making returns, Taft won in 1,494 (52.27%) while Bryan carried 1,355 (47.41%). Nine (0.31%) counties recorded more votes cast for "Other(s)" than either of the two main party candidates, whilst twenty-eight counties (0.97%) recorded zero votes due to being inhabited either by Native Americans who would not [[Indian Citizenship Act|gain full citizenship]] for sixteen years, or by [[Disenfranchisement after the Reconstruction Era|disenfranchised southern African-Americans]]. Taft had a majority in 1,325 counties, while Bryan had a majority in 1,204 counties.

By carrying 1,355 counties, Bryan won more counties than he had in [[1900 United States presidential election|1900]] (1,340), but he did not reach or surpass the number of counties he had won in [[1896 United States presidential election|1896]] (1,559). Bryan won more counties than McKinley in 1896, but failed to carry more counties than the Republican candidate in 1900 or 1904. Compared with his strength in previous elections, however, Bryan carried 69 counties in 1908 which had not been Democratic in either 1896 or 1900.<ref name="autogenerated14">''The Presidential Vote, 1896–1932'', Edgar E. Robinson, p. 14</ref>

Bryan increased the area carried by Democrats in every part of the country except [[New England]] and the [[Southern United States|South]]. He doubled the number of Democratic counties in Wisconsin and won more counties in Indiana than were carried by plurality vote by the Democrats in any election in the [[Fourth Party System]] except [[1912 United States presidential election|1912]]. He made decided gains in Missouri and in his home state of Nebraska,<ref name="autogenerated13" /> besides achieving notable victories in Colorado and Nevada. However, in four Western states (Washington, Oregon, Wyoming, and North Dakota), there was not one Democratic county. This was true likewise of Michigan, Delaware, and each of the New England states.

The total vote increased greatly, by more than a million vis-à-vis 1904. The major parties shared very unequally in the increase: whereas Taft had nearly 50,000 more than Theodore Roosevelt, Bryan had nearly 1,500,000 more votes than [[Alton B. Parker|Alton Parker]] had garnered, and more than in either of his previous campaigns.

The eleven states of the former Confederacy provided 6.55% of Taft's votes, with him taking 31.71% of the vote in that region.{{sfn|Sherman|1973|p=263}} It was noticeable that the "other" vote was only about seven thousand less than four years earlier. The "other" vote was a plurality in nine counties in the states of Georgia and Texas.

The size of the vote cast for the defeated Bryan in 1908 is clear evidence of perhaps the most striking feature of the American presidential vote. In this third attempt at the presidency, and in an election following one in which the nominee of his party polled only five million votes, Bryan had heavy support in every section of the country, and in every state. Moreover, nearly two-thirds of the vote cast for Bryan was from the fifteen states of the [[Northeastern United States|(Northeastern)]] [[Mid-Atlantic states|Mid-Atlantic]], [[East North Central States|East North Central]], and [[West North Central States|West North Central]] sections, in which the Democratic candidate carried only one state (Nebraska).

Despite all conclusions as to predominant sentiment in the different sections and its economic, social, and political causes, there was a national vote cast for Bryan, and it was urban as well as rural; it was eastern, western, southern, and northern. Everywhere the Democratic Party was ''the'' minority party, and it was not hopeless, nor was it helpless. It was the agency for the expression of the opposition of almost six and a half million voters.<ref name="autogenerated14" />
According to Historian [[George E. Mowry]]:
: What was especially significant in the election was the continued growth in the strength of the Democratic party and the success of the so-called progressive Republican candidates in the Midwest. The Republicans had not only lost seats in the House of Representatives but they had also lost governors in Ohio, Indiana, Minnesota, and North Dakota, all of which voted for Taft. In Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, and even in Kansas self-announced progressive Republicans, who had previously defeated conservatives in the primaries, were more successful in beating their Democratic rivals. The election, ''The New York Times'' reported, had been punctuated with "independent voting". A closer analysis of the returns indicated that the voter in the Midwest had expressed his independence mostly from standpat Republicanism symbolized by the control of Speaker Cannon in the House and Aldrich in the Senate.<ref>George E. Mowry, ''The Era of Theodore Roosevelt, 1900-1912'' (1958), p. 231 [https://archive.org/details/eraoftheodoreroo007107mbp online]; citing ''The New York Times'', November 7, 1908.</ref>

As of 2024, this is the most recent of only two elections in which Kansas and Nebraska did not vote for the same candidate,{{efn|The other was in 1892 when Kansas voted for Populist [[James B. Weaver]] and Nebraska for Republican [[Benjamin Harrison]].}} the most recent in which Nebraska voted differently from both Kansas and North Dakota, and the most recent in which a Republican won the presidency without winning Nebraska. Bryan was the fifth of eight presidential nominees to win a significant number of electoral votes in at least three elections, the others being [[Thomas Jefferson]], [[Henry Clay]], [[Andrew Jackson]], [[Grover Cleveland]], [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], [[Richard Nixon]], and [[Donald Trump]]. Of these, Jackson, Cleveland, and Roosevelt also won the popular vote in at least three elections. Clay and Bryan are the only two candidates to have lost three presidential elections.

