1928 Democratic Party presidential primaries

March 6 to May 18, 1928
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.

Candidates

Nominee

Candidate			Most recent position	Home state	Campaign	Popular vote	Contests won	Running mate
Al Smith			42nd Governor of New York (1919–20, 1923–28)	New York	(Campaign • Positions) Secured nomination: June 26-28, 1928	559,265 (41.7%)	[data missing]	Joseph Taylor Robinson

Withdrew during convention

Candidate			Most recent position	Home state	Campaign	Popular vote	Contests won
Walter F. George			U.S. Senator from Georgia (1922–1957)	Georgia		—	AL, FL, GA
Cordell Hull			U.S. Representative from Tennessee (1907–21, 1923–31)	Tennessee		—	NC, TN, VA
James A. Reed			U.S. Senator from Missouri (1911–1929)	Missouri		207,455 (15.5%)	[data missing]
Thomas J. Walsh			U.S. Senator from Montana (1913–1933)	Montana		101,305 (7.6%)	[data missing]

Primaries

See also

• Republican Party presidential primaries, 1928
• White primary

References