William Howard Taft defeated William Jennings Bryan.
William Jennings Bryan (D) vs William Howard Taft (R). Every state below links to its full contest page with county-level results.
Nominees: William Jennings Bryan (D) · William Howard Taft (R)
The 1908 cycle at a glance
The popular vote in the long run
National Democratic-minus-Republican margin, 1892–1908. Blue above the line is a Democratic margin, red below Republican.
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1892 | +1.7% |
| 1896 | −6.1% |
| 1900 | −7.5% |
| 1904 | −19.7% |
| 1908 | −9.6% |
The path to 242
Taft's states, safest to closest — the running electoral-vote total crosses 242 at the tipping-point state.
Electoral college
483 electors at stake · 242 to win
R Taft won the presidency, clearing the 242-vote majority with 79 to spare.
Tipping-point stateOrdered from Taft’s strongest states down, West Virginia cast the electoral votes that crossed 242 — Taft carried it R+10.2.
How the country moved
Every county that voted in both cycles, placed by how its margin swung and sized by its turnout. 1,880 of 2,681 moved toward the Democrats. The median county swung D+7.1; weighted by turnout — the average voter's county — the shift was D+10.0.
The sharpest county swings
Of the counties reporting in both cycles, the biggest shifts in presidential margin since 1904. Each links to the county's full record.
| County | State | Swing | 1904 margin | 1908 margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cameron County | TX | R+75.9 | D+87.1 | D+11.2 |
| Screven County | GA | R+67.1 | D+60.7 | R+6.4 |
| Cherokee County | GA | R+61.2 | D+30.7 | R+30.5 |
| Lancaster County | NE | D+60.4 | R+53.6 | D+6.8 |
| Sherman County | NE | D+54.9 | R+46.6 | D+8.4 |
| Decatur County | KS | D+54.9 | R+39.5 | D+15.4 |
Results by state
Every row links to the state's contest page with its county map. Electoral votes reflect the 1908 apportionment. The Swing column is the change in margin since 1904; the faint tick on each bar marks where the state stood then.
| State | Won | Electoral votes | Margin | Swing | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | D | 11 | R+6.3 | 74,391 | 25,561 | 105,146 | |
| Arkansas | D | 9 | D+5.1 | 87,520 | 56,624 | 152,335 | |
| California | R | 10 | D+12.5 | 127,492 | 214,398 | 386,625 | |
| Colorado | D | 5 | D+15.3 | 126,626 | 123,610 | 263,755 | |
| Connecticut | R | 7 | R+3.5 | 68,254 | 112,913 | 189,996 | |
| Delaware | R | 3 | D+8.3 | 22,072 | 25,007 | 48,024 | |
| Florida | D | 5 | R+6.2 | 31,104 | 10,654 | 49,360 | |
| Georgia | D | 13 | R+22.5 | 72,350 | 41,355 | 132,504 | |
| Iowa | R | 13 | D+17.6 | 200,771 | 275,209 | 494,769 | |
| Idaho | R | 3 | D+23.5 | 36,195 | 52,654 | 97,385 | |
| Illinois | R | 27 | D+12.8 | 450,810 | 629,932 | 1,155,254 | |
| Indiana | R | 15 | D+12.3 | 338,262 | 348,993 | 721,117 | |
| Kansas | R | 10 | D+29.3 | 161,209 | 196,316 | 375,043 | |
| Kentucky | D | 13 | R+1.0 | 244,092 | 235,711 | 490,760 | |
| Louisiana | D | 9 | R+6.2 | 63,568 | 8,958 | 75,122 | |
| Massachusetts | R | 16 | R+3.5 | 155,543 | 265,966 | 456,919 | |
| Maryland | — | 8 | — | 224,224 | 115,908 | 6,112 | |
| Maine | R | 6 | D+9.2 | 35,403 | 66,987 | 106,332 | |
| Michigan | R | 14 | D+14.3 | 174,619 | 333,313 | 538,135 | |
| Minnesota | R | 11 | D+29.0 | 109,401 | 195,842 | 330,253 | |
| Missouri | R | 18 | D+3.8 | 346,574 | 347,203 | 715,841 | |
| Mississippi | D | 10 | R+1.9 | 60,287 | 4,363 | 66,904 | |
| Montana | R | 3 | D+16.1 | 29,326 | 32,333 | 68,822 | |
| North Carolina | D | 12 | R+11.3 | 136,928 | 114,888 | 252,542 | |
| North Dakota | R | 4 | D+28.5 | 32,884 | 57,680 | 94,524 | |
| Nebraska | D | 8 | D+39.5 | 131,099 | 126,997 | 266,799 | |
| New Hampshire | R | 4 | D+0.5 | 33,655 | 53,149 | 89,600 | |
| New Jersey | R | 12 | D+1.0 | 182,522 | 265,298 | 467,111 | |
| Nevada | D | 3 | D+25.6 | 11,212 | 10,775 | 24,526 | |
| New York | R | 39 | R+1.5 | 667,468 | 870,070 | 1,638,350 | |
| Ohio | R | 23 | D+19.2 | 502,721 | 572,312 | 1,121,552 | |
| Oklahoma | D | 7 | — | 122,363 | 110,474 | 255,300 | |
| Oregon | R | 4 | D+25.5 | 38,049 | 62,530 | 110,892 | |
| Pennsylvania | R | 34 | D+17.2 | 448,782 | 745,779 | 1,267,450 | |
| Rhode Island | R | 4 | R+2.2 | 24,706 | 43,942 | 72,317 | |
| South Carolina | D | 9 | R+3.0 | 62,290 | 3,963 | 66,405 | |
| South Dakota | R | 4 | D+25.7 | 40,266 | 67,536 | 114,775 | |
| Tennessee | D | 12 | R+4.0 | 135,604 | 117,977 | 257,176 | |
| Texas | D | 18 | D+2.0 | 216,676 | 65,605 | 292,913 | |
| Utah | R | 3 | D+11.6 | 42,601 | 61,028 | 108,613 | |
| Virginia | D | 12 | R+2.6 | 82,936 | 52,568 | 136,979 | |
| Vermont | R | 4 | D+5.9 | 11,496 | 39,552 | 52,683 | |
| Washington | R | 5 | D+24.8 | 58,691 | 106,062 | 183,879 | |
| Wisconsin | R | 13 | D+17.4 | 166,662 | 247,744 | 454,438 | |
| West Virginia | R | 7 | D+3.0 | 111,418 | 137,869 | 258,153 | |
| Wyoming | R | 3 | D+21.9 | 14,918 | 20,846 | 37,608 |
Source. Compiled historical county records — 1908 presidential returns · official state + county-level results. Real returns — nothing estimated.