The 162 electoral votes received by Bryan, added to the 155 electoral votes he received in [[1900 United States presidential election|1900]], and the 176 electoral votes he received in [[1896 United States presidential election|1896]], gave him the most total electoral votes received by any candidate who was never elected to the office of president (493), and the sixth largest number of electoral votes received by any candidate behind [[Andrew Jackson]]'s 496, [[Ulysses S. Grant]]'s 500, [[Herbert Hoover]]'s 503, [[George W. Bush]]'s 557, [[William McKinley]]'s 563, [[George H. W. Bush]]'s 594, [[Grover Cleveland]]'s 664, [[Barack Obama]]'s 697, [[Woodrow Wilson]]'s 712, [[Bill Clinton]]'s 749, [[Donald Trump]]'s 848, [[Dwight Eisenhower]]'s 899, [[Ronald Reagan]]'s 1,015, [[Richard Nixon]]'s 1,040 and [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]'s 1,876 total electoral votes.{{cn|date=January 2025}}{{Confusing|date=January 2025|reason=there are far more than 6 presidents listed here who received more electoral votes than Bryan}}

[[File: United States Electoral College 1908.svg]]

{{start U.S. presidential ticket box| pv_footnote=| ev_footnote=}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=[[William Howard Taft]]| party=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]| state=[[Ohio]]| pv=7,678,335| pv_pct=51.57%| ev=321| vp_name=[[James S. Sherman]]| vp_state=[[New York (state)|New York]]}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=[[William Jennings Bryan]]| party=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]| state=[[Nebraska]]| pv=6,408,979| pv_pct=43.04%| ev=162| vp_name=[[John W. Kern]]| vp_state=[[Indiana]]}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=[[Eugene V. Debs]]| party=[[Socialist Party of America|Socialist]]| state=Indiana| pv=420,852| pv_pct=2.83%| ev=0| vp_name=[[Benjamin Hanford]]| vp_state=New York}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=[[Eugene W. Chafin]]| party=[[Prohibition Party|Prohibition]]| state=[[Illinois]]| pv=254,087| pv_pct=1.71%| ev=0| vp_name=[[Aaron S. Watkins]]| vp_state=Ohio}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=[[Thomas L. Hisgen]]| party=[[Independence Party (United States)|Independence]]| state=[[Massachusetts]]| pv=82,574| pv_pct=0.55%| ev=0| vp_name=[[John Temple Graves]]| vp_state=[[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=[[Thomas E. Watson]]| party=[[People's Party (United States)|Populist]]| state=Georgia| pv=28,862| pv_pct=0.19%| ev=0| vp_name=[[Samuel Williams (American politician)|Samuel Williams]]| vp_state=Indiana}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=[[August Gillhaus]]| party=[[Socialist Labor Party of America|Socialist Labor]]| state=[[New York (state)|New York]]| pv=14,031| pv_pct=0.09%| ev=0| vp_name=[[Donald L. Munro]]| vp_state=[[Virginia]]}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box other| footnote=| pv=1,519| pv_pct=0.01%}}
{{end U.S. presidential ticket box| pv=14,889,239| ev=483| to_win=242}}

'''Source (Popular Vote):''' {{Leip PV source 2| year=1908| as of=September 10, 2012}}

'''Source (Electoral Vote):''' {{National Archives EV source| year=1900| as of=July 31, 2005}}

{{bar box
|title=Popular vote
|width=600px
|barwidth=410px
|bars=
{{bar percent|'''Taft'''|{{party color|Republican Party (US)}}|51.57}}
{{bar percent|Bryan|{{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}|43.04}}
{{bar percent|Debs|#CD3700|2.83}}
{{bar percent|Chafin|#ff9955|1.71}}
{{bar percent|Others|#777777|0.85}}
}}
{{bar box
|title=Electoral vote
|width=600px
|barwidth=410px
|bars=
{{bar percent|'''Taft'''|{{party color|Republican Party (US)}}|66.46}}
{{bar percent|Bryan|{{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}|33.54}}
}}

