The 1916 United States presidential election in New Hampshire took place on November 7, 1916, as part of the 1916 United States presidential election which was held throughout all contemporary 48 states. Voters chose four representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
New Hampshire was won by the Democratic nominees, incumbent Democratic President Woodrow Wilson and Vice President Thomas R. Marshall. They defeated Republican nominee, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Hughes of New York, and his running mate Senator Charles W. Fairbanks of Indiana.
Wilson won New Hampshire by a very narrow margin of just 0.06283% (one vote in 1,592) and 56 popular votes. In terms of popular vote margin, this is the third-closest state presidential election race on record, behind two in Maryland from 1832 and 1904. In terms of percentage, it stands as the ninth-closest behind the two Maryland elections above, two from California in 1892 and 1912, Kentucky in 1896, Hawaii’s inaugural 1960 election, and the 2000 Florida and New Mexico elections. This is the only presidential election in which New Hampshire voted Democratic while a number of modern-day Democratic-leaning states voted Republican. These states include the fellow New England states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, as well as New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Minnesota, Illinois, and Oregon. It was also the only election in which New Hampshire voted Democratic while Pennsylvania voted Republican until 2016.
The giant Rexall drugstore chain made an early opinion poll that predicted Wilson’s narrow victory in New Hampshire and in California almost perfectly,Pietrusza, David; 1920: The Year of the Six Presidents, p. 398 leading to a reputation for accuracy that was to be lost twenty years subsequently.
This was the first time since 1852 that Sullivan County voted for a Democratic presidential candidate.Menendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004, p. 257
Results
Results by county CountyThomas Woodrow WilsonDemocraticCharles Evans HughesRepublicanAllan Louis BensonNew Hampshire Department of State Election Division; New Hampshire Manual 1917, pp, 368-378SocialistJames Franklin HanlyProhibitionMarginTotal votes castRobinson, Edgar Eugene; The Presidential Vote 1896-1932, p. 270 # % # % # % # % # % Belknap 2,310 46.19% 2,579 51.57% 62 1.24% 50 1.00% -269 -5.38% 5,001 Carroll 2,003 46.65% 2,259 52.61% 22 0.51% 10 0.23% -256 -5.96% 4,294 Cheshire 2,779 44.51% 3,337 53.44% 121 1.94% 7 0.11% -558 -8.93% 6,244 Coös 3,247 51.99% 2,762 44.22% 210 3.36% 27 0.43% 485 7.77% 6,246 Grafton 4,644 48.80% 4,795 50.38% 49 0.51% 29 0.30% -151 -1.58% 9,517 Hillsborough 10,939 51.05% 9,927 46.33% 502 2.34% 60 0.28% 1,012 4.72% 21,428 Merrimack 5,967 49.14% 5,970 49.16% 160 1.32% 47 0.39% -3 -0.02% 12,144 Rockingham 5,637 48.32% 5,866 50.29% 114 0.98% 48 0.41% -229 -1.97% 11,665 Strafford 4,040 49.62% 4,037 49.58% 49 0.60% 16 0.20% 3 0.04% 8,142Sullivan 2,215 49.82% 2,193 49.33% 29 0.65% 9 0.20% 22 0.49% 4,446Totals43,78149.12%43,72549.06%1,6211.82%3030.34%560.06%89,127
See also United States presidential elections in New Hampshire
References