1918 Arizona gubernatorial election

The 1918 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1918, for the post of the Governor of Arizona. Thomas Campbell, who served a partial term in 1917 and had his election overturned by the Supreme Court of Arizona, returned to contest the Governors office. Incumbent Governor Hunt declined to run again after the stress of the close elections and the year-long court battle. Despite falling to its lowest percentage in years, the sole third party challenger held the difference between the two candidates. The Democratic challenger was state senator Fred T. Colter, a pro-Hunt Democrat.[1]

1918 Arizona gubernatorial election

← 1916 November 4, 1918 1920 →
 
Nominee Thomas E. Campbell Fred T. Colter
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 25,927 25,588
Percentage 49.9% 49.3%

County results
Campbell:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
Colter:      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election

George W. P. Hunt
Democratic

Elected Governor

Thomas E. Campbell
Republican

Thomas Campbell was sworn in for his first full term on January 6, 1919.

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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  • Fred Tuttle Colter, State Senator, member of the 1910 Arizona Constitutional Convention.
  • Fred Sutter, State Senator. Only primary candidate that earned the hostility of Governor George Hunt.[2]
  • Sidney Preston Osborn, incumbent Secretary of State, future Governor.

Race

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In early 1918, Sutter, who was one of two sitting State Senators from Cochise County, was approached by leaders of the Democratic party to consider running in the Democratic primary for the governorship.[3] In February, the other sitting senator from Cochise, C. M. Roberts, announced his intention to run for the Democratic nod for Governor.[4] Sid Osborne also announced his attention to seek the Democratic nomination in February, as did Fred Colter, the state senator from Apache County.[5] Benjamin Baker Moeur announced his intention to run for the Democratic nomination in mid-February.[6] On July 20, 1918, the last day to do so, Colter officially entered the gubernatorial race when he filed his petition with the Arizona Secretary of State.[7] On the final day, Lamar Cobb added his name to the list of Democratic primary candidates, bringing the total to five.[8] In mid-August, in an effort to consolidate the conservative arm of the Democratic party in an attempt to thwart Colter's candidacy, Moeur withdrew from the race, asking his supporters to throw their support behind Osborn.[9] Shortly thereafter, also in August, Cobb also withdrew from the race.[10]

This left only three candidates to run in the Democratic primary: Osborn, Sutter and Colter. On September 10, early returns showed Sutter with a slight lead over Colter. With only 29 of 82 statewide precincts counted, Sutter had 772 votes to Colter's 755, with Osborn a distant third with 71.[11] However. by the time 79 precincts had tallied their votes, Colter had pulled into a commanding lead, with the three final precincts to be counted being small.[12] Colter won the Democratic primary in September 1918, garnering 44% of the total votes, 14,539 to Sutter's 10,108 and Osborn's 8,390.[13] In doing so, he won 12 of Arizona's then 14 counties.[14] It was felt that Osborn and Sutter split the anti-Hunt vote, which allowed Colter to win the nomination.[15]

Results

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Democratic primary results [16]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Fred T. Colter 14,539 44.01%
Democratic Fred Sutter 10,108 30.60%
Democratic Sidney P. Osborn 8,390 25.40%
Total votes 33,037 100.00%

General election

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Results

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Arizona gubernatorial election, 1918 [17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Thomas E. Campbell 25,927 49.90% +1.96%
Democratic Fred T. Colter 25,588 49.25% +1.24%
Socialist George D. Smith 444 0.85% −2.53%
Majority 339 0.65%
Total votes 51,959 100.00%
Republican gain from Democratic Swing +0.72%

Results by county

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County Thomas E. Campbell
Republican
Fred T. Colter
Democratic
George D. Smith
Socialist
Margin Total votes cast[17]
# % # % # % # %
Apache 409 43.65% 528 56.35% 0 0.00% -119 -12.70% 937
Cochise 4,110 45.34% 4,898 54.03% 57 0.63% -788 -8.69% 9,065
Coconino 935 51.29% 867 47.56% 21 1.15% 68 3.73% 1,823
Gila 2,117 42.20% 2,876 57.33% 24 0.48% -759 -15.13% 5,017
Graham 822 39.42% 1,252 60.05% 11 0.53% -430 -20.62% 2,085
Greenlee 786 40.10% 1,159 59.13% 15 0.77% -373 -19.03% 1,960
Maricopa 7,779 60.33% 4,977 38.60% 138 1.07% 2,802 21.73% 12,894
Mohave 527 36.22% 899 61.79% 29 1.99% -372 -25.57% 1,455
Navajo 780 48.66% 812 50.66% 11 0.69% -32 -2.00% 1,603
Pima 2,465 56.95% 1,842 42.56% 21 0.49% 623 14.39% 4,328
Pinal 1,169 51.79% 1,079 47.81% 9 0.40% 90 3.99% 2,257
Santa Cruz 609 46.95% 683 52.66% 5 0.39% -74 -5.71% 1,297
Yavapai 2,615 49.67% 2,590 49.19% 60 1.14% 25 0.47% 5,265
Yuma 804 40.75% 1,126 57.07% 43 2.18% -322 -16.32% 1,973
Totals 25,927 49.90% 25,588 49.25% 444 0.85% 339 0.65% 51,959

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

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References

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  1. ^ Goff 1973, p. 121.
  2. ^ Goff 1973, p. 122.
  3. ^ "Printer's Ink Puts Pressure on Fred Sutter". The Arizona Republican. February 1, 1918. p. 4. Retrieved February 4, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  4. ^ "Senator Roberts Out For Governor". Tombstone Weekly Epitaph. February 3, 1918. p. 8. Retrieved February 4, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  5. ^ "Campbell To Run If Hunt Dictates the Nomination in the Democratic Primary". Weekly Journal-Miner. February 6, 1918. p. 3. Retrieved February 4, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  6. ^ "A Swimming Match". The Arizona Republic. February 17, 1918. p. 4. Retrieved February 4, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  7. ^ "More Nominations Filed At Capitol". The Arizona Republican. July 20, 1918. p. 10. Retrieved January 27, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  8. ^ "Twenty-Two Filed For Race For State Primary". The Arizona Republican. July 21, 1918. p. 10. Retrieved January 27, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  9. ^ "One Arizona Candidate Is Out of Race; Two More Might Follow". El Paso Herald (El Paso, Herald). August 16, 1918. p. 6. Retrieved January 27, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  10. ^ "Lamar Cobb Withdraws From Arizona Race, Report". El Paso Herald (El Paso, Texas). August 23, 1918. p. 8. Retrieved January 27, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  11. ^ "Early State Returns". Bisbee Daily Review (Bisbee, Arizona). September 11, 1918. p. 1. Retrieved January 27, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  12. ^ "Governor's Race in Arizona Won By Fred Colter". Albuquerque Journal. September 12, 1918. p. 1. Retrieved January 27, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  13. ^ Goff 1973, p. 121–122.
  14. ^ "Can Senator Fred Colter Serve People of Arizona As Governor If He is Elected in November?". Albuquerque Journal. September 23, 1918. p. 4. Retrieved January 27, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  15. ^ "Arizona's Crazy Politics". The Coconino Sun. September 27, 1918. p. 4. Retrieved January 27, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  16. ^ "Primary Election Returns, State of Arizona, Sept. 10, 1918". Arizona Secretary of State. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
  17. ^ a b "Official Election Returns, State of Arizona, November 8, 1918". Arizona Secretary of State. Retrieved July 11, 2024.

Bibliography

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  • Goff, John S. (1973). "Creation of the State of Arizona". George W. P. Hunt and his Arizona. Phoenix: Socio-Technical Publications. pp. 121–122.
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