1930 Tennessee gubernatorial election

The 1930 Tennessee gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1930. Incumbent Democratic governor Henry Hollis Horton defeated Republican nominee C. Arthur Bruce with 63.8% of the vote.

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1930 Tennessee gubernatorial election

← 1928 November 4, 1930 1932 â†’

Nominee Henry Hollis Horton C. Arthur Bruce Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 153,341 85,558 Percentage 63.84% 35.62%

County results Horton:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Bruce:      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election Henry Hollis Horton Democratic Elected Governor Henry Hollis Horton Democratic

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During Horton's second term, he and Luke Lea, the publisher of the Nashville Tennessean, began using state patronage to distribute jobs in Memphis in an attempt to weaken E. H. Crump's influence there.^[1] Crump, who was running for Congress and wanted to focus on his own campaign, agreed to support Horton in the 1930 governor's race if he and Lea would stop providing patronage to his foes. With Crump out of the way, Horton defeated his chief opponent, Lambert Estes Gwinn, in the Democratic primary. He went on to win the general election.^[2]