Republican former Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover defeated Democratic nominee New York Governor Al Smith . Hoover won a landslide victory , taking several Southern states and winning almost every state outside the South . Democrats suffered from voter prejudice against Roman Catholics like Smith . As incumbent President Calvin Coolidge declined to seek re-election , Hoover won the Republican nomination on the first ballot . Like Hoover , Smith also won his party 's nomination on the first ballot
Republican nomination
1928 Republican National Convention
1928 United States elections