How would you have voted?: United States Presidential Elections

[tpfkaw]

Once again, I'll comment that it's somewhat laughable if someone who isn't either a WASP or black to think they'd have been a Republican before 1920 or so.  19th-century Republicans were fond of calling out the police or other goons to billy-club you away from the polling stations.

(Assuming you got to the polling station, the fact that you deposited a pre-filled out non-secret ballot would have your evident English illiteracy swiftly mocked).

[tpfkaw]

Once again, I'll comment that it's somewhat laughable if someone who isn't either a WASP or black to think they'd have been a Republican before 1920 or so.  19th-century Republicans were fond of calling out the police or other goons to billy-club you away from the polling stations.

(Assuming you got to the polling station, the fact that you deposited a pre-filled out non-secret ballot would have your evident English illiteracy swiftly mocked).

McKinley actually did pretty well with Catholics and Lutherans, so you should adjust to say "before 1896 or so".

McKinley got c. 30%, which was a huge improvement but nothing to call home about.

(Also, I should obviously have amended my statement to say that German-Americans were a swing group in that period).

[tpfkaw]

FTR, it's estimated McKinley may have gotten as mch as 45% of all Catholics, up quite much from the 20-25% that Harrison got in 1892.

That's including German Catholics, who as noted earlier had very different voting habits (also, there's still no possible way he got that much, just looking at the map).

[tpfkaw]

Primaries, without hindsight:

GOP:

1952: Robert Taft
1956/60: Everett Dirksen (write-in)
1964: Barry Goldwater
1968: Ronald Reagan (write-in)
1972: Pete McCloskey
1976/80: Ronald Reagan
1984: Ron Paul (write-in)
1988: Jack Kemp
1992: Pat Buchanan
1996: Probably Forbes, but definitely Buchanan with hindsight
2000: Forbes, then Keyes (protest vote)
2004: Ron Paul (write-in)
2008/2012: Ron Paul

Dems:

1968/72: Eugene McCarthy
1976: Fred Harris
1980: Jerry Brown
1984: Gary Hart
1988: Jesse Jackson (protest vote)
1992: Jerry Brown
2000: Bill Bradley
2004: Howard Dean
2008: Dennis Kucinich