George Wylie Paul Hunt was an American politician and businessman. He was the first governor of Arizona, serving a total of seven terms, along with President of the convention that wrote Arizona's constitution. In addition, Hunt served in both houses of the Arizona Territorial Legislature and was posted as U.S. Minister to Siam by Woodrow Wilson.
Marcus Aurelius Smith was an American attorney and politician who served eight terms as Arizona Territorial Delegate to Congress and as one of the first two Senators from Arizona. As a Delegate, he was a leader in the effort to gain statehood for Arizona. His non-voting status, however, minimized his influence with only 35 of the 277 bills he introduced into the House of Representatives being signed into law. Lack of a voice in the United States Senate further weakened his efforts as he managed to get Arizona statehood bills passed by the House only to see the legislation blocked in the Senate. Beyond his efforts for statehood, Smith worked to have government buildings constructed and to provide relief to his constituents affected by either man-made or natural misfortunes. His efforts to provide relief to the citizens of Arizona did not extend to the indigenous population, for whom Smith expressed great animosity.
The 1912–13 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states. They were the last U.S. Senate elections before the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, establishing direct elections for all Senate seats. Senators had been primarily chosen by state legislatures. Senators were elected over a wide range of time throughout 1912 and 1913, and a seat may have been filled months late or remained vacant due to legislative deadlock. Some states elected their senators directly even before passage of Seventeenth Amendment. Oregon pioneered direct election and experimented with different measures over several years until it succeeded in 1907. Soon after, Nebraska followed suit and laid the foundation for other states to adopt measures reflecting the people's will. By 1912, as many as 29 states elected senators either as nominees of their party's primary or in conjunction with a general election.
The Progressive Party was a third party in the United States formed in 1912 by former president Theodore Roosevelt after he lost the presidential nomination of the Republican Party to his former protégé turned rival, incumbent president William Howard Taft. The new party was known for taking advanced positions on progressive reforms and attracting leading national reformers. The party was also ideologically deeply connected with America's radical-liberal tradition.
Richard Elihu Sloan was an American jurist and politician, who served as associate justice of the Arizona Territorial Supreme Court, a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona and as the 17th and final Governor of Arizona Territory. As an Associate Justice he served for 16 years, the longest service of any member of the Arizona Territorial Supreme Court, and wrote over 150 legal opinions. As Governor he oversaw Arizona's transition from territory to statehood.
The presidency of William Howard Taft began on March 4, 1909, when William Howard Taft was inaugurated as 27th president of the United States, and ended on March 4, 1913. Taft, was a Republican from Ohio. The protégé and chosen successor of President Theodore Roosevelt, he took office after easily defeating Democrat William Jennings Bryan in the 1908 presidential election. His presidency ended with his defeat in the 1912 election by Democrat Woodrow Wilson.
From March 12 to May 17, 1940, voters of the Republican Party chose delegates to nominate a candidate for president at the 1940 Republican National Convention. The nominee was selected at the convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from June 24–28, 1940.
Edmund William Wells was an American jurist, businessman, and politician. Known as "Arizona's first millionaire", he was considered the richest man in Arizona during his attempt to be elected Governor of Arizona. He served as Attorney General of the Arizona Territory before being appointed as a judge. He also served as a member of Arizona's constitutional convention.
The 1912 United States Senate elections in Arizona took place in the Arizona State Legislature on March 27, 1912, confirming the selection of Marcus A. Smith and Henry F. Ashurst as the state's first U.S. Senators. Their results were pre-determined on the basis on the results of a popular vote taken on December 12, 1911.
The 1914 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1914, for the post of the Governor of Arizona. The Supreme Court of Arizona ruled that there would be no statewide elections in 1912, thus extending the terms to sync up with elections on even years. The Democratic nominee was incumbent governor George W. P. Hunt, his Republican opponent was the final Delegate to Congress from Arizona Territory, Ralph H. Cameron. Cameron was disadvantaged by the same reason the previous Republican nominee Wells was: he had opposed statehood with the present Constitution.
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, 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.
The 1918 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1918, for the post of the Governor of Arizona. Thomas Campbell, who served a partial term in 1917 and had his election overturned by the Supreme Court of Arizona, returned to contest the Governors office. Incumbent Governor Hunt declined to run again after the stress of the close elections and the year-long court battle. Despite falling to its lowest percentage in years, the sole third party challenger held the difference between the two candidates. The Democratic challenger was state senator Fred T. Colter, a pro-Hunt Democrat.
The 1922 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 1922. George W. P. Hunt was Arizona's first governor, after retiring in 1919 he served as Ambassador to Siam during the tail end of the Woodrow Wilson administration. After being dismissed by President Warren G. Harding, Hunt returned to Arizona and decided to contest his old seat. Both Hunt and Campbell faced off in 1916, the closest gubernatorial in Arizona history. This election was the highest percentage of votes Hunt ever got in his 7 gubernatorial races.
The 1924 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 1924. Despite being a Republican year nationally, President Coolidge's election in Arizona was rather close. He only took Arizona with 40% of the vote against Davis' 35% and La Follette's 23%. The closest Arizona gubernatorial election since 1916, Hunt's lead in votes would continue to decline.
The 1926 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 1926. Despite being a Democratic year generally, Hunt barely managed to be re-elected against his Republican opponent Elias Clark. Hunt had been governor for around 11 out of the State of Arizona's 14 years, coupled with his age and with issues regarding the Colorado River Compact, he was running out of steam. Despite that Hunt narrowly prevailed and won.
The 1928 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 1928. Despite a fairly poor economy, a 15-point loss by Al Smith for the Arizona electoral votes, and having served for nearly 6 full terms, Hunt only narrowly lost the general election. Other state Democrats like Senator Ashurst and Representative Douglas both won re-election. John C. Phillips became the second Republican to serve as Arizona Governor, and the first to beat Hunt in a general election.
The 1930 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 1930. George W. P. Hunt narrowly won the general election in 1930, defeating incumbent governor John Calhoun Phillips, who had defeated Hunt in his bid for reelection in the previous election year in 1928.
The 1934 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 1934. Incumbent Governor Benjamin Baker Moeur ran for reelection, he was challenged by former governor George W. P. Hunt and future Governor Rawghlie Clement Stanford in the Democratic primary, but he defeated both of them by a comfortable margin.
Milton Speer "Mit" Simms, son of Maria Louisa Speer and Franklin Robert Simms, was born in Rockford, Alabama in 1873 and grew up there. He moved to Arizona Territory sometime before 1902. On December 25, 1902, he married his first wife, Lillian Mary McCabe (1881–1941). No children emerged from this marriage.
