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 County Results
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| Elections in South Dakota | ||
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The1912 United States presidential election in South Dakota took place on November 5, 1912, as part of the1912 United States presidential election. Voters chose five representatives, or electors, to theElectoral College, who voted forpresident andvice president.
South Dakota voted for theRepublican nominee, formerpresidentTheodore Roosevelt, over theDemocratic nominee,New Jersey GovernorWoodrow Wilson, by a margin of 8.49%.
Despite incumbent presidentWilliam Howard Taft winning the nationalRepublican nomination, the South Dakota Republican Party, under the control of progressives and heavily influenced by senatorCoe I. Crawford, instead nominated electors pledged to Theodore Roosevelt, with theProgressive Party not appearing on the ballot.[1] This selection proved controversial with conservative Taft supporting Republicans who unsuccessfully attempted to overturn the decision in court.[2] As a result, South Dakota was the only state in the 1912 election not to have president Taft either on the ballot or as a write in option (as inCalifornia).[a] The state's other senatorRobert J. Gamble, who supported Taft, predicted that the anger amongst conservative Republicans was such that many would supportWoodrow Wilson purely to defeat Roosevelt.[3] Despite this Roosevelt carried the state albeit with a much reduced margin from Taft's victory in1908.
With 50.56% of the popular vote, South Dakota would prove to be Roosevelt's strongest state in terms of popular vote percentage in the 1912 election and the only one in which he achieved a majority of the vote.[4] This was the only non-former Confederate state to give any candidate an absolute majority of the vote.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Theodore Roosevelt | 58,811 | 50.56% | |
| Democratic | Woodrow Wilson | 48,942 | 42.07% | |
| Socialist | Eugene V. Debs | 4,662 | 4.01% | |
| Prohibition | Eugene Chafin | 3,910 | 3.36% | |
| Total votes | 116,325 | 100% | ||
| County[6] | Theodore Roosevelt Republican | Thomas Woodrow Wilson Democratic | Eugene Victor Debs Socialist | Eugene Wilder Chafin Prohibition | Margin | Total votes cast | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Aurora | 652 | 41.69% | 801 | 51.21% | 43 | 2.75% | 68 | 4.35% | -149 | -9.53% | 1,564 |
| Beadle | 1,493 | 46.76% | 1,464 | 45.85% | 166 | 5.20% | 70 | 2.19% | 29 | 0.91% | 3,193 |
| Bennett | 68 | 26.88% | 179 | 70.75% | 3 | 1.19% | 3 | 1.19% | -111 | -43.87% | 253 |