=== Geography of results ===
[[File:1908 Electoral Map.png|650px|thumb|left]]
<gallery perrow="3" widths="500px" heights="317px">
File:1908 United States presidential election results map by county.svg|Results by county, shaded according to winning candidate's percentage of the vote
</gallery>

==== Cartographic gallery ====
<gallery perrow="4" widths="200px" heights="157px">
File:PresidentialCounty1908Colorbrewer.gif|Map of presidential election results by county
File:RepublicanPresidentialCounty1908Colorbrewer.gif|Map of Republican presidential election results by county
File:DemocraticPresidentialCounty1908Colorbrewer.png|Map of Democratic presidential election results by county
File:OtherPresidentialCounty1908Colorbrewer.gif|Map of "other" presidential election results by county
File:CartogramPresidentialCounty1908Colorbrewer.gif|[[Cartogram]] of presidential election results by county
File:CartogramRepublicanPresidentialCounty1908Colorbrewer.gif|Cartogram of Republican presidential election results by county
File:CartogramDemocraticPresidentialCounty1908Colorbrewer.gif|Cartogram of Democratic presidential election results by county
File:CartogramOtherPresidentialCounty1908Colorbrewer.gif|Cartogram of "other" presidential election results by county
</gallery>

=== Results by state ===
Source:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?year=1908&datatype=national&def=1&f=0&off=0&elect=0|title=1908 Presidential General Election Data – National|website=Uselectionatlas.org|access-date=April 26, 2013}}</ref>
{|class="wikitable"
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
|States/districts won by [[William Jennings Bryan|Bryan]]/[[John W. Kern|Kern]]
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
|States/districts won by [[William Howard Taft|Taft]]/[[James S. Sherman|Sherman]]
|}<div style="overflow:auto">
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right"
|-
! colspan=2 |
! style="text-align:center;" colspan="3"| William Howard Taft<br />Republican
! style="text-align:center;" colspan="3"| William Jennings Bryan<br />Democratic
! style="text-align:center;" colspan="3"| Eugene V. Debs<br />Socialist
! style="text-align:center;" colspan="3"| Eugene Chafin<br />Prohibition
! style="text-align:center;" colspan="3"| Thomas Hisgen<br />Independence
! style="text-align:center;" colspan="3"| Thomas Watson<br />Populist
! style="text-align:center;" colspan="3"| August Gillhaus<br />Socialist Labor
! style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Margin
! style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| State Total
|-
! align=center | State
! style="text-align:center; font-size: 60%" data-sort-type="number" | electoral<br />votes
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort- type="number"| #
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort- type="number"| %
! style="text-align:center; font-size: 60%" data-sort-type="number" | electoral<br />votes
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort- type="number"| #
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort- type="number"| %
! style="text-align:center; font-size: 60%" data-sort-type="number" | electoral<br />votes
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort- type="number"| #
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort- type="number"| %
! style="text-align:center; font-size: 60%" data-sort-type="number" | electoral<br />votes
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort- type="number"| #
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort- type="number"| %
! style="text-align:center; font-size: 60%" data-sort-type="number" | electoral<br />votes
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort- type="number"| #
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort- type="number"| %
! style="text-align:center; font-size: 60%" data-sort-type="number" | electoral<br />votes
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort- type="number"| #
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort- type="number"| %
! style="text-align:center; font-size: 60%" data-sort-type="number" | electoral<br />votes
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort- type="number"| #
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort- type="number"| %
! style="text-align:center; font-size: 60%" data-sort-type="number" | electoral<br />votes
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort- type="number"| #
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort- type="number"| %
! style="text-align:center; font-size: 60%" data-sort-type="number" | #
!
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Alabama|Alabama]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 11
| 25,561
| 24.31
| -
| 74,391
| 70.75
| 11
| 1,450
| 1.38
| -
| 690
| 0.66
| -
| 497
| 0.47
| -
| 1,576
| 1.50
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -48,830
| -46.44
| 105,152
| style="text-align:center;" | AL
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Arkansas|Arkansas]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 9
| 56,624
| 37.30
| -
| 87,015
| 57.31
| 9
| 5,842
| 3.85
| -
| 1,026
| 0.68
| -
| 289
| 0.19
| -
| 1,026
| 0.68
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -30,391
| -20.02
| 151,822
| style="text-align:center;" | AR
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in California|California]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 10
| 214,398
| 55.46
| 10
| 127,492
| 32.98
| -
| 28,659
| 7.41
| -
| 11,770
| 3.04
| -
| 4,278
| 1.11
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| 86,906
| 22.48
| 386,597
| style="text-align:center;" | CA
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Colorado|Colorado]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 5
| 123,693
| 46.88
| -
| 126,644
| 48.00
| 5
| 7,960
| 3.02
| -
| 5,559
| 2.11
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -2,951
| -1.12
| 263,858
| style="text-align:center;" | CO
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Connecticut|Connecticut]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 7
| 112,915
| 59.43
| 7
| 68,255
| 35.92
| -
| 5,113
| 2.69
| -
| 2,380
| 1.25
| -
| 728
| 0.38
| -
| -
| -
| -
| 608
| 0.32
| -
| 44,660
| 23.50
| 190,003
| style="text-align:center;" | CT
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Delaware|Delaware]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 3
| 25,014
| 52.10
| 3
| 22,055
| 45.94
| -
| 239
| 0.50
| -
| 670
| 1.40
| -
| 29
| 0.06
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| 2,959
| 6.16
| 48,007
| style="text-align:center;" | DE
