CORRESPONDENTS PREDICT REPUBLICAN SWEEP
New York City (JFK+50) On October 31, 1920, the Sunday Star of Washington, D.C. published a front page story detailing the opinions of correspondents on how the Election of 1920 would turn out.
In the story, written here in New York by N.O. Messenger, the prediction of reporters who covered both Democratic and Republican campaigns since mid May was that...
"Harding and Coolidge will carry the country in a great sweep."
Without the benefit of modern day computers and polling data, they were able to say that "Missouri is...leaning...toward Harding. West Virginia...to Cox, Maryland...to Harding, Kentucky...(to Cox)."
Mr. Messenger added that "Indiana is close, Ohio is safely Republican, Wisconsin is a puzzle, Iowa, of course is Republican, (and) New England, New York and New Jersey...are going republican heavily."
The Election of 1920, held on November 2nd, did indeed result in a landslide victory for the Harding-Coolidge Republican ticket. The correspondents' predictions proved to be spot on. The only exception was West Virginia, which went for Harding.
The final totals were...
Harding-Coolidge (R) 404 electoral votes, 60% popular vote
Cox-Roosevelt (D) 127 electoral votes, 34% popular vote.
JFK+50 NOTE
My home state of Tennessee played an interesting role in 1920. Traditionally part of the Democratic "Solid South", the Volunteer State went for Harding. It was only the second time TN was carried by the Republican candidate, the first was Ulysses S. Grant.
One of the reasons for this result in 1920 was that Woodrow Wilson and the Democrats were in favor of the League of Nations while Harding and the Republicans opposed to it. There was an "abnormally high voter turnout among isolationist mountaineers in rock-ribbed Republican East Tennessee."
My home county, Knox, was carried by Harding 63% to 36% while bordering Sevier County (Sevierville, Gatlinburg) went Republican by 93.6% to 6.3%.
SOURCE
"The Sunday Star," Washington, D.C., October 31, 1920, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
