1910 Oregon gubernatorial election
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November 8, 1910
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 County results West: 40–50% 50–60% Bowerman: 40–50% 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Oregon |
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The 1910 Oregon gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1910, to elect the governor of the U.S. state of Oregon. The election matched incumbent Republican Jay Bowerman against Democratic challenger Oswald West. In the election, approximately 118,442 ballots were cast.[1]
After the resignations of George Chamberlain (to take up a Senate seat) and Frank W. Benson (due to illness), then President of the Oregon Senate Jay Bowerman took up the role as Governor for the remainder of the term. Bowerman sought election as governor in his own right on a platform advocating modernization of highways, economies in government administration, and tight control of state land management.[2]
Oswald West, a former agent of State Land Board and then member of the Oregon Railroad Commission, won the Democratic primary on the back of his good reputation on both offices. As an agent of the State Land Board, he helped recover thousands of acres that had been fraudulently obtained with the help of corrupt officials. As an agent of the Railroad Commission, he was popular and had enough public clout to win his party's nomination.[3]
Despite Oregon being a mostly Republican state at the time, Bowerman was defeated by his Democratic opponent after being labeled an opponent of direct government. Bowerman was nominated by the Republican Party in assembly despite the fact that Oregonians had adopted a direct primary law prohibiting party nominating conventions.[4]
Two minor candidates, a Socialist and Prohibitionist, took about twelve percent of the vote between themselves.
Primary election
Oregon held primary elections on September 24, 1910.
Republican party
Although opposed to the direct primary system, incumbent governor Jay Bowerman won the Republican primary over county judge Grant Dimick.
Candidates
- Albert Abraham
- Jay Bowerman, incumbent governor
- Grant Dimick, Clackamas County judge and former mayor of Oregon City
- E. Hofer, editor of The Capital Journal
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jay Bowerman (inc.) | 16,735 | 44.82% | |
| Republican | Grant Dimick | 13,751 | 36.83% | |
| Republican | Albert Abraham | 6,184 | 16.56% | |
| Republican | E. Hofer | 665 | 1.78% | |
| Total votes | 37,335 | 100.00% | ||
Democratic party
Oswald West defeated Jefferson Myers for the Democratic nomination.
Candidates
- Oswald West, member of Oregon Railroad Commission
- Jefferson Myers, member of Oregon State Senate
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Oswald West | 6,693 | 65.39% | |
| Democratic | Jefferson Myers | 3,543 | 34.61% | |
| Total votes | 10,236 | 100.00% | ||
General election
Candidates
- Jay Bowerman, Republican
- Oswald West, Democratic
- A. E. Eaton, Prohibition
- W. S. Richards, Socialist
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Oswald West | 54,853 | 46.61% | −0.96% | |
| Republican | Jay Bowerman (inc.) | 48,751 | 41.42% | −3.56% | |
| Socialist | W. S. Richards | 8,040 | 6.83% | +2.21% | |
| Prohibition | A. E. Eaton | 6,046 | 5.14% | +2.31% | |
| Total votes | 117,960 | 100.00% | |||
| Plurality | 6,102 | 5.18% | |||
| Democratic gain from Republican | Swing | +2.61% | |||
Results by county
Lincoln County voted Democratic for the first time in this election. Curry County also voted Democratic for the first time since 1878.
| County[6][7] | Oswald West Democratic |
Jay Bowerman Republican |
W. S. Richards Socialist |
A. E. Eaton Prohibition |
Margin | Total votes cast | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Baker | 1,705 | 46.96% | 1,440 | 39.66% | 293 | 8.07% | 193 | 5.32% | 265 | 7.30% | 3,631 |
| Benton | 1,162 | 54.68% | 784 | 36.89% | 58 | 2.73% | 121 | 5.69% | 378 | 17.79% | 2,125 |
| Clackamas | 3,025 | 53.15% | 2,084 | 36.62% | 316 | 5.55% | 266 | 4.67% | 941 | 16.53% | 5,691 |
| Clatsop | 1,436 | 55.77% | 914 | 35.50% | 175 | 6.80% | 50 | 1.94% | 522 | 20.27% | 2,575 |
