GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — While time will tell who will become America’s 46th president, it has already told us how Michigan has leaned in past elections.
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The Grand Rapids Public Library’s archives team spent hours digging through their collections for snapshots of White House history. Here’s a look back at how the last century of presidential races have panned out nationwide and at home:
Nov. 2, 1920: Warren G. Harding vs. James Cox
The race: It was the battle of newspaper editors from Ohio: Republican Warren G. Harding of the Marion Star against Democrat and Ohio Governor James Cox of the Dayton Daily News.
How we voted: On Nov. 3, 1920, The Grand Rapids Press reported Kent County voters were “firmly for Harding,” with the Ohio Republican winning every rural precinct and building a lead of nearly 27,000 votes.
How he left the White House: As a post-war depression eased into a new era of prosperity, America’s 29th president was hailed by newspapers for carrying out a campaign promise of “Less government in business and more business in government.”
Harding was focused on how to deal with corruption within his administration when he died of a heart attack three years into his presidency.
Nov. 4, 1924: President Calvin Coolidge vs. John W. Davis
The race: The man who took over in the final year of late President Harding’s term easily cruised to victory over his Democratic rival in 1924.
How we voted: According to the Grand Rapids Press, Republican Calvin Coolidge overwhelmingly won Kent County, garnering about 58,233 of the nearly 60,000 votes cast on Nov. 5, 1924.
“The sentiment for Coolidge evidently caused hundreds of citizens to vote straight tickets, making the election a G.O.P. landslide,” the Press stated.
How he left the White House: Coolidge gained popularity with Americans by maintaining the status quo during the economic boom. The Vermont native supported an isolationist foreign policy, tax cuts and limited aid to the agriculture industry, twice vetoing farm relief bills.
The former governor of Massachusetts was also a man of few words. His wife said one time at a dinner party, a woman sitting next to Coolidge bet him she could get him to utter at least three words. Without looking at her, he said, “You lose.”
A year before the Great Depression took hold, Coolidge announced he would not be running for re-election. He died in 1933.
Nov. 6, 1928: Herbert Hoover vs. Alfred E. Smith
The race: Prohibition was a key issue dividing Republican presidential nominee Herbert Hoover and the Democrat, New York Gov. Alfred E. Smith. But his plan to legalize alcohol wasn’t enough to win Smith the White House.
“Counties that were supposed to be wet went dry with Hoover,” the Associated Press reported in The Grand Rapids Press on Nov. 7, 1928.
How we voted: In what was touted as a record vote of approximately 75,000 ballots, Kent County once again went solidly red, delivering 56,646 votes to Hoover.
“The Hoover vote was fairly representative of the returns on all offices on the Republican national, state and county ticket,” the Press reported.
How he left the White House: The humanitarian Hoover took office shortly before the economic bottom dropped out. As the Great Depression continued, Hoover pitched a program to Congress that would aid businesses, help farmers facing foreclosure, reform banking and loan states funding to feed the jobless and expand their infrastructure.
Nonetheless, Hoover, who had served as secretary of commerce under Harding and Coolidge, became the scapegoat for the Great Depression.
Nov. 8, 1932: President Herbert Hoover vs. Franklin D. Roosevelt
The race: In 1932, Hoover faced another New York governor in his race for the presidency: Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt. The results this time were starkly different: Roosevelt emerged the victor with a 4 million vote margin in “one of the greatest landslides in history and what appears to be the greatest electoral majority in history,” the Associated Press reported in The Grand Rapids Press. The blue wave also reached the U.S. House and Senate and “returned Democratic governors in state after state.”
How we voted: While the country went blue, Kent County narrowly stayed red in 1932. Roosevelt closed the gap, but Hoover held on with 42,269 votes to 41,371 votes. Hoover won by less than 900 votes in Grand Rapids.
Nov. 3, 1936: President Franklin D. Roosevelt vs. Alf Landon
The race: Roosevelt’s New Deal changed sentiments in the 1936 election, with the Democratic president winning every state except Maine and Vermont, according to the Associated Press. Roosevelt clinched an overwhelming majority of electoral votes, 523 to Kansas Gov. Alf Landon’s 8 votes.
