1916 Florida gubernatorial election

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1916 Florida gubernatorial election
Flag of Florida (1900-1985).svg
  1912 November 7, 1916 1920  
  Sidney Johnston Catts in 1916 (cropped).jpg William V Knott in the Palm Beach Post 1916-06-09 (retouched).png GeorgeWAllen.png
Nominee Sidney Johnston Catts William V. Knott George W. Allen
Party Prohibition Democratic Republican
Popular vote39,54630,34310,333
Percentage47.71%36.61%12.47%

1916 Florida Gubernatorial Election by County.svg
1916 Florida Gubernatorial Election by Congressional District.svg

Governor before election

Park Trammell
Democratic

Elected Governor

Sidney Johnston Catts
Prohibition

The 1916 Florida gubernatorial election was held in the U.S. state on November 7, 1916, to determine the Governor for the State of Florida. Democratic incumbent Governor Park Trammell was term-limited and could not run for re-election.

Contents

Sidney J. Catts, a pastor turned insurance salesman, originally entered the Democratic primary as a candidate for Governor. The state Democratic organization was not at all pleased with this challenge from a novice and 'outsider' and the primary campaign was hotly contested. Catts was initially declared the winner of the party's nomination, but the party leadership got the State Supreme Court to authorize a recount—and Catts was 'counted out.' [1] Catts instead decided to run for governor on the Prohibition Party ticket and became the first, and so far only, man ever elected to a statewide office as a Prohibitionist. The official Democratic nominee was William V. Knott, the former and future Florida State Treasurer.

The 1916 election had a much higher turnout, 82,885 votes compared to 48,465 votes in 1912, due to the chasm in the Democratic Party. This means that even though Trammell and Catts both won nearly similar vote tallies, 569 votes separating the 1912 and 1916 winners, Trammell won by over 80% of the vote in 1912, [2] while Catts got slightly under 48% of the vote. This was the only time a non-Democrat was elected Governor in Florida for the 90 years between the end of Reconstruction in 1877 and the rise of a competitive two party system in the 1960s.

Catts proved to be much more of a colorful personality and a better campaigner than both of his major opponents, his hostile attacks on Roman Catholicism and German-Americans winning the support of the state's conservative voters. Catts himself quickly returned to the Democratic Party and failed thrice to win a party primary (Senate in 1920, Governor in 1924 and 1928), while Knott would serve another decade and a half in his office of State Treasurer.

Results

1916 Florida gubernatorial election
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Prohibition Sidney Johnston Catts 39,546 47.71% +45.52%
Democratic William V. Knott 30,34336.61%−43.81%
Republican George W. Allen10,33312.47%+7.01%
Socialist C.C. Allen2,4702.98%−4.17%
OtherVarious1930.23%
Majority 9,20311.10%−62.17%
Turnout 82,885+170.02%
Prohibition gain from Democratic Swing

County results

CountyWilliam V. Knott
Democratic
George W. Allen
Republican
C.C. Allen
Socialist
Sidney J. Catts
Prohibition
Totals [3]
#%#%#%#%
Alachua 1,12844.06%33212.97%331.29%1,06741.68%2,560
Baker 9214.70%8713.90%81.28%43970.13%626
Bay 39934.76%17014.81%736.36%50644.08%1,148
Bradford 51531.44%1066.47%100.61%1,00761.48%1,638
Brevard 46753.13%15117.18%273.07%23426.62%879
Broward 15222.65%324.77%436.41%44466.17%671
Calhoun 22722.02%696.69%555.33%68065.96%1,031
Citrus 22432.28%294.18%60.86%43562.68%694
Clay 15827.92%569.89%234.06%32958.13%566
Columbia 31428.04%18516.52%252.23%59653.21%1,120
Dade 85429.99%46516.33%1113.90%1,41849.79%2,848
DeSoto 59823.31%2459.55%783.04%1,64464.09%2,565
Duval 3,83449.67%81510.56%1742.25%2,89637.52%7,719
Escambia 1,35947.15%2247.77%481.67%1,25143.41%2,882
Franklin 18037.89%5110.74%112.32%23349.05%475
Gadsden 53050.96%201.92%80.77%48246.35%1,040
Hamilton 27431.24%819.24%131.48%50958.04%877
Hernando 18233.58%244.43%81.48%32860.52%542
Hillsborough 3,07942.05%4365.95%1752.39%3,63349.61%7,323
Holmes 32320.88%915.88%342.20%1,09971.04%1,547
Jackson 1,06840.62%2208.37%341.29%1,30749.71%2,629
Jefferson 31440.20%10112.93%91.15%35745.71%781
Lafayette 29031.56%-0.00%101.09%61967.36%919
Lake 49436.40%21715.99%342.51%61245.10%1,357
Lee 26123.71%1109.99%363.27%69463.03%1,101
Leon 62948.76%26520.54%100.78%38629.92%1,290
Levy 24024.64%11611.91%101.03%60862.42%974
Liberty 13134.56%153.96%51.32%22860.16%379
Madison 35043.70%131.62%40.50%43454.18%801
Manatee 42828.33%23515.55%593.90%78952.22%1,511
Marion 97541.99%44419.12%954.09%80834.80%2,322
Monroe 1699.87%97857.13%1257.30%44025.70%1,712
Nassau 37255.27%629.21%111.63%22833.88%673
Okaloosa 33834.42%13513.75%272.75%48249.08%982
Orange 89748.17%25113.48%512.74%66335.61%1,862
Osceola 15913.71%37131.98%675.78%56348.53%1,160
Palm Beach 53539.63%25719.04%1057.78%45333.56%1,350
Pasco 32828.15%12110.39%231.97%69359.48%1,165
Pinellas 72632.17%42118.65%1014.47%1,00944.71%2,257
Polk 1,07030.64%40011.45%1474.21%1,87553.69%3,492
Putnam 59036.81%38724.14%513.18%57535.87%1,603
Santa Rosa 71263.12%544.79%272.39%33529.70%1,128
Seminole 36437.49%13013.39%414.22%43644.90%971
St. Johns 80043.50%30616.64%754.08%65835.78%1,839
St. Lucie 41640.15%716.85%424.05%50748.94%1,036
Sumter 35948.19%445.91%50.67%33745.23%745
Suwannee 55437.95%573.90%765.21%77352.95%1,460
Taylor 25539.11%294.45%101.53%35854.91%652
Volusia 1,03737.90%34812.72%1063.87%1,24545.50%2,736
Wakulla 9417.06%11120.15%152.72%33160.07%551
Walton 26517.99%31221.18%442.99%85257.84%1,473
Washington 23422.72%838.06%525.05%66164.17%1,030
Total30,34336.69%10,33312.50%2,4702.99%39,54647.82%82,692

See also

References

  1. "Our Campaigns - Candidate - Sidney J. Catts". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  2. "Our Campaigns - FL Governor Race - Nov 05, 1912". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  3. Crawford, H. C. (1915). (rep.). Report of the Secretary of State of the State of Florida (Vol. 1915, pp. 6–7). Tallahassee, FL: T.J. Appleyard, State Printer.