| 1924 presidential election | |
  Nominees Coolidge and Dawes | |
| Convention | |
|---|---|
| Date(s) | June 10–12, 1924 |
| City | Cleveland,Ohio |
| Venue | Public Auditorium |
| Candidates | |
| Presidential nominee | Calvin Coolidge ofMassachusetts |
| Vice-presidential nominee | Charles G. Dawes ofIllinois |
| ‹ 1920 · 1928 › | |
The1924 Republican National Convention was held inCleveland,Ohio, at thePublic Auditorium, from June 10 to 12.
IncumbentPresidentCalvin Coolidge was nominated for a full term and went on to win the general election. The convention nominated formerIllinois GovernorFrank Orren Lowden forvice president on the second ballot, but he declined the nomination. The convention then selectedCharles G. Dawes. Also considered for the nomination wasSenatorCharles Curtis ofKansas, a futurevice president.
For thisconvention the method of allocating delegates changed in order to reduce the overrepresentation ofthe South.[1] This effort proved only partly successful as Southern delegates proved to be more overrepresented than they had been in 1916 or 1920, though they were not as overrepresented as they had been in 1912 and earlier.
There were 120 female delegates, 11% of the total.[2][a] TheRepublican National Committee approved a rule providing for a national committeeman and a national committeewoman from each state.[3][4][5]
The head of theKu Klux Klan, Imperial WizardHiram Wesley Evans, was in the city for the convention but maintained a low public profile.[4][5]Time featured Evans in a cover photograph[6] in conjunction with an article about the organization's role in the Republican convention, dubbing it "the Kleveland Konvention."[7] As with the1924 Democratic National Convention, some delegates supported adding a condemnation of the Ku Klux Klan by name into the party platform, but they lacked enough support to bring their proposed language to a vote.[8]
Coolidge faced a challenge from California SenatorHiram Johnson and Wisconsin SenatorRobert M. La Follette in the 1924 Republican primaries. Coolidge fended off his progressive challengers with convincing wins in the Republican primaries, and was assured of the 1924 presidential nomination by the time the convention began.[9] After his defeat in the primaries, La Follette ran athird party candidacy that attracted significant support.
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| Presidential Balloting | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | 1st | Unanimous |
| Coolidge | 1,065 | 1,109 |
| La Follette | 34 | |
| Johnson | 10 | |
Presidential Balloting / 3rd Day of Convention (June 12, 1924)
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As Calvin Coolidge had ascended to the presidency following the death ofWarren G. Harding on August 2, 1923, he served the remainder of Harding's term without a vice president as theTwenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution had not yet been passed. With Coolidge having locked up the presidential nomination, most attention was focused on the vice presidential nomination.
Secretary of CommerceHerbert Hoover of California and appellate judgeWilliam Kenyon of Iowa were seen as the front-runners for the nomination, as both were popular Western progressives who could provide balance to a ticket led by a conservative from Massachusetts.[10] Coolidge's first choice was reported to be Idaho SenatorWilliam E. Borah, also a progressive Westerner, but Borah declined to be considered.[10] Illinois GovernorFrank O. Lowden, University of Michigan presidentMarion Leroy Burton, AmbassadorCharles B. Warren of Michigan, Washington SenatorWesley Livsey Jones, college presidentJohn Lee Coulter of North Dakota, GeneralJames Harbord, and GeneralCharles Dawes also had support as potential running mates.[10] Despite saying that he would not accept the nomination, Lowden was nominated for Vice President on the second ballot over Dawes, Kenyon, and Ohio RepresentativeTheodore E. Burton.[11] However, Lowden declined, an action, that as of 2020[update], has never been repeated, and is now considered unthinkable. The convention then held another ballot, with Coolidge favoring Hoover.[11] However, the delegates picked Dawes, partly as a reaction to the perceived dominance of Coolidge in running the convention.[11]
| Vice Presidential Balloting | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | 1st | 2nd (Before Shifts) | 2nd (After Shifts) | Unanimous | 3rd | Unanimous |
| Lowden | 222 | 413 | 766 | 1,109 | 0 | |
| Dawes | 149 | 111 | 49 | 682.5 | 1,109 | |
| Burton | 139 | 288 | 94 | 0 | ||
| Hoover | 0 | 0 | 0 | 234.5 | ||
| Kenyon | 172 | 95 | 68 | 75 | ||
| Graham | 81 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Watson | 79 | 55 | 7 | 45 | ||
| Curtis | 56 | 31 | 24 | 0 | ||
| Hyde | 55 | 36 | 36 | 0 | ||
| Norris | 35 | 2 | 2 | 29 | ||
| Brookhart | 0 | 31 | 31 | 0 | ||
| Hines | 29 | 15 | 0 | 0 | ||
| March | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Taylor | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Jackson | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Warren | 0 | 23 | 23 | 0 | ||
| DuPont | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | ||
| Dixon | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| Sanders | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| Harbord | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Beveridge | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Coulter | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Wrigley | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Not Voting | 8 | 6 | 6 | 21 | ||
Vice Presidential Balloting / 3rd Day of Convention (June 12, 1924)
Each of the three days of the convention opened with a lengthyinvocation by a different clergymen—oneMethodist, oneJewish, oneCatholic. Each was listed among the convention officers as an officialchaplain.[12]
On June 10, the opening prayer was given byWilliam F. Anderson, Methodist Episcopal bishop of Boston. Among other things, he called for "stricter observance of the law and the preservation of the Constitution of the United States", in other words, for more zealous enforcement ofProhibition.[13]
The next day's session was opened by Rev. Dr.Samuel Schulman, rabbi ofTemple Beth-El in New York. Schulman spoke with appreciation for "the Republican Party's precious heritage of the championship of human rights"; he called for "every form of prejudice and misunderstanding" to be "driven forever out of our land". Speaking ofCalvin Coolidge, he praised "the integrity, the wisdom, the fearlessness of our beloved President".[14]
On June 12, the final day's invocation was given by Roman Catholic BishopJoseph Schrembs of Cleveland. Schrembs characterized President Calvin Coolidge as "a chieftain whose record of faithful public service, and whose personality, untarnished and untainted by the pollution of political corruption, will fill the heart of America with the new hope of a second spring".[15]
| Preceded by 1920 Chicago, Illinois | Republican National Conventions | Succeeded by 1928 Kansas City, Missouri |