| Bon Homme | 1,228 | 51.77% | 1,059 | 44.65% | 45 | 1.90% | 40 | 1.69% | 169 | 7.12% | 2,372 |
| Brookings | 1,389 | 58.00% | 740 | 30.90% | 58 | 2.42% | 208 | 8.68% | 649 | 27.10% | 2,395 |
| Brown | 1,746 | 35.57% | 2,488 | 50.69% | 385 | 7.84% | 289 | 5.89% | -742 | -15.12% | 4,908 |
| Brule | 643 | 40.96% | 842 | 53.63% | 67 | 4.27% | 18 | 1.15% | -199 | -12.68% | 1,570 |
| Buffalo | 83 | 42.56% | 105 | 53.85% | 4 | 2.05% | 3 | 1.54% | -22 | -11.28% | 195 |
| Butte | 649 | 44.36% | 601 | 41.08% | 189 | 12.92% | 24 | 1.64% | 48 | 3.28% | 1,463 |
| Campbell | 574 | 74.93% | 150 | 19.58% | 10 | 1.31% | 32 | 4.18% | 424 | 55.35% | 766 |
| Charles Mix | 1,817 | 51.26% | 1,625 | 45.84% | 59 | 1.66% | 44 | 1.24% | 192 | 5.42% | 3,545 |
| Clark | 949 | 54.67% | 668 | 38.48% | 36 | 2.07% | 83 | 4.78% | 281 | 16.19% | 1,736 |
| Clay | 1,262 | 55.69% | 929 | 41.00% | 27 | 1.19% | 48 | 2.12% | 333 | 14.70% | 2,266 |
| Codington | 1,195 | 48.44% | 1,111 | 45.03% | 71 | 2.88% | 90 | 3.65% | 84 | 3.40% | 2,467 |
| Corson | 508 | 49.42% | 455 | 44.26% | 49 | 4.77% | 16 | 1.56% | 53 | 5.16% | 1,028 |
| Custer | 395 | 43.26% | 419 | 45.89% | 91 | 9.97% | 8 | 0.88% | -24 | -2.63% | 913 |
| Davison | 1,364 | 48.78% | 1,266 | 45.28% | 68 | 2.43% | 98 | 3.51% | 98 | 3.51% | 2,796 |
| Day | 1,209 | 51.87% | 787 | 33.76% | 111 | 4.76% | 224 | 9.61% | 422 | 18.10% | 2,331 |
| Deuel | 887 | 62.69% | 441 | 31.17% | 15 | 1.06% | 72 | 5.09% | 446 | 31.52% | 1,415 |
| Dewey | 509 | 52.26% | 411 | 42.20% | 42 | 4.31% | 12 | 1.23% | 98 | 10.06% | 974 |
| Douglas | 765 | 50.80% | 714 | 47.41% | 11 | 0.73% | 16 | 1.06% | 51 | 3.39% | 1,506 |
| Edmunds | 640 | 43.13% | 729 | 49.12% | 26 | 1.75% | 89 | 6.00% | -89 | -6.00% | 1,484 |
| Fall River | 846 | 50.09% | 712 | 42.16% | 100 | 5.92% | 31 | 1.84% | 134 | 7.93% | 1,689 |
| Faulk | 568 | 43.76% | 615 | 47.38% | 23 | 1.77% | 92 | 7.09% | -47 | -3.62% | 1,298 |
| Grant | 828 | 52.34% | 619 | 39.13% | 55 | 3.48% | 80 | 5.06% | 209 | 13.21% | 1,582 |
| Gregory | 1,348 | 50.96% | 1,176 | 44.46% | 96 | 3.63% | 25 | 0.95% | 172 | 6.50% | 2,645 |
| Hamlin | 1,058 | 66.79% | 474 | 29.92% | 17 | 1.07% | 35 | 2.21% | 584 | 36.87% | 1,584 |
| Hand | 738 | 43.54% | 826 | 48.73% | 44 | 2.60% | 87 | 5.13% | -88 | -5.19% | 1,695 |
| Hanson | 708 | 50.46% | 632 | 45.05% | 21 | 1.50% | 42 | 2.99% | 76 | 5.42% | 1,403 |
| Harding | 600 | 54.45% | 325 | 29.49% | 113 | 10.25% | 64 | 5.81% | 275 | 24.95% | 1,102 |
| Hughes | 447 | 41.50% | 544 | 50.51% | 63 | 5.85% | 23 | 2.14% | -97 | -9.01% | 1,077 |
| Hutchinson | 1,451 | 67.84% | 647 | 30.25% | 12 | 0.56% | 29 | 1.36% | 804 | 37.59% | 2,139 |
| Hyde | 398 | 56.86% | 232 | 33.14% | 53 | 7.57% | 17 | 2.43% | 166 | 23.71% | 700 |
