1928 Democratic National Convention

The 1928 Democratic National Convention was held at Sam Houston Hall in Houston, Texas, June 26–28, 1928. The keynote speaker was Claude G. Bowers. The convention^[1] resulted in the nomination of Governor Alfred E. Smith of New York for president and Senator Joseph T. Robinson of Arkansas for vice president.

1928 Democratic National Convention

1928 presidential election
Nominees Smith and Robinson
Convention
Date(s)	June 26–28, 1928
City	Houston, Texas
Venue	Sam Houston Hall
Candidates
Presidential nominee	Alfred E. Smith of New York
Vice-presidential nominee	Joseph T. Robinson of Arkansas
‹ 1924 · 1932 ›

Photograph of the convention

The convention was the first held by either party in the South since the Civil War. It was also the first to nominate a Roman Catholic for president, Al Smith. The Texas delegation, led by Governor Dan Moody, was vehemently opposed to Smith. Therefore, when Smith was nominated, they rallied against his anti-prohibition sentiment by fighting for a "dry", prohibitionist platform. Ultimately, the convention pledged "honest enforcement of the Constitution".

Smith became the first Democrat since Reconstruction to lose more than one southern state in the general election, due to his "wet" stance, his opposition to the Ku Klux Klan^{[citation needed]}, and his Catholicism.

The election was held in very hot summer weather in a venue without air conditioning.^[2]

Presidential nomination

Presidential candidates

• 
  Governor
  Al Smith
  of New York
• 
  Representative
  Cordell Hull
  of Tennessee
  
• 
  Senator
  Walter F. George
  of Georgia
• 
  Senator
  James A. Reed
  of Missouri
• 
  Former Senator
  Atlee Pomerene
  of Ohio
• 
  Entrepreneur
  Jesse H. Jones
  of Texas
• 
  Former Coach
  Evans Woollen
  of Indiana
• 
  Representative
  William A. Ayres
  of Kansas
• 
  Former Senator
  Gilbert Hitchcock
  of Nebraska

Other candidates for the nomination possibly included:

• James T. Heflin, U.S. senator from Alabama
• William G. McAdoo, former Treasury Secretary from California
• Henry T. Rainey, U.S. representative from Illinois
• Thomas J. Walsh, U.S. senator from Montana

Presidential Balloting
Candidate	1st (Before Shifts)	1st (After Shifts)
Smith	724.67	849.67
Hull	71.83	50.83
George	52.50	52.50
Reed	48	52
Pomerene	47	3
Jones	43	43
Woollen	32	7
Harrison	20	8.50
Ayres	20	3
Watts	18	18
Hitchcock	16	2
Donahey	5	5
Thompson	2	2
Bilbo	0	1
Not Voting	0	2.50

Presidential Balloting / 3rd Day of Convention (June 28, 1928)

• 
  1st Presidential Ballot (Before Shifts)
• 
  1st Presidential Ballot (After Shifts)

Vice presidential nomination

Vice presidential candidates

• 
  Senate Minority Leader
  Joseph T. Robinson
  of Arkansas
• 
  Senator
  Alben W. Barkley
  of Kentucky
  
• 
  Former Governor
  Nellie Tayloe Ross
  of Wyoming
• 
  Major General
  Henry T. Allen
  of Kentucky
• 
  Senator
  Duncan U. Fletcher
  of Florida

Joseph T. Robinson was chosen as the vice presidential nominee.

Other candidates for the nomination possibly included:

• Gilbert Hitchcock, former senator from Nebraska^[3]
• James A. Reed, senator from Missouri^[3]
• Atlee Pomerene former senator from Ohio^[3]
• Cordell Hull, Congressman from Tennessee^[3]
• John H. Taylor

Vice Presidential Balloting
Candidate	1st (Before Shifts)	1st (After Shifts)
Robinson	914.17	1,035.17
Barkley	77	9
Ross	33	2
Allen	28	21
Berry	17.50	11.50
Moody	9.33	9.33
Fletcher	7	7
Taylor	6	0
Stevenson	4	2
Woollen	2	2
Tumulty	1	0
Not Voting	1	1

Vice Presidential Balloting / 3rd Day of Convention (June 28, 1928)

• 
  1st Vice Presidential Ballot (Before Shifts)
• 
  1st Vice Presidential Ballot (After Shifts)

See also

• Democratic Party presidential primaries, 1928
• List of Democratic National Conventions
• U.S. presidential nomination convention
• 1928 United States presidential election
• 1928 Republican National Convention
• History of the United States Democratic Party