DEMS 'AT A LOSS' OVER G.O.P. CONFIDENCE IN 1924
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On March 2, 1924, The Sunday Star reports President Calvin Coolidge "has not lost any ground in his candidacy for the (Republican) presidential nomination on account of the (Teapot Dome) oil scandal."
The Star adds Mr. Coolidge "has not suffered any impairment of personal prestige."
N.O. Messenger writes that the leaders of the G.O.P. feel that damage from the scandal is actually "fifty-fifty" between the two political parties so far as "political effect is concerned."
Messenger says Democrats "are utterly at a loss to understand the confidence of the Republicans "over their prospects" in the November general election.
They say the President will "be a hard man to beat."
JFK+50 NOTE
President Coolidge had little opposition in winning the Republican nomination in 1924 and he won the general election in a landslide.
Coolidge received 382 electoral votes & 54% of the popular vote. The Democrat, John W. Davis, who won few states outside the "Solid South", had 136 electoral votes & 29% of the popular vote. A third party candidate, Robert M. LaFollette, won 13 electoral votes & 17% of the popular vote.
While my home state of Tennessee went along with the 'Solid South' for Davis, my home section, East Tennessee, was dominated by Coolidge. In fact, only 2 East Tennessee counties were won by the Democrat.
Republican confidence in March 1924 on their odds for the November election was obviously justified.
SOURCE
"Republican Confidence Puzzling To Democrats," by N.O. Messenger, The Sunday Star, Washington, D.C., March 2, 1924, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