How we voted: Michigan went solidly blue, with Roosevelt winning “even outside Wayne,” according to the Associated Press. The Grand Rapids Press reported Kent County voters opted for Roosevelt over Kansas Gov. Alf Landon, 43,824 votes to 35,505 votes.
Nov. 5, 1940: President Franklin D. Roosevelt vs. Wendell L. Willkie
The race: “The New Deal is in for another four years at the White House and at least two more on Capitol hill,” the Associated Press declared in 1940, as Roosevelt held onto the presidency in the race against Republican Wendell L. Willkie.
As of Nov. 6, 1940, Willkie led in nine states, but Roosevelt had clinched crucial battleground states, including Michigan. Democrats also held onto their majority in the U.S. House and Senate.
“Indications were that the total vote broke all records but the broken record that really made this election unique was the return of a president for a third term,” the AP reported.
How we voted: While Michigan went blue, Kent County flipped back to red, with Republicans winning every race except a state senate seat decided by six votes.
Nov. 7, 1944: President Franklin D. Roosevelt vs. Thomas E. Dewey
The race: Republican Gov. Thomas E. Dewey of New York tried to hold President Roosevelt to three terms, but the nation was deep into World War II and hesitant to change leadership. Dewey cut Roosevelt’s vote margin, but an ailing Roosevelt took 34 states and the lion’s share of electoral votes, 432 to 99.
The Democrats won the U.S. House and Senate as well.
Reports of Roosevelt’s victory shared the front page of The Grand Rapids Press with stories of air attacks on Japanese forces and a battle in Germany against Nazis.
How we voted: While canvassers were still investigating 50,000 “lost” votes in Wayne County, The Detroit News called the race for Roosevelt by 35,000 vote margin. However, Republicans won every other state race, early returns indicated. Kent County went to the Republican Dewey.
“The might of the reorganized Republican party was too great for the Democrats and the political action committee of the CIO,” The Grand Rapids Press reported
How he left the White House: Taking over in the midst of the Great Depression, Roosevelt told Americans in his inaugural address “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
In 1933, with 13 million Americans unemployed and nearly every bank was closed, Roosevelt rolled out the New Deal to dig the nation out of the Depression. The series of programs passed by Congress helped businesses, farms, the unemployed and created Social Security.
Roosevelt controversially took the nation off the gold standard, allowed budget deficits, enacted higher taxes on the wealthy and added bank and utility regulations. Nonetheless, he became the longest-serving U.S. president, seeing the country from the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor through World War II.
He died from a cerebral hemorrhage while still in office on April 12, 1945.
Nov. 2, 1948: President Harry S. Truman vs. Thomas E. Dewey
The race: Dewey tried a second time to unseat a Democratic president four years later. President Truman didn’t garner the support his longtime predecessor had from voters. Truman, who had served out the majority of late President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s fourth term, was called “‘do-nothing,’ history’s second worst, even ‘idiot,'” according to the Associated Press.
Nonetheless, Truman delivered an upset in 1948 some media groups weren’t prepared for. The Chicago Tribune had already called the race for Dewey and sent out its papers. (The Grand Rapids Press got it right.)
Democrats also retained their majority in the U.S. House and Senate.
How we voted: The Grand Rapids Press called Kent County for Dewey on Nov. 2, 1948, with the Republican earning 54,115 votes to Truman’s 44,333 with 140 of the 149 precincts reporting.
How he left the White House: Truman expanded on Roosevelt’s New Deal with a 21-point program dubbed the Fair Deal.
His foreign policy was a mix of war and peacemaking. Under Truman, the United States dropped atomic bombs on Japan, pushing the country to surrender and the country joined the Korean War in 1950.
However, Truman also witnessed the creation of the United Nations and negotiated for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. His administration fostered better foreign relations with the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan.
Truman didn’t run for re-election. He died in 1972 at age 88.
