National Nominating Conventions

Report Outline
Choice of Candidates by Conventions

The Republican convention of 1928, called to meet at Kansas City, June 12, will be the ninteenth national convention held by the Republican party for the nomination of candidates for the presidency and the vice-presidency since its organization in 1854. The Democratic convention, scheduled to convene at Houston, June 26 - two weeks after the date set for the meeting of the Republican convention - will be the twenty-fifth national convention in the history of the Democratic party. In only three presidential years since the Republican party came into being - 1856, 1860 and 1888 -has the Democratic convention been held in advance of the Republican national convention.

On July 10, 1928 - two weeks after the meeting of the Democratic convention - the Prohibition party will meet in national convention at Chicago. The Prohibition party has placed a national ticket in the field in every presidential year since 1872, but its candidates have never polled as much as two per cent of the total popular vote. The peak of its strength was reached in 1904 when it polled 259,257 votes, or 1.9 per cent” of the total number cast in that year's election.

The national convention of the Socialist party, the only other persisting minor party of importance, was held at New York, April 16, 1928, nominating Norman Thomas of New York and James H. Maurer of Pennsylvania for President and Vice-President respectively. Since the organization of the present Socialist party in 1897, it has placed a national ticket in the field in every presidential year except 1924, when its convention endorsed the La-Follette-Wheeler progressive ticket. The Socialist party reached the peak of its strength sixteen years ago when it polled 5.9 per cent of the popular vote in the presidential election of 1912.