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Florida|Florida]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 5
| 10,654
| 21.58
| -
| 31,104
| 63.01
| 5
| 3,747
| 7.59
| -
| 1,356
| 2.75
| -
| 553
| 1.12
| -
| 1,946
| 3.94
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -20,450
| -41.43
| 49,360
| style="text-align:center;" | FL
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Georgia|Georgia]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 13
| 41,355
| 31.21
| -
| 72,350
| 54.60
| 13
| 584
| 0.44
| -
| 1,452
| 1.10
| -
| 76
| 0.06
| -
| 16,687
| 12.59
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -30,995
| -23.39
| 132,504
| style="text-align:center;" | GA
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Idaho|Idaho]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 3
| 52,621
| 54.09
| 3
| 36,162
| 37.17
| -
| 6,400
| 6.58
| -
| 1,986
| 2.04
| -
| 124
| 0.13
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| 16,459
| 16.92
| 97,293
| style="text-align:center;" | ID
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Illinois|Illinois]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 27
| 629,932
| 54.53
| 27
| 450,810
| 39.02
| -
| 34,711
| 3.00
| -
| 29,364
| 2.54
| -
| 7,724
| 0.67
| -
| 633
| 0.05
| -
| 1,680
| 0.15
| -
| 179,122
| 15.50
| 1,155,254
| style="text-align:center;" | IL
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Indiana|Indiana]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 15
| 348,993
| 48.40
| 15
| 338,262
| 46.91
| -
| 13,476
| 1.87
| -
| 18,045
| 2.50
| -
| 514
| 0.07
| -
| 1,193
| 0.17
| -
| 643
| 0.09
| -
| 10,731
| 1.49
| 721,126
| style="text-align:center;" | IN
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Iowa|Iowa]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 13
| 275,209
| 55.62
| 13
| 200,771
| 40.58
| -
| 8,287
| 1.67
| -
| 9,837
| 1.99
| -
| 404
| 0.08
| -
| 261
| 0.05
| -
| -
| -
| -
| 74,438
| 15.05
| 494,769
| style="text-align:center;" | IA
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Kansas|Kansas]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 10
| 197,216
| 52.46
| 10
| 161,209
| 42.88
| -
| 12,420
| 3.30
| -
| 5,033
| 1.34
| -
| 68
| 0.02
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| 36,007
| 9.58
| 375,946
| style="text-align:center;" | KS
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Kentucky|Kentucky]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 13
| 235,711
| 48.03
| -
| 244,092
| 49.74
| 13
| 4,093
| 0.83
| -
| 5,885
| 1.20
| -
| 200
| 0.04
| -
| 333
| 0.07
| -
| 405
| 0.08
| -
| -8,381
| -1.71
| 490,719
| style="text-align:center;" | KY
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Louisiana|Louisiana]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 9
| 8,958
| 11.93
| -
| 63,568
| 84.63
| 9
| 2,514
| 3.35
| -
| -
| -
| -
| 77
| 0.10
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -54,610
| -72.70
| 75,117
| style="text-align:center;" | LA
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Maine|Maine]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 6
| 66,987
| 63.00
| 6
| 35,403
| 33.29
| -
| 1,758
| 1.65
| -
| 1,487
| 1.40
| -
| 700
| 0.66
| -
| 1
| 0.00
| -
| -
| -
| -
| 31,584
| 29.70
| 106,336
| style="text-align:center;" | ME
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Maryland|Maryland]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 8
| 116,513
| 48.85
| 2
| 115,908
| 48.59
| 6
| 2,323
| 0.97
| -
| 3,302
| 1.38
| -
| 485
| 0.20
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| 605
| 0.25
| 238,531
| style="text-align:center;" | MD
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Massachusetts|Massachusetts]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 16
| 265,966
| 58.21
| 16
| 155,543
| 34.04
| -
| 10,779
| 2.36
| -
| 4,374
| 0.96
| -
| 19,237
| 4.21
| -
| -
| -
| -
| 1,011
| 0.22
| -
| 110,423
| 24.17
| 456,919
| style="text-align:center;" | MA
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Michigan|Michigan]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 14
| 335,580
| 61.93
| 14
| 175,771
| 32.44
| -
| 11,586
| 2.14
| -
| 16,974
| 3.13
| -
| 760
| 0.14
| -
| -
| -
| -
| 1,096
| 0.20
| -
| 159,809
| 29.49
| 541,830
| style="text-align:center;" | MI
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Minnesota|Minnesota]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 11
| 195,843
| 59.11
| 11
| 109,401
| 33.02
| -
| 14,527
| 4.38
| -
| 11,107
| 3.35
| -
| 426
| 0.13
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| 86,442
| 26.09
| 331,304
| style="text-align:center;" | MN
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Mississippi|Mississippi]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 10
| 4,363
| 6.52
| -
| 60,287
| 90.11
| 10
| 978
| 1.46
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| 1,276
| 1.91
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -55,924
| -83.59
| 66,904
| style="text-align:center;" | MS
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Missouri|Missouri]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 18
| 347,203
| 48.50
| 18
| 346,574
| 48.41
| -
| 15,431
| 2.16
| -
| 4,284
| 0.60
| -
| 402
| 0.06
| -
| 1,165
| 0.16
| -
| 868
| 0.12
| -
| 629
| 0.09
| 715,927
| style="text-align:center;" | MO
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Montana|Montana]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 3
| 32,333
| 46.98
| 3
| 29,326
| 42.61
| -
| 5,855
| 8.51
| -
| 827
| 1.20
| -
| 481
| 0.70
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| 3,007
| 4.37
| 68,822
| style="text-align:center;" | MT
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Nebraska|Nebraska]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 8
| 126,997
| 47.60
| -
| 131,099
| 49.14
| 8
| 3,524
| 1.32
| -
| 5,179
| 1.94
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -4,102
| -1.54
| 266,799
| style="text-align:center;" | NE
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Nevada|Nevada]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 3
| 10,775
| 43.93
| -
| 11,212
| 45.71
| 3
| 2,103
| 8.57
| -
| -
| -
| -
| 436
| 1.78
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -437
| -1.78
| 24,526
| style="text-align:center;" | NV
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in New Hampshire|New Hampshire]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 4
| 53,149
| 59.32
| 4
| 33,655
| 37.56
| -
| 1,299
| 1.45
| -
| 905
| 1.01
| -
| 584
| 0.65
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| 19,494
| 21.76
| 89,600
| style="text-align:center;" | NH
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in New Jersey|New Jersey]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 12
