1898 Texas gubernatorial election

1898 Texas gubernatorial election

←  1896 November 3, 1898 1900  →

Candidate Joseph D. Sayers Barnett Gibbs Party Democratic Populist Alliance Republican Popular vote 291,548 114,955 Percentage 71.2% 28.1%

County results Sayers:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     90-100% Gibbs:      50–60%     60–70% No Data/Vote:

Governor before election Charles Culberson Democratic Governor-elect Joseph D. Sayers Democratic

The 1898 Texas gubernatorial election was held to elect the Governor of Texas. Joseph D. Sayers was elected over Barnett Gibbs, a Populist running with Republican support.

General election

Candidates

• R. P. Bailey (Prohibition)
• Barnett Gibbs, former State Senator from Dallas and acting Governor (Populist) ^[1]
• G. H. Royal (Socialist Labor)
• Joseph D. Sayers, U.S. Representative from Bastrop (Democratic)

Campaign

Lafayette L. Foster was the Chairman of the Sayers Central Campaign Committee. In the summer of 1898, he was appointed as the President of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas by the Board of Directors of the college. He was succeeded as chairman by Edward M. House. ^[2]

Gibbs, a moderate Populist, primarily campaigned on the issue of building a state-owned "relief railroad" from the Red River to the Gulf of Mexico. ^[1]

Results

1898 Texas gubernatorial election ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joseph D. Sayers	291,548	71.19%	15.83
	Populist	Barnett Gibbs	114,955	28.07%	16.11
	Prohibition	R. P. Bailey	2,437	0.60%	0.26
	Socialist Labor	G. H. Royal	552	0.13%	N/A
	Write-in		62	0.02%	0.11
Total votes			409,554	100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Joseph D. Sayers

Eliminated in primary

• Martin McNulty Crane ^[4]

References

1. Miller, Robert Worth (1976). "TSHA | Gibbs, Barnett (1851-1904)" . Retrieved March 17, 2023.
2. Raines, Caldwell Walton (1902). Year Book for Texas, 1901 (PDF). Austin: Gammel Book Company. pp. 156, 157. Retrieved August 1, 2023– via Legislative Reference Library of Texas.
3. "Texas Almanac". Archived from the original on November 19, 2015. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
4. "8. Joseph D. Sayers". The Texas Politics Project. University of Texas at Austin. 2003. Retrieved May 12, 2024.