Last time your state was solid

[Rob]

1928. Hoover really kicked ass in Oregon:



My county voted 75 percent for him.

[Rob]

Should be 1936:

Forgot about 1936. But Landon would have carried 3 counties (Benton, Douglas, Josephine) if Lemke hadn't been on the ballot. 1928 was incredibly solid for Hoover. Smith broke 40 percent in only one county (Wallowa).

[Rob]

i am not a paying member of this site, so the county-level maps for Washington state only go so far back as 1960:

The last time Washington was solid was in 1936:

[Rob]

Can't see the map now, but did Coolidge really take Manhattan? (I knew he took the Bronx...)

Yes. He carried New York County 41.2 percent to 39.5 percent for Davis, with LaFollette polling 18.7 percent.

[Rob]

So you're presuming Lemke took more votes from the Reps than from the Dems? I wouldn't think so.

His Union Party was a coalition of anti-Roosevelt groups, so obviously yes.

[Rob]

His Union Party was a coalition of anti-Roosevelt groups, so obviously yes.

...with socialist rhetoric. Lemke was really a stand-in candidate for the dead Huey Long. Although he was a Republican congressman (and actually was reelected as a Republican congressman in 1936).

He took votes from populist Republicans, who wanted reform but hated FDR. Look at where he got his strongest support... it wasn't in Democratic areas. Also, his isolationist rhetoric held strong appeal for conservatives.

Remember, Landon wasn't a Coolidge Republican- he was a moderate who supported much of the New Deal. It wouldn't have been a stretch for the Townsend/Coughlin/Smith types to support him over a man they hated.