1902 United States Senate election in Kentucky

1902 United States Senate election in Kentucky

←  1897 January 21, 1902 1908  →

Nominee James B. McCreary William J. Deboe Party Democratic Republican Senate ballot 22 (71.0%) 8 (25.8%) House ballot 72 (76.6%) 22 (23.4%)

Senate ballot House ballot Blue denotes members voting for McCreary and red denotes those voting for Deboe. Orange denotes one vote for Bradley.

U.S. senator before election William J. Deboe Republican Elected U.S. Senator James B. McCreary Democratic

The 1902 United States Senate election in Kentucky was held on January 21, 1902, after an initial election on January 14, 1902. Democratic candidate James B. McCreary was elected by the Kentucky General Assembly to the United States Senate, defeating incumbent Republican senator William J. Deboe. The election was held twice due to ambiguity in the law setting the election date.

Democratic nomination

The Democratic Party chose to select its candidate by legislative caucus. Former governor and congressman James B. McCreary was nominated on January 9, 1902, defeating judge James E. Cantrill. Congressmen David Highbaugh Smith and Charles K. Wheeler, who had been campaigning for the nomination, withdrew from the contest the afternoon before the caucus was held.

Candidates

• James E. Cantrill, judge of the Kentucky Court of Appeals and lieutenant governor of Kentucky (1879–1883)
• James B. McCreary, governor of Kentucky (1875–1879) and U.S. representative for Kentucky's 8th congressional district (1885–1897)
• David Highbaugh Smith, U.S. representative for Kentucky's 4th congressional district (1897–1907) (withdrew January 9, 1902)
• Charles K. Wheeler, U.S. representative for Kentucky's 1st congressional district (1897–1903) (withdrew January 9, 1902)

Results

Caucus vote of Democratic senators

Caucus vote of Democratic representatives

  McCreary

  Cantrill

  Republicans

Democratic caucus results ^[1]

Candidate	Senate	House	Total	%
James B. McCreary	14	48	62	62.6
James E. Cantrill	11	26	37	37.4
Total votes	25	74	99	100.0

Republican nominatiom

The Republican Party chose to select its candidate by legislative caucus, with incumbent senator William J. Deboe winning the nomination unanimously on January 8, 1902. Governor William O. Bradley and congressman Vincent Boreing, who had been suggested as alternatives, were not put forth as alternative candidates. ^[2]

Candidates

• William J. Deboe, U.S. senator (1897–1903)

Elections

First election

Senate

1902 United States Senate election in Kentucky (first Senate ballot) ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	James B. McCreary	23	65.7
	Republican	William J. Deboe (incumbent)	11	31.4
	Republican	William O. Bradley	1	2.9
Total votes			35	100.0

House of Representatives

1902 United States Senate election in Kentucky (first House ballot) ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	James B. McCreary	74	75.5
	Republican	William J. Deboe (incumbent)	24	24.5
Total votes			98	100.0

Second election

Senate

1902 United States Senate election in Kentucky (Senate) ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	James B. McCreary	22	71.0
	Republican	William J. Deboe (incumbent)	8	25.8
	Republican	William O. Bradley	1	3.2
Total votes			31	100.0
	Democratic gain from Republican

House of Representatives

1902 United States Senate election in Kentucky (House of Representatives) ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	James B. McCreary	72	76.6
	Republican	William J. Deboe (incumbent)	22	23.4
Total votes			94	100.0
	Democratic gain from Republican

See also

• 1902–03 United States Senate elections

References

1. "McCreary nominated on first ballot". The Courier-Journal . January 10, 1902. pp. 1–2.
2. "Deboe was nominated for senator". The Morning Herald . Lexington, Kentucky. January 9, 1902. p. 1.
3. Journal of the Senate of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, p. 103.
4. Journal of the Senate of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, p. 170.

Sources

• "Journal of the Senate of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, 1902". Journals of the Kentucky General Assembly. Frankfort, Kentucky – via HathiTrust.