| 265,298
| 56.80
| 12
| 182,522
| 39.07
| -
| 10,249
| 2.19
| -
| 4,930
| 1.06
| -
| 2,916
| 0.62
| -
| -
| -
| -
| 1,196
| 0.26
| -
| 82,776
| 17.72
| 467,111
| style="text-align:center;" | NJ
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in New York|New York]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 39
| 870,070
| 53.11
| 39
| 667,468
| 40.74
| -
| 38,451
| 2.35
| -
| 22,667
| 1.38
| -
| 35,817
| 2.19
| -
| -
| -
| -
| 3,877
| 0.24
| -
| 202,602
| 12.37
| 1,638,350
| style="text-align:center;" | NY
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in North Carolina|North Carolina]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 12
| 114,887
| 45.49
| -
| 136,928
| 54.22
| 12
| 372
| 0.15
| -
| 354
| 0.14
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -22,041
| -8.73
| 252,554
| style="text-align:center;" | NC
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in North Dakota|North Dakota]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 4
| 57,680
| 61.02
| 4
| 32,885
| 34.79
| -
| 2,421
| 2.56
| -
| 1,496
| 1.58
| -
| 43
| 0.05
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| 24,795
| 26.23
| 94,525
| style="text-align:center;" | ND
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Ohio|Ohio]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 23
| 572,312
| 51.03
| 23
| 502,721
| 44.82
| -
| 33,795
| 3.01
| -
| 11,402
| 1.02
| -
| 439
| 0.04
| -
| 162
| 0.01
| -
| 721
| 0.06
| -
| 69,591
| 6.20
| 1,121,552
| style="text-align:center;" | OH
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Oklahoma|Oklahoma]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 7
| 110,550
| 43.03
| -
| 123,907
| 48.22
| 7
| 21,752
| 8.47
| -
| -
| -
| -
| 274
| 0.11
| -
| 412
| 0.17
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -11,889
| -4.66
| 256,917
| style="text-align:center;" | OK
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Oregon|Oregon]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 4
| 62,530
| 56.39
| 4
| 38,049
| 34.31
| -
| 7,339
| 6.62
| -
| 2,682
| 2.42
| -
| 289
| 0.26
| -
| -
| -
| -
| 274
| 0.11
| -
| 24,481
| 22.08
| 110,889
| style="text-align:center;" | OR
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 34
| 745,779
| 58.84
| 34
| 448,782
| 35.41
| -
| 33,914
| 2.68
| -
| 36,694
| 2.90
| -
| 1,057
| 0.08
| -
| -
| -
| -
| 1,224
| 0.10
| -
| 296,997
| 23.43
| 1,267,450
| style="text-align:center;" | PA
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Rhode Island|Rhode Island]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 4
| 43,942
| 60.76
| 4
| 24,706
| 34.16
| -
| 1,365
| 1.89
| -
| 1,016
| 1.40
| -
| 1,105
| 1.53
| -
| -
| -
| -
| 183
| 0.25
| -
| 19,236
| 26.60
| 72,317
| style="text-align:center;" | RI
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in South Carolina|South Carolina]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 9
| 3,945
| 5.94
| -
| 62,288
| 93.84
| 9
| 100
| 0.15
| -
| -
| -
| -
| 46
| 0.07
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -58,343
| -87.89
| 66,379
| style="text-align:center;" | SC
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in South Dakota|South Dakota]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 4
| 67,536
| 58.84
| 4
| 40,266
| 35.08
| -
| 2,846
| 2.48
| -
| 4,039
| 3.52
| -
| 88
| 0.08
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| 27,270
| 23.76
| 114,775
| style="text-align:center;" | SD
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Tennessee|Tennessee]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 12
| 117,977
| 45.87
| -
| 135,608
| 52.73
| 12
| 1,870
| 0.73
| -
| 301
| 0.12
| -
| 332
| 0.13
| -
| 1,092
| 0.42
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -17,631
| -6.86
| 257,180
| style="text-align:center;" | TN
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Texas|Texas]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 18
| 65,666
| 22.35
| -
| 217,302
| 73.97
| 18
| 7,870
| 2.68
| -
| 1,634
| 0.56
| -
| 115
| 0.04
| -
| 994
| 0.34
| -
| 176
| 0.06
| -
| -151,636
| -51.62
| 293,757
| style="text-align:center;" | TX
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Utah|Utah]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 3
| 61,028
| 56.19
| 3
| 42,601
| 39.22
| -
| 4,895
| 4.51
| -
| -
| -
| -
| 87
| 0.08
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| 18,427
| 16.97
| 108,613
| style="text-align:center;" | UT
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Vermont|Vermont]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 4
| 39,552
| 75.08
| 4
| 11,496
| 21.82
| -
| -
| -
| -
| 799
| 1.52
| -
| 804
| 1.53
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| 28,056
| 53.26
| 52,680
| style="text-align:center;" | VT
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Virginia|Virginia]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 12
| 52,572
| 38.36
| -
| 82,946
| 60.52
| 12
| 255
| 0.19
| -
| 1,111
| 0.81
| -
| 51
| 0.04
| -
| 105
| 0.08
| -
| 25
| 0.02
| -
| -30,374
| -22.16
| 137,065
| style="text-align:center;" | VA
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Washington (state)|Washington]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 5
| 106,062
| 57.68
| 5
| 58,691
| 31.92
| -
| 14,177
| 7.71
| -
| 4,700
| 2.56
| -
| 249
| 0.14
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| 47,371
| 25.76
| 183,879
| style="text-align:center;" | WA
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in West Virginia|West Virginia]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 7
| 137,869
| 53.42
| 7
| 111,418
| 43.17
| -
| 3,679
| 1.43
| -
| 5,139
| 1.99
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| 26,451
| 10.25
| 258,105
| style="text-align:center;" | WV
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Wisconsin|Wisconsin]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 13
| 247,747
| 54.52
| 13
| 166,662
| 36.67
| -
| 28,147
| 6.19
| -
| 11,565
| 2.54
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| 318
| 0.07
| -
| 81,085
| 17.84
| 454,441
| style="text-align:center;" | WI
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1908 United States presidential election in Wyoming|Wyoming]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 3
| 20,846
| 55.43
| 3
| 14,918
| 39.67
| -
| 1,715
| 4.56
| -
| 66
| 0.18
| -
| 64
| 0.17
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| 5,928
| 15.76
| 37,609
| style="text-align:center;" | WY
|-
! TOTALS:
! 483
! 7,678,335
! 51.57
! 321
! 6,408,979
! 43.04
! 162
! 420,852
! 2.83
! -
! 254,087
! 1.71
! -
! 82,574
! 0.55
! -
! 28,862
! 0.19
! -
! 14,031
! 0.09
! -
! 1,269,356
! 8.53
! 14,889,239
| style="text-align:center;" | US
|}</div>

