The 1912 United States presidential election in North Dakota took place on November 5, 1912, as part of the 1912 United States presidential election. Voters chose five representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

North Dakota was won by Princeton University President Woodrow Wilson (D–Virginia), running with governor of Indiana Thomas R. Marshall, with 34.14% of the popular vote, against the 26th president of the United States Theodore Roosevelt (P–New York), running with governor of California Hiram Johnson, with 29.71% of the popular vote, the 27th president of the United States William Howard Taft (R–Ohio), running with Columbia University President Nicholas Murray Butler, with 26.67% of the popular vote and the five-time candidate of the Socialist Party of America for president Eugene V. Debs (S–Indiana), running with the first Socialist mayor of a major city in the United States, Emil Seidel, with 8.05 percent of the popular vote.

As a result of his win in the state, Wilson became the first Democratic presidential candidate to outright carry North Dakota, although Grover Cleveland did receive an electoral vote under a fusion ticket run in the state's first presidential election two decades earlier. He would later win the state again four years later. This election marks the last time four different candidates won at least one county within one individual state. This feat would be shared by Kansas in the same election; however, the only other occurrences in presidential election history have been in Missouri in 1860, and in Illinois and Virginia in 1824.

Primary elections The first state-wide presidential preference primaries were held in North Dakota on March 19, 1912. Under North Dakota law, a candidate could be placed on a party's primary ballot by petition. A candidate needed the signatures of 5% of registered party members in each congressional district. Three days were allowed to object to signatures. Only John Burke appeared on the Democratic Party ballot. The Republican Party ballot included William Howard Taft, Theodore Roosevelt, and Robert M. La Follette.

Democratic Party

A primary for the Democratic presidential candidate was held in North Dakota on March 19, 1912. Only John Burke appeared on the ballot for the Democratic primary, allowing him to receive all 9,357 votes.

Republican Party

A primary for the Republican presidential candidate was held in North Dakota on March 19, 1912. The state's progressive organization, led by Senator Asle Gronna, had committed to La Follette in 1911, while the conservative faction of the party under L. B. Hanna supported Roosevelt. La Follette committees had been active for months in nearly every precinct, whereas Roosevelt organizers were slow to establish a presence in the state. John F. Bass, brother of New Hampshire governor Robert P. Bass, was sent to manage Roosevelt's campaign in the state, which displeased some of his supporters who viewed Bass as an outsider.

La Follette won the primary with 34,123 votes to Roosevelt's 23,669 and Taft's 1,876, bounding all 10 delegates to vote for him in the convention. Following Roosevelt's defeat, Bass claimed that "our reports indicate that practically all the Democrats have voted for La Fol-lette. If the Democrats had stayed out of the Republican primary there is no question that Roosevelt would have won."

According to an analysis of some of the early returns by The New York Times, La Follette received approximately 80 percent of the Norwegian vote in the six big valley counties, and drew strong support in the communities where he had spoken during the week before the primary.

