# 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

* 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
* James A. Reed, senator from Missouri
* Atlee Pomerene former senator from Ohio
* Cordell Hull, Congressman from Tennessee
* 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)