===States that flipped from Republican to Democratic===
*[[Colorado]]
*[[Nebraska]]
*[[Nevada]]

=== Close states ===
[[File:Bryan 10 commandments PUCK 1906.jpg|thumb|William J Bryan in 1906 as Moses with new 10 commandments; Puck 19 sept 1906 by [[Joseph Keppler]]. Tablet reads: '' l-Thou shalt have no other leaders before me. II—Thou shalt not make unto thyself any high Protective Tariff. Ill—Eight hours, and no more, shalt thou labor and do all thy work. IV—Thou shalt not graft. V—Thou shalt not elect thy Senators save by Popular Vote. VI—Thou shalt not grant rebates unto thy neighbor. VII—Thou shalt not make combinations in restraint of trade. VIII—Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's income, but shall make him pay a tax upon it. IX—There shall be no more government by injunction. X—Remember Election Day to vote it early. P.S.— When in doubt, ask Me.''<ref>source [[Joseph Keppler]] in [[Puck (magazine)]] Sept 19, 1906; reprinted in: Smylie, James H. "William Jennings Bryan and the Cartoonists: A Pictorial Lampoon, 1896—1925." ''Journal of Presbyterian History'' 53.2 (1975): 83-92 at p 88 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/23327569 online]. </ref>]]
Margin of victory less than 1% (34 electoral votes):
# <span style="color:red;">'''Missouri, 0.09% (629 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Maryland, 0.25% (605 votes)'''</span>

