Herbert Hoover and Republicans carry Washington state in the general election on November 6, 1928.

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On November 6, 1928, Herbert Hoover (1874-1964) wins election as United States president and Roland Hartley (1864-1952) wins re-election as Washington state governor. Democratic U.S. Senator Clarence C. Dill (1884-1978) is retained in office.

The presidential election was between Hoover, President Calvin Coolidge's (1872-1933) Secretary of Commerce and the Democrat, New York Governor Alfred E. Smith (1873-1944). Smith was a "wet," opposed to Prohibition, but he also represented a big-city political machine and he was Roman Catholic. Hoover easily carried Washington except for remote Ferry County.

As a reflection of the strength of the Republican Party in Washington, Senator Dill and his fellow Democrat together polled 13,000 fewer votes in the primary than did the third-place Republican. But Dill won in the general election over Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Mackintosh (b. 1875). Mackintosh carried King County, but could not win Pierce or Spokane Counties. Of the five seats in the House of Representatives, four went to Republicans.

Governor Hartley easily won re-election over Democrat A. Scott Bullitt (1877-1932), who carried only five counties.

Sources:
Edgar I. Stewart, Washington: Northwest Frontier (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Co., 1957), 278-279.

By David Wilma, October 06, 2003

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