The United States presidential election of 1928 was the 36th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 6, 1928. Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover was nominated as the Republican candidate, as incumbent President Calvin Coolidge chose not to run for a second full term. New York Governor Al Smith was the Democratic nominee. Hoover and Smith had been widely known as potential presidential candidates long before the campaign of 1928, and both were generally regarded as outstanding leaders. As each candidate was a newcomer to the presidential race, each presented in his person and record an appeal of unknown potency to the electorate. Each candidate also faced serious discontent within his party membership, and neither had the wholehearted support of his party organization