Margin of victory less than 5% (46 electoral votes):
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Colorado, 1.12% (2,951 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:red;">'''Indiana, 1.49% (10,731 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Nebraska, 1.54% (4,102 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Kentucky, 1.71% (8,381 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Nevada, 1.78% (437 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:red;">'''Montana, 4.37% (3,007 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Oklahoma, 4.66% (11,889 votes)'''</span>

Margin of victory between 5% and 10% (60 electoral votes):
# <span style="color:red;">'''Delaware, 6.16% (2,959 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Tennessee, 6.86% (17,631 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:red;">'''Ohio, 6.20% (69,591 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''North Carolina, 8.73% (22,041 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:red;">'''Kansas, 9.58% (36,007 votes)'''</span>

Tipping point state:
# <span style="color:red;">'''West Virginia, 10.25% (26,451 votes)'''</span>

==== Statistics ====
Counties with Highest Percent of Vote (Republican)
# '''<span style="color:red;">[[Leslie County, Kentucky]] 92.96%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:red;">[[Unicoi County, Tennessee]] 92.77%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:red;">[[Sevier County, Tennessee]] 91.44%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:red;">[[Keweenaw County, Michigan]] 90.56%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:red;">[[Johnson County, Tennessee]] 90.21%</span>'''

Counties with Highest Percent of Vote (Democratic)
# '''<span style="color:blue;">[[Hampton County, South Carolina]] 100.00%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:blue;">[[King County, Texas]] 100.00%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:blue;">[[Garza County, Texas]] 100.00%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:blue;">[[Loving County, Texas]] 100.00%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:blue;">[[Wilcox County, Alabama]] 99.81%</span>'''

Counties with Highest Percent of Vote (Other)
# '''<span style="color:green;">[[Terry County, Texas]] 100.00%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:green;">[[Glascock County, Georgia]] 69.97%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:green;">[[McDuffie County, Georgia]] 64.31%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:green;">[[Lincoln County, Georgia]] 61.65%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:green;">[[Oconee County, Georgia]] 56.21%</span>'''

