1916 Arizona gubernatorial election

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, with Campbell winning by only 30 votes.

1916 Arizona gubernatorial election

← 1914 November 7, 1916 1918 →
 
Nominee George W. P. Hunt Thomas E. Campbell
Party Democratic Republican
Original count 27,946
47.94%
27,976
47.99%
Court recount 28,094
48.01%
28,051
47.94%

Original count results by county
Campbell:      40–50%      50–60%
Hunt:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election

George W. P. Hunt
Democratic

Elected Governor

Thomas E. Campbell (until recount)
Republican

Victory hinged on whether to count certain votes. Arizona then had a ballot where voters 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. All ballots that were marked as straight Democrat and Hunt, were originally counted for Campbell giving him the 30 vote majority.

Thomas E. Campbell was sworn in as governor on January 1, 1917, but Hunt refused to leave office. The state Supreme Court ruled that Campbell should serve as the de facto governor until the legal issues were resolved and so Hunt stepped down on the 27th.[3] After losing a case in the Maricopa County Superior Court in May, Hunt appealed to the state Supreme Court. On December 22, the state Supreme Court declared that Hunt had won by 43 votes. 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

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Candidates

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

Results

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

General election

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Results

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Arizona gubernatorial election, 1916 (original returns)[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Thomas E. Campbell 27,976 47.99% +13.48%
Democratic George W. P. Hunt (incumbent) 27,946 47.94% −1.52%
Socialist Peter T. Robinson 1,975 3.39% −2.44%
Prohibition Robert E. Dunlap 396 0.68% +0.68%
Majority 30 0.05%
Total votes 58,293 100.00%
Republican gain from Democratic Swing +15.00%
Arizona gubernatorial election, 1916 (Court recount, 1917) [6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic George W. P. Hunt (incumbent) 28,094 48.01% −1.45%
Republican Thomas E. Campbell 28,051 47.94% +13.43%
Socialist Peter T. Robinson 1,975 3.38% −2.45%
Prohibition Robert E. Dunlap 396 0.68% +0.68%
Majority 43 0.07%
Turnout 58,516 100.00%
Democratic gain from Republican Swing -14.87%

Results by county

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County[a] George W. P. Hunt
Democratic
Thomas E. Campbell
Republican
Peter T. Robinson
Socialist
Robert E. Dunlap
Prohibition
Margin Total votes cast[7]
# % # % # % # % # %
Apache 566 54.06% 471 44.99% 10 0.96% 0 0.00% 95 9.07% 1,047
Cochise 5,274 52.22% 4,433 43.90% 392 3.88% 0 0.00% 841 8.33% 10,099
Coconino 1,041 47.32% 1,105 50.23% 54 2.45% 0 0.00% -64 -2.91% 2,200
Gila 3,681 62.70% 1,923 32.75% 267 4.55% 0 0.00% 1,758 29.94% 5,871
Graham 1,013 43.70% 1,212 52.29% 93 4.01% 0 0.00% -199 -8.58% 2,318
Greenlee 1,371 57.70% 968 40.74% 34 1.43% 3 0.13% 403 16.96% 2,376
Maricopa 5,087 35.18% 8,549 59.12% 482 3.33% 342 2.37% -3,462 -23.94% 14,460
Mohave 1,379 61.21% 711 31.56% 163 7.23% 0 0.00% 668 29.65% 2,253
Navajo 870 46.65% 952 51.05% 20 1.07% 23 1.23% -82 -4.40% 1,865
Pima 2,233 45.79% 2,561 52.51% 83 1.70% 0 0.00% -328 -6.73% 4,877
Pinal 1,059 47.53% 1,111 49.87% 39 1.75% 19 0.85% -52 -2.33% 2,228
Santa Cruz 715 49.31% 704 48.55% 24 1.66% 7 0.48% 11 0.76% 1,450
Yavapai 2,385 47.85% 2,435 48.86% 162 3.25% 2 0.04% -50 -1.00% 4,984
Yuma 1,272 56.16% 841 37.13% 152 6.71% 0 0.00% 431 19.03% 2,265
Totals 27,946 47.94% 27,976 47.99% 1,975 3.39% 396 0.68% -30 -0.05% 58,293

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

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Notes

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  1. ^ The county results are based on the original canvass

References

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  1. ^ Goff 1973, p. 89.
  2. ^ Goff 1973, p. 109.
  3. ^ Goff 1973, p. 97.
  4. ^ Goff 1973, p. 96.
  5. ^ "Our Campaigns - AZ Governor Race - Nov 07, 1916".
  6. ^ "Our Campaigns - AZ Governor - Recount Race - Nov 07, 1916".
  7. ^ Arizona Secretary of State. Report of the Secretary of State of the State Of Arizona January 2, 1917. Phoenix, Arizona: Board of Control. p. 28-29.

Bibliography

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  • 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.