| Columbia | 647 | 34.27% | 926 | 49.05% | 225 | 11.92% | 90 | 4.77% | -279 | -14.78% | 1,888 |
| Coos | 1,346 | 38.26% | 1,449 | 41.19% | 574 | 16.32% | 149 | 4.24% | -103 | -2.93% | 3,518 |
| Crook | 899 | 48.97% | 764 | 41.61% | 121 | 6.59% | 52 | 2.83% | 135 | 7.35% | 1,836 |
| Curry | 294 | 57.20% | 176 | 34.24% | 32 | 6.23% | 12 | 2.33% | 118 | 22.96% | 514 |
| Douglas | 1,913 | 44.09% | 1,868 | 43.05% | 396 | 9.13% | 162 | 3.73% | 45 | 1.04% | 4,339 |
| Gilliam | 361 | 43.55% | 440 | 53.08% | 18 | 2.17% | 10 | 1.21% | -79 | -9.53% | 829 |
| Grant | 562 | 46.79% | 523 | 43.55% | 90 | 7.49% | 26 | 2.16% | 39 | 3.25% | 1,201 |
| Harney | 517 | 47.52% | 475 | 43.66% | 75 | 6.89% | 21 | 1.93% | 42 | 3.86% | 1,088 |
| Hood River | 449 | 39.04% | 565 | 49.13% | 64 | 5.57% | 72 | 6.26% | -116 | -10.09% | 1,150 |
| Jackson | 2,556 | 56.51% | 1,256 | 27.77% | 478 | 10.57% | 233 | 5.15% | 1,300 | 28.74% | 4,523 |
| Josephine | 821 | 40.70% | 877 | 43.48% | 217 | 10.76% | 102 | 5.06% | -56 | -2.78% | 2,017 |
| Klamath | 687 | 39.71% | 799 | 46.18% | 164 | 9.48% | 80 | 4.62% | -112 | -6.47% | 1,730 |
| Lake | 367 | 38.55% | 484 | 50.84% | 58 | 6.09% | 43 | 4.52% | -117 | -12.29% | 952 |
| Lane | 2,602 | 41.85% | 2,725 | 43.83% | 504 | 8.11% | 386 | 6.21% | -123 | -1.98% | 6,217 |
| Lincoln | 620 | 49.68% | 463 | 37.10% | 130 | 10.42% | 35 | 2.80% | 157 | 12.58% | 1,248 |
| Linn | 2,502 | 53.48% | 1,675 | 35.81% | 297 | 6.35% | 204 | 4.36% | 827 | 17.68% | 4,678 |
| Malheur | 741 | 44.80% | 728 | 44.01% | 90 | 5.44% | 95 | 5.74% | 13 | 0.79% | 1,654 |
| Marion | 3,751 | 50.92% | 2,795 | 37.94% | 297 | 4.03% | 524 | 7.11% | 956 | 12.98% | 7,367 |
| Morrow | 310 | 31.03% | 574 | 57.46% | 73 | 7.31% | 42 | 4.20% | -264 | -26.43% | 999 |
| Multnomah | 14,796 | 46.77% | 13,498 | 42.66% | 1,885 | 5.96% | 1,460 | 4.61% | 1,298 | 4.10% | 31,639 |
| Polk | 1,577 | 53.58% | 1,083 | 36.80% | 148 | 5.03% | 135 | 4.59% | 494 | 16.79% | 2,943 |
| Sherman | 295 | 39.39% | 393 | 52.47% | 21 | 2.80% | 40 | 5.34% | -98 | -13.08% | 749 |
| Tillamook | 590 | 45.63% | 499 | 38.59% | 124 | 9.59% | 80 | 6.19% | 91 | 7.04% | 1,293 |
| Umatilla | 1,905 | 43.75% | 2,022 | 46.44% | 205 | 4.71% | 222 | 5.10% | -117 | -2.69% | 4,354 |
| Union | 1,295 | 43.05% | 1,197 | 39.79% | 241 | 8.01% | 275 | 9.14% | 98 | 3.26% | 3,008 |
| Wallowa | 731 | 45.55% | 647 | 40.31% | 134 | 8.35% | 93 | 5.79% | 84 | 5.23% | 1,605 |
| Wasco | 1,021 | 43.23% | 1,058 | 44.79% | 159 | 6.73% | 124 | 5.25% | -37 | -1.57% | 2,362 |
| Washington | 1,596 | 40.88% | 1,855 | 47.52% | 183 | 4.69% | 270 | 6.92% | -259 | -6.63% | 3,904 |
| Wheeler | 248 | 42.32% | 321 | 54.78% | 9 | 1.54% | 8 | 1.37% | -73 | -12.46% | 586 |
| Yamhill | 1,526 | 43.89% | 1,394 | 40.09% | 186 | 5.35% | 371 | 10.67% | 132 | 3.80% | 3,477 |
| Total | 54,853 | 46.61% | 48,751 | 41.42% | 8,040 | 6.83% | 6,046 | 5.14% | 6,102 | 5.18% | 117,690 |
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
Notes
- ↑ The Secretary of State's report transposes the results for Richards and Eaton in Sherman County and gives their totals as 8,059 and 6,027, respectively. However, the official results are those as canvassed by the Legislative Assembly.
References
- ↑ "1910 Oregon Gubernatorial Vote Tally: Socialist W.S. Richards Receives 7.55% of Vote". Albany Democrat. November 25, 1910. p. 3. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
- ↑ "George Chamberlain (1854-1928)". oregonencyclopedia.org. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
- ↑ "Oswald D. West (1873-1960)".
- ↑ "Jay Bowerman". Archived from the original on January 18, 2012. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
- 1 2 "Bowerman's Plurality For Governor 2984". Roseburg Review. Roseburg. October 7, 1910. p. 2. Retrieved April 10, 2026.
- 1 2 Dunaway, Willis S. (1911). The Journal of the Houseof the Twenty-Sixth Legislative Assembly of the State of Oregon Regular Session 1911. Salem: State Printer. p. 26. Retrieved April 10, 2026.
- 1 2 Benson, Frank W. (1910). Biennial Report of the Secretary of State of the State of Oregon to the Twenty-Sixth Legislative Assembly Regular Session 1911.