Although the elephant had been connected with the Republican Party in cartoons that appeared in 1860 and 1872, it was Thomas Nast's cartoon in 1874 published by Harper's Weekly that made the pachyderm stick as the Republican's symbol.
A cartoon titled "The Third Term Panic" showed animals representing various issues running away from a donkey wearing a lion's skin tagged "Caesarism." The elephant, labeled "The Republican Vote," was about to run into a pit containing inflation, chaos, repudiation, etc.
Some cartoon elephants, who may or may not have voted Republican:
Dumbo
Seen but not heard in the 1941 Disney feature film of that name. Circus elephant Mrs. Jumbo's little baby has huge ears, earning him the derision of the circus population and the nickname "Dumbo." Befriended by Timothy the circus mouse, the dejected little elephant tries to find his niche with circus clowns -- an attempt which ends in disaster. Finally, Dumbo soars to acceptance when he discovers that his ears are aerodynamic -- Dumbo is a flying elephant!
Goliath
Hero of the Oscar-nominated 1961 Disney short Goliath II, he's a miniature elephant who is ostracized from the herd because of his size. But his size comes in handy when he has to rescue the herd from an invader: a mouse! Based on the book Dumbo, the Flying Elephant, by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl.
Bobo the Elephant
Protagonist of the 1947 Merrie Melody Hobo Bobo and 1954 Looney Tune Gone Batty. In Hobo Bobo, a little elephant from India paints himself pink so that he can emigrate to the United States. The baby elephant has trouble adjusting to his new habitat. In Gone Batty, he returns to play baseball.
Bobo
A different elephant, he was given by the Maharajah of Gahboon to Mickey as a playmate for Pluto. He appeared in the 1936 Mickey Mouse short Mickey's Elephant -- the first cartoon animated by Frank Thomas.
Sidney the Elephant
Hero of a 1958-1961 series from TerryToons, Sidney's a goofy elephant who is always trying to fit in, but never quite does. Voiced by Lionel Wilson and Dayton Allen. His second short, Sidney's Family Tree (1958), marked the first Academy Award nomination for TerryToons.
Undercover Elephant
A 1977 segment on Hanna-Barbera's C.B. Bears show, this was about an elephant who worked for a detective agency and tried to use disguises which never seemed to work all that well. Daws Butler voiced Undercover Elephant.
Fanta the Elephant
The star of a series of five road safety cartoons made for TV in 1960, but not released until 1965. Made by BP Films in Britain, they promoted Shell Oil.
Elmer the Elephant
Hero of a 1936 Silly Symphony from Walt Disney Studios. Elmer brings flowers to Tillie Tiger's sixth birthday party. She leaves for a moment, and all the other animals mock Elmer's trunk. He leaves, and he encounters a wise old giraffe. Meanwhile, Tillie's treehouse catches fire, and the monkeys fighting it aren't very effective. Elmer, the giraffe and a few pelicans unite to put out of the fire and rescue Tillie. Elmer's big trunk comes in handy. After the Three Little Pigs, Elmer was the first Silly Symphony star to get his own merchandise.
Babar
The hero of Jean and Laurent de Brunhoff's books. The jungle monarch was first seen in animation in the Lee Mendelson-Bill Melendez Productions 1968 special The Story Of Babar, The Little Elephant, which was an Emmy nominee for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music. Canadian studio Nelvana Limited bought the rights for an HBO TV series and theatrical film. In the Nelvana series, Babar was voiced by famed actor Gordon Pinsent (as an adult) and Gavin Magrath (as a youngster).
Hamilton
Appeared in two Halas and Batchelor shorts, Hamilton The Musical Elephant(1961) and Hamilton In The Music Festival(1962). In both, Hamilton has a trumpet for a trunk. Soundtrack in both by jazz trumpeter John Dankworth (husband of singer Cleo Laine).
Lotsa Heart Elephant
A supporting cast member in Nelvana/DiC's 1980s The Care Bears series. Lotsa Heart was voiced by Canadian comedienne Luba Goy, famed for her impersonations in the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio comedy series The Royal Canadian Air Farce.
Teeny the Elephant
Teeny had the non-speaking lead role in the one-shot 1953 Looney Tune Punch Trunk. A five-inch-high elephant arrives at Pier 38 in New York City in a boatload of bananas. The city is paralyzed by what its residents take to be a mass hallucination.
"What's the matter with his ears? I don't see nothin' wrong with 'em. I think they're cute." -- Edward Brophy (as Timothy Q. Mouse), Dumbo (1941)