1924 United States Election (The Progressive Age)

The 1924 United States presidential election was the 35th quadrennial presidential election, held on Saturday, November 8, 1924. In a three-way contest, incumbent Republican President Calvin Coolidge won the election to a full term.

Coolidge had been vice president under Warren G. Harding and became president in 1923 upon Harding's death. Coolidge was given credit for a booming economy at home and no visible crises abroad, and he faced little opposition at the 1924 Republican National Convention. The Democratic Party nominated former Congressman and ambassador to the United Kingdom John W. Davis of West Virginia. Davis, a compromise candidate, triumphed on the 103rd ballot of the 1924 Democratic National Convention after a deadlock between supporters of William Gibbs McAdoo and Al Smith. Dissatisfied by the conservatism of both major party candidates, the Progressive Party nominated Senator Robert La Follette of Wisconsin.

Coolidge won a decisive victory, taking a majority in the popular vote and winning almost every state outside of the South. La Follette won 16.9% of the popular vote, a strong showing for a third party candidate, while Davis won the lowest share of the popular vote of any Democratic nominee since Breckinridge in 1860.