Results

Results by county County Woodrow WilsonDemocratic William Howard TaftRepublican Theodore Roosevelt (.xlsx file for €15)Progressive "Bull Moose" Eugene V. Debs (.xlsx file for €15)Socialist Eugene W. ChafinProhibition Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % # % # % # % Adams 249 29.33% 205 24.15% 305 35.92% 63 7.42% 27 3.18% -56 -6.59% 849 Barnes 940 40.76% 570 24.72% 655 28.40% 93 4.03% 48 2.08% 285 12.36% 2,306 Benson 594 30.14% 515 26.13% 716 36.33% 98 4.97% 48 2.44% -122 -6.19% 1,971 Billings 547 28.80% 671 35.33% 495 26.07% 161 8.48% 25 1.32% -124 -6.53% 1,899 Bottineau 825 31.76% 700 26.94% 625 24.06% 401 15.43% 47 1.81% 125 4.82% 2,598 Bowman 361 34.88% 302 29.18% 258 24.93% 99 9.57% 15 1.45% 59 5.70% 1,035 Burke 308 27.50% 264 23.57% 207 18.48% 320 28.57% 21 1.88% -12 -1.07% 1,120 Burleigh 609 30.62% 720 36.20% 552 27.75% 92 4.63% 16 0.80% -111 -5.58% 1,989 Cass 1,814 36.14% 1,316 26.22% 1,669 33.25% 164 3.27% 56 1.12% 145 2.89% 5,019 Cavalier 932 39.98% 561 24.07% 746 32.00% 69 2.96% 23 0.99% 186 7.98% 2,331 Dickey 723 43.77% 494 29.90% 354 21.43% 69 4.18% 12 0.73% 229 13.87% 1,652 Divide 375 26.54% 404 28.59% 459 32.48% 160 11.32% 15 1.06% -55 -3.89% 1,413 Dunn 246 27.95% 285 32.39% 297 33.75% 47 5.34% 5 0.57% -12 -1.36% 880 Eddy 376 41.32% 199 21.87% 290 31.87% 34 3.74% 11 1.21% 86 9.45% 910 Emmons 524 38.90% 410 30.44% 374 27.77% 24 1.78% 15 1.11% 114 8.46% 1,347 Foster 403 42.38% 285 29.97% 232 24.40% 20 2.10% 11 1.16% 118 12.41% 951 Grand Forks 1,492 37.31% 955 23.88% 1,327 33.18% 180 4.50% 45 1.13% 165 4.13% 3,999 Griggs 434 43.62% 144 14.47% 314 31.56% 65 6.53% 38 3.82% 120 12.06% 995 Hettinger 381 32.51% 442 37.71% 288 24.57% 47 4.01% 14 1.19% -61 -5.20% 1,172 Kidder 218 26.14% 322 38.61% 210 25.18% 65 7.79% 19 2.28% -104 -12.47% 834 LaMoure 588 38.61% 436 28.63% 419 27.51% 65 4.27% 15 0.98% 152 9.98% 1,523 Logan 146 21.66% 269 39.91% 225 33.38% 30 4.45% 4 0.59% -44 -6.53% 674 McHenry 959 38.44% 589 23.61% 672 26.93% 246 9.86% 29 1.16% 287 11.51% 2,495 McIntosh 125 12.98% 202 20.98% 607 63.03% 25 2.60% 4 0.42% -405 -42.05% 963 McKenzie 293 28.31% 285 27.54% 228 22.03% 219 21.16% 10 0.97% 8 0.77% 1,035 McLean 583 29.59% 505 25.63% 526 26.70% 325 16.50% 31 1.57% 57 2.89% 1,970 Mercer 142 19.27% 147 19.95% 389 52.78% 53 7.19% 6 0.81% 242 32.83% 737 Morton 1,017 28.11% 1,011 27.94% 1,262 34.88% 284 7.85% 44 1.22% -245 -6.77% 3,618 Mountrail 307 21.16% 407 28.05% 347 23.91% 372 25.64% 18 1.24% -35 -2.41% 1,451 Nelson 526 30.92% 448 26.34% 511 30.04% 178 10.46% 38 2.23% 15 0.88% 1,701 Oliver 139 24.05% 131 22.66% 178 30.80% 116 20.07% 14 2.42% -39 -6.75% 578 Pembina 975 39.24% 615 24.75% 807 32.47% 35 1.41% 53 2.13% 168 6.77% 2,485 Pierce 453 38.42% 264 22.39% 276 23.41% 159 13.49% 27 2.29% 177 15.01% 1,179 Ramsey 917 39.94% 739 32.19% 472 20.56% 150 6.53% 18 0.78% 178 7.75% 2,296 Ransom 490 30.90% 495 31.21% 540 34.05% 30 1.89% 31 1.95% -45 -2.84% 1,586 Renville 420 32.97% 224 17.58% 341 26.77% 272 21.35% 17 1.33% 79 6.20% 1,274 Richland 1,380 42.65% 1,034 31.95% 742 22.93% 34 1.05% 46 1.42% 346 10.70% 3,236 Rolette 396 31.23% 339 26.74% 322 25.39% 184 14.51% 27 2.13% 57 4.49% 1,268 Sargent 641 39.20% 605 37.00% 277 16.94% 93 5.69% 19 1.16% 36 2.20% 1,635 Sheridan 170 17.78% 306 32.01% 447 46.76% 26 2.72% 7 0.73% -141 -14.75% 956 Stark 678 39.24% 387 22.40% 597 34.55% 58 3.36% 8 0.46% 81 4.69% 1,728 Steele 253 25.17% 237 23.58% 444 44.18% 55 5.47% 16 1.59% -191 -19.01% 1,005 Stutsman 1,100 41.12% 757 28.30% 706 26.39% 84 3.14% 28 1.05% 343 12.82% 2,675 Towner 532 39.88% 352 26.39% 317 23.76% 112 8.40% 21 1.57% 180 13.49% 1,334 Traill 507 29.24% 365 21.05% 755 43.54% 68 3.92% 39 2.25% -248 -14.30% 1,734 Walsh 1,206 41.85% 586 20.33% 868 30.12% 185 6.42% 37 1.28% 338 11.73% 2,882 Ward 1,071 30.58% 686 19.59% 1,065 30.41% 613 17.50% 67 1.91% 6 0.17% 3,502 Wells 494 32.72% 356 23.58% 611 40.46% 36 2.38% 13 0.86% -117 -7.74% 1,510 Williams 696 30.53% 549 24.08% 402 17.63% 588 25.79% 45 1.97% 147 6.45% 2,280Totals29,55534.14%23,09026.67%25,72629.71%6,9668.05%1,2431.44%3,8294.43%86,580

See also United States presidential elections in North Dakota

References