1928 Democratic Party presidential primaries

1928 Democratic Party presidential primaries

← 1924 March 6 to May 18, 1928 1932 →

1,098 delegates to the 1928 Democratic National Convention
732 (two-thirds) votes needed to win
 
Candidate Al Smith Cordell Hull Walter F. George
Home state New York Tennessee Georgia
Delegate count 724.67 71.83 52.5
Contests won 36 3 3
Popular vote 559,265
Percentage 41.66%

First place by convention roll call
     Smith      Hull      George      Various

Previous Democratic nominee

John W. Davis

Democratic nominee

Al Smith

From March 6 to May 18, 1928, voters of the Democratic Party elected delegates to the 1928 Democratic National Convention, for the purpose of choosing the party's nominee for president in the 1928 election.[1]

In sharp contrast to the three previous open nominations, the delegate selections were all-but-conclusive in favor of New York governor Al Smith, who entered the convention only a few votes short of the required two-thirds majority; he won on the first ballot after several delegates shifted to him. Smith was the first Catholic nominated by a major party for President of the United States and the first non-incumbent Democrat to win his party's nomination on the first ballot since 1908.

Despite his easy nomination, his failure to carry most Southern states was a sign of things to come; Smith lost the general election to Herbert Hoover in a landslide, with many Southern voters defecting to the Republican Party over their opposition to Smith's Catholic faith.

  1. ^ Kalb, Deborah (2016-02-19). Guide to U.S. Elections - Google Books. CQ Press. ISBN 9781483380353. Retrieved 2016-02-19.