Arizona gubernatorial election, 1916

Arizona gubernatorial election, 1916

November 7, 1916

Nominee George W. P. Hunt Thomas E. Campbell Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 28,094 28,051 Percentage 48.01% 47.94%

Governor before election George W. P. Hunt Democratic Elected Governor Thomas E. Campbell (until recount) Republican

The 1916 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 1916 for the post of the Governor of Arizona. Due to battles between labor and business,^[1] the Hunt administration was facing severe electoral backlash. After facing a fairly strong primary by former Council member George Olney, Hunt prevailed and went on to face the closest election in Arizona gubernatorial history. The initial results of the 1916 election were extremely close, only 30 votes separating the two major candidates.

Victory hinged on whether to count certain votes, Arizona then had a ballot where they could check a party column ballot signifying they voted for all of a party. Some voters did that for the Democratic Party column, but then also checked for Republican challenger Thomas Campbell, ^[2] leading to a court battle over the interpretation of whether those votes were valid or not.

Thomas E. Campbell was sworn in as Governor on January 1, 1917, but Hunt refused to leave office until the 27th,^[3] leaving Campbell as de facto Governor. Hunt took office again on Christmas of 1917, after the court ruled unanimously in his favor. Campbell served nearly an entire year as Governor. This would be the last election in which Hunt would run until 1922.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• George W. P. Hunt, incumbent Governor
• George A. Olney, former Arizona Territorial Council member

Results

Democratic primary results [4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	George W. P. Hunt	18,122	59.65%
	Democratic	George A. Olney	12,261	40.35%
Total votes			30,383	100.00

General election

Results

Arizona gubernatorial election, 1916 (original returns)[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Thomas E. Campbell	27,976	47.99%
	Democratic	George W. P. Hunt	27,946	47.94%
	Socialist	Peter T. Robinson	1,975	3.39%
	Prohibition	Robert E. Dunlap	396	0.68%
Majority			30	0.05%
Turnout			58,293
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

Arizona gubernatorial election, 1916 (Court recount, 1917) [6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	George W. P. Hunt	28,094	48.01%
	Republican	Thomas E. Campbell	28,051	47.94%
	Socialist	Peter T. Robinson	1,975	3.38%
	Prohibition	Robert E. Dunlap	396	0.68%
Majority			43	0.07%
Turnout			58,516
	Democratic gain from Republican		Swing

References

1. Goff 1973, p. 89.
2. Goff 1973, p. 109.
3. Goff 1973, p. 97.
4. Goff 1973, p. 96.
5. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=123351
6. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=123352

Bibliography

• Goff, John S. (1973). "Troubles of a Governor and Federal Labor Conciliator". George W. P. Hunt and his Arizona. Phoenix: Socio-Technical Publications. p. 96.

External links

• Pre-recount vote totals
• Post-recount vote totals