== Campaign memorabilia ==
<gallery>
File:PostcardTaftShermanPresidentialCampaign1908.jpg|Taft-Sherman postcard
File:MagazineCoverColliers07251908.jpg|Collier's magazine cover
File:PostcardWichllYerHaveUSPresidentialCandidatesTaftBryan1908.jpg|Humorous postcard
File:JohnJohnson1908ribbon.JPG|John Johnson ribbon
File:PostcardTaftShermanGOPTicketPrezElection1908.jpg|Taft-Sherman postcard with U.S. Capitol
File:William Jennings Bryan 1908 campaign postcard.png|Bryan-Kern postcard with U.S. Capitol
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[President of the United States]]
* [[History of the United States (1865–1918)]]
* [[1908 United States House of Representatives elections]]
* [[1908–09 United States Senate elections|1908–1909 United States Senate elections]]
* [[Inauguration of William Howard Taft]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Works cited==
* {{cite book|last1=Abramson |first1=Paul |last2=Aldrich |first2=John |last3=Rohde |first3=David |title=Change and Continuity in the 1992 Elections |publisher=[[CQ Press]] |date=1995 |isbn=0871878399}}
* {{cite book|last=Sherman |first=Richard |title=The Republican Party and Black America From McKinley to Hoover 1896-1933 |publisher=[[University of Virginia Press]] |date=1973 |isbn=0813904676}}

==Further reading==
* Coletta, Paolo E. ''The Presidency of William Howard Taft'' (1973) pp.&nbsp;1–21.
* Coletta, Paolo E. "The Election of 1908" in Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. and Fred L Israel, eds., ''History of American Presidential Elections: 1789-1968'' (1971) 3: 2049–2131. [https://archive.org/details/historyofamerica0003unse_m6b2 online]
* Coletta, Paolo E. ''William Jennings Bryan. I: Political Evangelist, 1860-1908'' (U of Nebraska Press, 1964)
* {{cite journal| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nJVdCsi0HsEC&q=Democratic+%22campaign+text+Book%22&pg=PA423| first=Josephus| last=Daniels| author-link = Josephus Daniels | title=Mr. Bryan's Third Campaign| journal=[[Review of Reviews]]|date=July–December 1908| volume=38| pages=423–31| publisher=Review of Reviews.}}
* Fahey, James J. "Building Populist Discourse: An Analysis of Populist Communication in American Presidential Elections, 1896–2016." ''Social Science Quarterly'' 102.4 (2021): 1268-1288. [https://www.jamesjfahey.com/s/Social-Science-Quarterly-2021-Fahey-Building-Populist-Discourse-An-Analysis-of-Populist-Communicatio.pdf online]
* Glad, Paul W. ''The trumpet soundeth; William Jennings Bryan and his democracy, 1896–1912'' (1960) [https://archive.org/details/trumpetsoundethw0000glad online]

* Korzi, Michael J., "William Howard Taft, the 1908 Election, and the Future of the American Presidency," ''Congress and the Presidency'', 43 (May–August 2016), 227–54.
* Mowry, George E. ''The Era of Theodore Roosevelt, 1900-1912'' (1958). [https://archive.org/details/eraoftheodoreroo007107mbp online] 
* Sarasohn, David. ''The Party of Reform: Democrats in the Progressive Era'' (UP of Mississippi, 1989), 35–58.

=== Primary sources ===
* Chester, Edward W ''A guide to political platforms'' (1977) [https://archive.org/details/guidetopolitical0000ches online]
* Porter, Kirk H. and Donald Bruce Johnson, eds. ''National party platforms, 1840-1964'' (1965) [https://archive.org/details/nationalpartypla00port online 1840-1956]

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/elections/election1908.html Presidential Election of 1908: A Resource Guide] from the Library of Congress
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=BLsJAAAAIAAJ&dq=Republican+Campaign+Textbook&pg=PP1 ''The Republican Campaign Textbook 1908'']
* Tim Davenport, [https://debsproject.org/2019/06/23/red-special-across-america-19-16/ "Red Special Across America,"] The Debs Project blog, June 23, 2019, Complete list of Debs tour stops.
* [http://geoelections.free.fr/USA/elec_comtes/1908.htm 1908 popular vote by counties]

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304030351/http://www.countingthevotes.com/1908/ Election of 1908 in ''Counting the Votes'']

{{1908 United States elections}}
{{1908 United States presidential election}}
{{State results of the 1908 U.S. presidential election}}
{{United States presidential elections}}
{{William Howard Taft}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1908 United States presidential election| ]]
[[Category:Presidency of William Howard Taft]]
[[Category:William Howard Taft]]
[[Category:James S. Sherman]]
[[Category:William Jennings Bryan]]
[[Category:November 1908 in the United States]]