Nov. 4, 1952: Dwight D. Eisenhower vs. Adlai E. Stevenson
The race: America liked Ike and it showed. In The Grand Rapids Press, the Associated Press reported “Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower smashed all voting records” with well over 27 million votes and won by a landslide against Democratic Gov. Adlai E. Stevenson, who lost his own state of Illinois. Eisenhower took 39 states and 442 electoral votes.
How we voted: A day after the election, Michigan “seemed to be safely in the ranks of Dwight D. Eisenhower as his margin neared 275,000 and seemed to withstand all Democratic pressure in populous Wayne County,” The Grand Rapids Press reported.
Nov. 6, 1956: President Dwight D. Eisenhower vs. Adlai E. Stevenson
The race: Different year, same matchup and outcome. The president clinched his second term by a margin of nearly 9 million votes and counting, The Grand Rapids Press stated a day after the election.
How we voted: On Nov. 7, 1956, Michigan “seemed to be safely in the ranks of Dwight D. Eisenhower as his margin neared 275,000 and seemed to withstand all Democratic pressure in populous Wayne County,” The Grand Rapids Press reported.
In Kent County, Eisenhower held a 2-1 majority over Stevenson, taking 94,899 of the record 145,958 votes cast. The GOP also took all the Kent County races.
How he left the White House: Eisenhower worked to ease Cold War tensions with Russia, which had developed hydrogen bombs like the U.S.
At home, the moderate Republican president kept most New Deal and Fair Deal programs from his democratic predecessors, while pushing for a balanced budget. Eisenhower ordered the desegregation of the armed forces and sent troops to Little Rock, Arkansas to assure the court-ordered desegregation of schools was carried out.
Eisenhower suffered a heart attack in 1955, but recovered and won a second term. He died in 1969, eight years after leaving office.
Nov. 8, 1960: John F. Kennedy vs. Richard Nixon
The race: The race between the 43-year-old democratic senator from Massachusetts and Eisenhower’s vice president ended in a “suspense-laden photo finish.” Kennedy eked out a victory, capturing 272 electoral votes by Wednesday, which included Nixon’s home state of California.
How we voted: Michigan went for Kennedy, ending a 16-year Republican streak. While Democrats retained the governor’s office and kept Sen. Patrick McNamara in office, Kent County voters re-elected six Republicans to state offices.
How he left the White House: In his inaugural address, the nation’s youngest elected president famously said, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” Kennedy’s economic intiatives led the U.S. on its longest streak of growth since World War II.
The president also pushed for new civil rights legislation to create equal rights and created the Peace Corps – an international volunteer program he pitched during a campaign rally at the University of Michigan.
President Kennedy was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963 as his motorcade passed through Dallas, Texas. He was 46 years old.
Nov. 3, 1964: President Lyndon B. Johnson vs. Barry Goldwater
The race: When Kennedy was killed, Vice President Johnson carried out the late president’s vision of a new civil rights bill and a tax cut. The following year, Johnson made history in his run to keep the seat, earning 61% of the vote and building an unprecedented margin of 15 million popular votes against his Republican contender, Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona.
How we voted: Michigan followed the country in keeping Johnson in the White House, giving him a victory margin of 1 million votes — “the state’s greatest White House route since 1928,” the Associated Press concluded in the Nov. 4, 1964 edition of The Grand Rapids Press. Even the traditionally conservative Kent County backed the democratic incumbent by a 20,000 margin, the paper reported.
How he left the White House: President Johnson focused on building a “great society” through education funding, Medicare, urban renewal and conservation, fighting poverty, cime prevention and making voting more accessible, which Congress approved.
During his administration, American astronauts successfully orbited the moon.
However, Johnson faced challenges with the unrest and rioting in impoverished Black communities and the war in Vietnam.
Johnson eventually withdrew from re-election to devote himself to peace efforts. However, he died from a heart attack in 1973, before the war’s end.
Nov. 5, 1968: Richard M. Nixon vs. Hubert H. Humphrey
The race: Eight years after narrowly losing to late President John F. Kennedy, former Vice President Nixon again tried his luck against another former vice president: Democrat Hubert Humphrey.
