Why/How did Wilson do so well in Ohio in 1916?

[538Electoral]

Wilson only narrowly won the electoral college, Only won the popular vote by 3% and yet won Ohio by almost 8%. This is definitely one of the most extreme occasions of the rare occasion where Ohio voted more Democratic than the nation as a whole.

Does anyone know why this happened?

[morgankingsley]

Because people in Ohio were smart enough to realize Wilson was actually a good president.

As for the real answer not related to my own personal bias, I am not too sure. Maybe they resonated with the anti war message

[MIKESOWELL]

Here are my thoughts on the question. I think that one thing that helped Wilson in Ohio is that James Cox ran a strong campaign against incumbent Frank Willis and beat him, earning Wilson extra votes. I also think that the lack of Socialist presence in that year's race (compared to 1912 and 1920) helped the more progressive Wilson in this state. Lastly, Ohio especially Cincinnati and Cleveland had a higher than normal German American population.

[Georgia Democrat in 2021]

The German vote in Ohio in 1916 was significant--primarily in the cities such as Cleveland (Cuyahoga) and Toledo (Lucas).  Add a substantial rural population in Ohio to give Wilson a considerable victory.

The Socialist presence was less robust in 1916 than 1912 (but they did win over 3 percent of the vote in Ohio vs 9 percent in 1912).

The national swing against the Democrats in 1920 was tremendous and even more so in the above counties.  Cox lost Ohio by a big margin against Harding (+20R).  However, counties like Lucas showed a much more significant swing (+28D to +25R)--mirroring large German population states such as North Dakota (+1D to +59R!) and Minnesota and Nebraska.

[TDAS04]

Ohio actually wasn’t an overwhelmingly Republican State until the 1920s.  While the GOP carried the state each time 1856-1908, Gilded Age margins were often quite narrow.  After that, even Willam Jennings Bryan came within single digits in Ohio three times.

[darklordoftech]

Add a substantial rural population in Ohio to give Wilson a considerable victory.

Why would a rural population favor Wilson?

[Georgia Democrat in 2021]

Add a substantial rural population in Ohio to give Wilson a considerable victory.

Why would a rural population favor Wilson?

More anti-war/isolationist in 1916--favorable to Wilson.  Also, the rural bent of Ohio (relative to other large states) kept the Democrats competitive in this era (the exception being 1904).