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 resulted in the nomination of Governor Alfred E. Smith of New York for president and Senator Joseph T. Robinson of Arkansas for vice president.
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, and his Catholicism.
The election was held in very hot summer weather in a venue without air conditioning.

Presidential nomination

Presidential candidates

Other candidates for the nomination possibly included:
'''Presidential Balloting / 3rd Day of Convention '''

Vice presidential nomination

Vice presidential candidates

Joseph T. Robinson was chosen as the vice presidential nominee.
Other candidates for the nomination possibly included:
'''Vice Presidential Balloting / 3rd Day of Convention '''