How we voted: Humphrey captured Michigan’s 21 electoral votes thanks to a giant wave of support from the Detroit area, marking the second time Michigan voters turned down Nixon’s bid for the White House. However in Kent County, Nixon came out on top by a margin of more than 24,000 votes.
Nov. 7, 1972: President Richard M. Nixon vs. George McGovern
The race: Nixon rode a landslide victory to a second term. A day after the election, the Republican president held 61% of the vote to democratic Sen. George McGovern’s 31%, with 94% of precincts reporting, The Grand Rapids Press reported.
How we voted: Michigan also voted Nixon in for a second term by a margin of more than 400,000 votes, with 91% of precincts reporting. In Kent County, Nixon cruised to victory with more than 103,000 votes — nearly 30% more than the South Dakota senator.
How he left the White House: Under Nixon’s administration, the U.S. reached a peace accord with North Vietnam which ended America’s involvement in the region. Nixon also improved relations with the U.S.S.R. and China.
With the threat of impeachment looming because of the Watergate scandal, Nixon resigned as president on Aug. 9, 1974. He died April 22, 1994.
Nov. 2, 1976: President Gerald R. Ford vs. Jimmy Carter
The race: Nixon’s vice president, Grand Rapids native Gerald R. Ford, served out the remaining two years of Nixon’s term, pardoning the former president, focusing on curbing inflation, stimulating the economy to mitigate a recession, reigning in the budget deficit and reducing regulations and taxes on businesses.
When 1976 arrived, Ford was ready for more. His democratic contender, former Gov. Jimmy Carter of Georgia, spent two years building up momentum for his White House run. Ultimately, Carter came away with 297 electoral votes to Ford’s 241.
How we voted: Predictably, Kent County overwhelmingly went to Ford, at more than 2-to-1. However, Ford barely captured his homestate of Michigan, earning 52% of the vote.
How he left the White House: Carter tackled the energy shortage by leaving alone domestic petroleum prices, streamlined government operations with civil reforms and deregulated the airline and trucking industries, expanded the national parks system, created the Department of Education and appointed an unprecedented number of women and minorities to government jobs.
However, the 14-month Iran hostage crisis contributed to the end of his administration.
Nov. 4, 1980: President Jimmy Carter vs. Ronald Reagan
The race: It was a landslide victory for the Republican, with Reagan clinching more than 480 electoral votes. Republicans also regained control of the Senate for the first time in 26 years, the Associated Press reported a day after the election.
How we voted: Michigan also went red for Reagan, with the Republican taking roughly 56% of the state vote and 54.5% of the vote in Kent County.
Nov. 6, 1984: President Ronald Reagan vs. Walter F. Mondale
The race: Records were again broken as Reagan sought his second term against Carter’s former vice president, Democrat Walter F. Mondale. Reagan took 49 states, with Mondale stopping the shutout by hanging onto his home state of Minnesota, The Grand Rapids Press reported a day after the election. Reagan said the victory was “the end of nothing, it’s the beginning of everything.”
How we voted: Michigan and Kent County again strongly sided with Reagan. With 92% of precincts reporting the day after the election, Reagan had 59% of the state vote and a 2-1 lead over Mondale in Kent County.
How he left the White House: Reagan was 69 days into his first term when a would-be assassin shot him. The president recovered and continued his Reagan Revolution of simulating the economy, curbing inflation, adding jobs, cutting taxes and government spending. However, his push to strengthen the military also led to a large deficit.
By the time Reagan left office in 1988, the nation had enjoyed the longest period of prosperity without war or recession.
Nov. 8, 1988: George H.W. Bush vs. Michael Dukakis
The race: When 1988 rolled around, it was Vice President George H.W. Bush’s turn to take over the White House. Reagan’s running mate celebrated an unquestionable victory, edging out his democratic contender by nearly 7 million votes, the Associated Press reported the day after the election.
How we voted: Kent and Ottawa counties solidly went for Bush, with the Republican capturing 64% and 76% of the county votes, respectively. His margin was slimmer statewide, with Bush earning 53% of the vote.
