The 1908 United States presidential election in Nevada was held on November 3, 1908, as part of the 1908 United States presidential election. Voters chose three representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
Nevada was won by Democratic nominee William Jennings Bryan and his running mate John W. Kern. They defeated the Republican Party nominee William Howard Taft and his running mate James S. Sherman. Bryan won the state by a narrow margin of 1.78%.
Socialist candidate Eugene V. Debs received his highest percentage nationally in Nevada with 8.57% of the vote. Bryan, who had also carried the state against William McKinley in both 1896 and 1900 saw a loss of 35.50% from his 1896 vote and of 16.54% from his 1900 vote.
The six Democratic Nevada delegates were selected at the state convention held in Carson City and consisted of Senator Francis G. Newlands, Governor Denver S. Dickerson, Winfield Scott Elliott, Ed W. Clark, John Sunderland, and Charles R. Evans with A. W. Dawley, Charles Green, Thomas Dunn, journalist A. P. Bettersworth, Fred L. White, and Captain G. W. Thatcher serving as alternative delegates with instruction to vote for Bryan. Recently elected Governor Dickerson lead the Nevada delegation at the Democratic national convention.
The five Republican Nevada delegates were selected at the state convention held in Winnemucca and consisted of J. F. Douglas, P. L. Flanigan, Wm. Easton, Hugh Brown, and Geo Russell and were to be accompanied by Senator George S. Nixon and were left uninstructed as to whom to vote for, but stated that they favored Taft. M. D. Staunton, John G. Thompson, O. R. Morgan, O. J. Smith, and R. W. Parry were selected as alternative delegates.
In September Eugene V. Debs made a short stop in Caliente and addressed a crowd during a train stop. On October 31 a political rally in favor of Taft was held in Reno where Senatorial candidate P. L. Flanigan, former Nevada Supreme Court Justice William A. Massey, and others spoke in favor of Taft, their candidacies, and of the Republican platform.
This was the last presidential election where a Democrat carried Nevada without winning the presidency until 2016, and remains the last time that the state has supported a Democrat who lost the popular vote.
Results + General Election ResultsParty Pledged to Elector Votes Democratic Party William Jennings Bryan Charles S. Sprague11,212 Democratic Party William Jennings Bryan L. L. Hudson11,192 Democratic Party William Jennings Bryan J. A. Miller Sr.11,164 Republican Party William Howard Taft J. G. Thompson10,775 Republican Party William Howard Taft H. A. Comins10,726 Republican Party William Howard Taft W. R. Thomas10,703 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs J. B. Gibson2,103 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs Charles T. Williams2,078 Socialist Party Eugene V. Debs E. A. Anderson2,076 Independence Party Thomas L. Hisgen H. W. Miles436 Independence Party Thomas L. Hisgen Martin Dean436 Independence Party Thomas L. Hisgen J. G. Hagerman425Votes cast 24,526
Results by county County William Jennings BryanDemocratic William Howard TaftRepublican Eugene V. DebsSocialist Thomas L. HisgenIndependence League Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % # % # % Churchill 382 45.53% 389 46.36% 56 6.67% 12 1.43% -7 -0.83% 839 Douglas 173 41.29% 229 54.65% 17 4.06% 0 0.00% -56 -13.37% 419 Elko 804 48.49% 737 44.45% 89 5.37% 28 1.69% 67 4.04% 1,658 Esmeralda 2,787 48.18% 2,208 38.17% 632 10.93% 157 2.71% 579 10.01% 5,784 Eureka 218 45.32% 224 46.57% 26 5.41% 13 2.70% -6 -1.25% 481 Humboldt 1,009 49.12% 823 40.07% 194 9.44% 28 1.36% 186 9.06% 2,054 Lander 276 48.08% 257 44.77% 34 5.92% 7 1.22% 19 3.31% 574 Lincoln 768 47.55% 690 42.72% 139 8.61% 18 1.11% 78 4.83% 1,615 Lyon 364 39.78% 458 50.05% 74 8.09% 19 2.08% -94 -10.27% 915 Nye 1,219 43.96% 1,124 40.53% 333 12.01% 97 3.50% 95 3.43% 2,773 Ormsby 343 45.67% 350 46.60% 52 6.92% 6 0.80% -7 -0.93% 751 Storey 402 43.93% 447 48.85% 54 5.90% 12 1.31% -45 -4.92% 915 Washoe 1,745 42.51% 2,053 50.01% 281 6.85% 26 0.63% -308 -7.50% 4,105 White Pine 722 43.94% 786 47.84% 122 7.43% 13 0.79% -64 -3.90% 1,643Totals 11,21245.71%10,77543.93%2,1038.57%4361.78%4371.78%24,526
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Elko Esmeralda Humboldt Lander Lincoln Nye
See also United States presidential elections in Nevada
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