1920 Texas gubernatorial election
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The 1920 Texas gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1920 in order to elect the Governor of Texas. Former Democratic state representative Pat Morris Neff won comfortably in a four-way race against Republican nominee J. G. Culbertson, American Party of Texas nominee T. H. McGregor, and Black and Tan Republican nominee Hickerson Capers.[2]
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November 2, 1920
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| Turnout | 68.3%[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 County results Neff: 30â40% 40â50% 50â60% 60â70% 70â80% 80â90% 90â100% Culberson: 30â40% 40â50% 50â60% McGregor: 30â40% 40â50% 50â60% 60â70% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Democratic primary
Candidates
- Joseph W. Bailey, former U.S. Senator
- Benjmain F. Looney
- Pat Morris Neff, McLennan County prosectuor and former Speaker of the Texas House
- R. Ewing Thomason
Results
In the primary, held on July 24, 1920, former Senator Joseph W. Bailey won the most votes, with Neff in second place; with neither candidate achieving 50%, a runoff was required.[3]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joseph W. Bailey | 152,340 | 33.87 | |
| Democratic | Patrick Morris Neff | 149,818 | 33.31 | |
| Democratic | R. Ewing Thomason | 99,002 | 22.01 | |
| Democratic | Benjamin F. Looney | 48,640 | 10.81 | |
| Total votes | 449,800 | 100.00 | ||
Runoff results
In the runoff, Neff won by just under 18 percentage points against Bailey, or 79,373 raw votes, making him the Democratic nominee and the presumptive governor; Texas â in this era â was a Democratic-dominated southern state in which the primary was almost always the deciding race in the election.[4]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Patrick Morris Neff | 264,075 | 58.84 | |
| Democratic | Joseph W. Bailey | 184,702 | 41.16 | |
| Total votes | 448,777 | 100.00 | ||
General election
Neff faced numerous opponents in the general election, including T.H. McGregor of the American Party, a party established by formerly impeached and convicted Texas governor "James "Pa" Ferguson for the purposes of running for president in the concurrent presidential election.[5] Neff received 60.0% of the vote, a lower share than usual for most Democrats in Texas at the time, but this was due large, multi-candidate field rather than the more typical 1-on-1 between a Democrat and a Republican.[6]
Candidates
- Pat Morris Neff (Democratic), former County Attorney for McLennan County.[7]
- John G. Culbertston (Republican), businessman and president of the Witchita Falls Motor Company.[8][9]
- Temple H. McGregor (American), former member of the Texas Senate[10][11]
- Lee Lightfoot Rhodes (Socialist), former member of the Texas House of Representatives.[12]
- Hickson C. Capers (Black and Tan Republican), printer.[13][14]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Pat Morris Neff (incumbent) | 289,188 | 60.03 | |
| Republican | J. G. Culbertson | 90,217 | 18.73 | |
| American | T. H. McGregor | 69,380 | 14.40 | |
| Black and Tan Republican | Hickson Capers | 26,091 | 5.42 | |
| Socialist | Lee Lightfoot Rhodes | 6,796 | 1.41 | |
| Write-in | 59 | 0.01 | ||
| Total votes | 481,731 | 100.00 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||