How he left the White House: Bush pushed the United Nations and Congress to intervene when Iraqi President Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait and threatened the same to Saudi Arabia. The U.S.’ 425,000 troops joined UN forces for operation Desert Storm, routing Hussein’s efforts.
Despite the win, Bush faced negative sentiments for the slowing economy, rising inner city violence and a growing spending deficit.
Bush died in 2018. He was 94 years old.
Nov. 3, 1992: President George H.W. Bush vs. Bill Clinton
The race: The promise of a new plan to bolster the economy help pushed the needle in favor of Gov. Bill Clinton of Arkansas over President George H. W. Bush.
How we voted: Clinton became the first Democrat to carry Michigan since 1968, but he didn’t win over the majority of voters in Kent and Ottawa counties. Bush carried both counties with 49.7% and 58.6% of the vote, repectively. Reform Party candidate Ross Perot carved out a 17.4% of the vote in both counties.
Nov. 5, 1996: President Bill Clinton vs. Bob Dole
The race: Clinton won 379 electoral votes to the Republican Kansas senator’s 159 and held onto the popular vote by an 8% margin. Clinton became the first democratic president to be re-elected since Franklin D. Roosevelt.
It wasn’t a total loss for the GOP, which held onto control of both the U.S. House and Senate.
How he left the White House: Under President Clinton, the nation enjoyed its lowest unemployment rate in years, the lowest inflation in decades and reduced rates of crime and welfare need.
Clinton proposed the first balanced budget in decades and helped foster a budget surplus.
In 1998, Clinton was impeached in connection to his inappropriate relationship with a former White House aide, but found not guilty of the charges.
Nov. 7, 2000: George W. Bush vs. Al Gore
The race: Eight years after leaving office, President George H.W. Bush got to watch his own son run for the White House. Republican George W. Bush took on Clinton’s vice president, Al Gore in an election that came down to less than 200,000 votes, the state of Florida, the supreme court and hanging chads. After a painstaking recount, Bush was declared the victor, capturing 271 votes.
How we voted: While Michigan overall opted for Gore, Kent and Ottawa counties opted for Bush.
Nov. 2, 2004: President George W. Bush vs. John Kerry
The race: Bush was re-elected with 51 percent to 48 percent.
How we voted: While Bush won the presidency, Kerry took Michigan. A day after the election, The Grand Rapids Press reported “economic stress prompted many votes for Kerry” in Michigan.
How he left the White House: The Bush administration focused on “compassionate conservativism,” which included elevating education, tax relief and encouraging volunteerism. After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, President Bush ordered an invasion of Iraq, which he successfully argued made the world more secure against terrorism.
Nov. 4, 2008: Barack Obama vs. John McCain
The race: The Iraq War and Bush’s unpopularity posed challenges to Vice President John McCain’s run. Ultimately, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama clinched the presidency with 365 electoral votes to the Arizona senator’s 173 electoral votes. President Obama made history as the nation’s first Black president.
How we voted: In a rare move, Kent County went blue for Obama, who won Michigan.
Nov. 6, 2012: President Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney
The race: The Great Recession plagued President Obama’s first term, leading to skyrocketing foreclosures, bank failures and government bailouts for the auto industry. Despite the economic struggles, the democratic president held onto the White House in the race against former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
How we voted: Michigan still tipped to Obama, but this time without Kent County and Ottawa County, which returned to red territory for Romney.
How he left the White House: Faced with the Great Recession, Obama enacted the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to help those hit hardest during the economic crisis, enacted bank reforms to prevent a future meltdown on Wall Street, joined the Paris Climate Accord and brokered a nuclear stepdown agreement with Iran. However, his legacy lies with the Affordable Care Act, which created a government marketplace and mandated health care coverage for all Americans.
Nov. 8, 2016: Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton
The race: Republican Donald Trump shocked many and upset poll predictions that favored democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York. His unconventional speeches stirred enough support to flip six states.
How we voted: Michigan was among those states that went red for Trump, who found a stronghold in Kent and Ottawa counties. In Jamestown Township alone, Trump took 85% of the vote.