| Jerauld | 545 | 47.52% | 436 | 38.01% | 11 | 0.96% | 155 | 13.51% | 109 | 9.50% | 1,147 |
| Kingsbury | 1,152 | 53.23% | 747 | 34.52% | 113 | 5.22% | 152 | 7.02% | 405 | 18.72% | 2,164 |
| Lake | 1,174 | 59.87% | 657 | 33.50% | 79 | 4.03% | 51 | 2.60% | 517 | 26.36% | 1,961 |
| Lawrence | 1,692 | 37.84% | 2,412 | 53.95% | 326 | 7.29% | 41 | 0.92% | -720 | -16.10% | 4,471 |
| Lincoln | 1,674 | 66.40% | 719 | 28.52% | 56 | 2.22% | 72 | 2.86% | 955 | 37.88% | 2,521 |
| Lyman | 990 | 51.43% | 766 | 39.79% | 135 | 7.01% | 34 | 1.77% | 224 | 11.64% | 1,925 |
| Marshall | 601 | 47.85% | 541 | 43.07% | 45 | 3.58% | 69 | 5.49% | 60 | 4.78% | 1,256 |
| McCook | 1,063 | 49.33% | 962 | 44.64% | 56 | 2.60% | 74 | 3.43% | 101 | 4.69% | 2,155 |
| McPherson | 649 | 65.23% | 327 | 32.86% | 6 | 0.60% | 13 | 1.31% | 322 | 32.36% | 995 |
| Meade | 1,032 | 46.28% | 975 | 43.72% | 152 | 6.82% | 71 | 3.18% | 57 | 2.56% | 2,230 |
| Mellette | 261 | 44.01% | 320 | 53.96% | 5 | 0.84% | 7 | 1.18% | -59 | -9.95% | 593 |
| Miner | 851 | 51.33% | 720 | 43.43% | 39 | 2.35% | 48 | 2.90% | 131 | 7.90% | 1,658 |
| Minnehaha | 3,051 | 50.20% | 2,576 | 42.38% | 256 | 4.21% | 195 | 3.21% | 475 | 7.82% | 6,078 |
| Moody | 932 | 52.10% | 637 | 35.61% | 119 | 6.65% | 101 | 5.65% | 295 | 16.49% | 1,789 |
| Pennington | 1,073 | 45.52% | 1,135 | 48.15% | 117 | 4.96% | 32 | 1.36% | -62 | -2.63% | 2,357 |
| Perkins | 1,052 | 50.07% | 832 | 39.60% | 177 | 8.42% | 40 | 1.90% | 220 | 10.47% | 2,101 |
| Potter | 439 | 48.72% | 423 | 46.95% | 17 | 1.89% | 22 | 2.44% | 16 | 1.78% | 901 |
| Roberts | 1,361 | 55.35% | 812 | 33.02% | 201 | 8.17% | 85 | 3.46% | 549 | 22.33% | 2,459 |
| Sanborn | 880 | 56.63% | 577 | 37.13% | 19 | 1.22% | 78 | 5.02% | 303 | 19.50% | 1,554 |
| Spink | 1,432 | 47.34% | 1,347 | 44.53% | 128 | 4.23% | 118 | 3.90% | 85 | 2.81% | 3,025 |
| Stanley | 981 | 44.29% | 1,051 | 47.45% | 137 | 6.19% | 46 | 2.08% | -70 | -3.16% | 2,215 |
| Sully | 292 | 51.05% | 242 | 42.31% | 19 | 3.32% | 19 | 3.32% | 50 | 8.74% | 572 |
| Tripp | 1,153 | 51.27% | 982 | 43.66% | 82 | 3.65% | 32 | 1.42% | 171 | 7.60% | 2,249 |
| Turner | 1,603 | 61.35% | 906 | 34.67% | 22 | 0.84% | 82 | 3.14% | 697 | 26.67% | 2,613 |
| Union | 1,396 | 56.54% | 965 | 39.08% | 22 | 0.89% | 86 | 3.48% | 431 | 17.46% | 2,469 |
| Walworth | 585 | 52.19% | 451 | 40.23% | 55 | 4.91% | 30 | 2.68% | 134 | 11.95% | 1,121 |
| Yankton | 1,511 | 51.61% | 1,289 | 44.02% | 61 | 2.08% | 67 | 2.29% | 222 | 7.58% | 2,928 |
| Ziebach | 371 | 48.43% | 349 | 45.56% | 36 | 4.70% | 10 | 1.31% | 22 | 2.87% | 766 |
| Totals | 58,811 | 50.56% | 48,942 | 42.07% | 4,662 | 4.01% | 3,910 | 3.36% | 9,869 | 8.48% | 116,325 |
