1910 Nebraska lieutenant gubernatorial election

1910 Nebraska lieutenant gubernatorial election

←  1908 November 8, 1910 1912  →

Nominee Melville R. Hopewell Ralph A. Clark Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 113,002 110,704 Percentage 48.4% 47.4%

Lieutenant Governor before election Melville R. Hopewell Republican Elected Lieutenant Governor Melville R. Hopewell Republican

The 1910 Nebraska lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1910, and featured incumbent Nebraska Lieutenant Governor Melville R. Hopewell, a Republican, defeating Democratic nominee Ralph A. Clark as well as Socialist Party nominee George L. Slutter and Prohibition Party nominee Samuel Lichty. ^[1]

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Ralph A. Clark, farmer, banker ^{[2] [3]} and member of the Nebraska House of Representatives since 1909 and previously from 1897 to 1899 from Stella, Nebraska ^[4]
• William H. Green, editor of the Creighton Liberal newspaper, dealer of agricultural implements, ^[2] and Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in 1906 from Creighton, Nebraska ^[5]

Results

Democratic primary results ^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ralph A. Clark	21,598	51.57
	Democratic	William H. Green	20,282	48.43

People's Independent primary

Candidates

The People's Independent Party, a remnant of the earlier populist movement, chose between the two democratic candidates for lieutenant governor. ^[6] Although William H. Green edged out the victory in the primary, the People's Independent Party decided to endorse Ralph A. Clark instead, since he was the Democratic nominee and the party did not desire to split the vote with the Democrats in the general election. ^{[1] [7]}

Results

People's Independent primary results ^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Populist	William H. Green	1,461	52.27
	Populist	Ralph A. Clark	1,334	47.73

Prohibition primary

Candidates

Samuel Lichty ran unopposed for the Prohibition Party nomination. He was the secretary of the Richardson County Farm Mutual Insurance Company from Falls City, Nebraska. ^{[5] [8]}

Results

Prohibition primary results ^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Prohibition	Samuel Lichty	456	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

• Melville R. Hopewell, incumbent Nebraska Lieutenant Governor from Tekamah, Nebraska ^[5]
• Walter Johnson from Omaha, Nebraska, ^[5] who was previously from Ord, Nebraska, and was a Democratic candidate for US House of Representatives in 1908 ^[2]

Results

Republican primary results ^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Melville R. Hopewell (incumbent)	21,943	58.49
	Republican	Walter Johnson	15,570	41.51

Socialist primary

Candidates

George L. Slutter ran unopposed for the Socialist Party nomination. He was from Omaha, Nebraska. ^[5]

Results

Socialist primary results ^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Socialist	George L. Slutter	735	100.0

General election

Results

Nebraska lieutenant gubernatorial election, 1910 ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Melville R. Hopewell (incumbent)	113,002	48.42
	Democratic	Ralph A. Clark [lower-alpha 1]	110,704	47.44
	Socialist	George L. Slutter	6,115	2.62
	Prohibition	Samuel Lichty	3,543	1.52
Total votes			233,364	100.00
	Republican hold

1. Cross-endorsed by the People's Independent (Populist) Party.

Aftermath

On May 2, 1911, incumbent Nebraska Lieutenant Governor Melville R. Hopewell, who was reelected in this election, died while in office. After the death of Hopewell, John H. Morehead was considered to be the acting lieutenant governor due to his position as president pro tempore of the Nebraska Senate based on Article V, Section 18, of the Nebraska Constitution until another lieutenant governor was elected in the 1912 Nebraska lieutenant gubernatorial election. ^{[9] [10] [11]}

See also

• 1910 Nebraska gubernatorial election

References

1. William H. Smith (1911). Senate Journal of the Legislature of the State of Nebraska: Thirty-Second Session. The York Times. pp. 42–45. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
2. "Who's Who--Facts About Candidates for State Office". Omaha World-Herald. August 13, 1910. p. 9. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
3. "Ralph Clark Makes Tour". The Nebraska Democrat. August 11, 1910. p. 1. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
4. State of Nebraska, 2020-21 Nebraska Blue Book (PDF), pp. 317–378, retrieved June 10, 2023
5. "Primary Election". Custer County Republican. August 25, 1910. p. 4. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
6. "Official Vote of State Compiled". Kearney Morning Times. August 30, 1910. p. 1. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
7. "Miscellaneous". Hamilton County Register. October 21, 1910. p. 2. Retrieved June 10, 2023. Hopewell, of Tekamah has the republican nomination and lined up against him are William H. Green with the populist nomination and Ralph Clark a democrat. If Green does not withdraw, it would seem certain that Hopewell will be elected....
8. "Cheap and Safe". Falls City Tribune. January 14, 1910. p. 4. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
9. "Gov. John Henry Morehead", National Governors Association, As senate president, Morehead succeeded to the office of lieutenant governor, where he served from 1911 to 1912.
10. Nancy Capace (January 1, 1999). Encyclopedia of Nebraska. Somerset Publishers, Inc. p. 106. ISBN   9780403098347. Due to his Senate post as President Pro Tempore, he stepped in as Lieutenant Governor of the State in May 1911, when the incumbent, M.R. Hopewell, died while in office.
11. "John H. Morehead: Democratic Candidate for Nomination for Governor of Nebraska", Red Cloud Chief, April 4, 1912, Through the death of Judge Melville R. Hopewell, on May 2 last, Senator Morehead became acting lieutenant governor of the state.