1918 Oklahoma gubernatorial election

1918 Oklahoma gubernatorial election

←  1914 November 5, 1918 1922  →

Nominee James B. A. Robertson Horace G. McKeever Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 104,132 82,865 Percentage 53.56% 42.62%

County results Robertson:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% McKeever:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%

Governor before election Robert L. Williams Democratic Elected Governor James B. A. Robertson Democratic

The 1918 Oklahoma gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1918, and was a race for Governor of Oklahoma. Democrat James B. A. Robertson defeated Republican Horace G. McKeever. Also on the ballot was Patrick S. Nagle of the Socialist Party. ^[1]

Primary election

Democratic party

James B. A. Robertson, a former judge who had lost in the Democratic gubernatorial primary in 1914, defeated six other candidates to win the nomination, including future governor 'Alfalfa Bill' Murray.

Candidates

• W. L. Alexander, State Treasurer of Oklahoma
• Frank P. Davis
• W. A. Durant, member of Oklahoma House of Representatives
• Frank M. Gault
• J. O. McCollister
• William H. Murray, former Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives and former representative from Oklahoma's 4th congressional district
• J. B. A. Robertson, attorney and former member of Oklahoma Supreme Court Commission

Results

Democratic primary results ^{[1] [2]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	J. B. A. Robertson	48,568	45.00%
	Democratic	William H. Murray	24,283	22.50%
	Democratic	W. L. Alexander	22,670	21.01%
	Democratic	Frank M. Gault	4,904	4.54%
	Democratic	William A. Durant	4,164	3.86%
	Democratic	Frank P. Davis	2,030	1.88%
	Democratic	J. O. McCollister	1,300	1.20%
Total votes			107,919	100.00%

Republican party

In a race where all five candidates achieved significant vote percentages, Horace G. McKeever came out on top.

Candidates

• John M. Claypool
• J. T. Dickerson, former member of Oklahoma House of Representatives
• John Golobie, member of Oklahoma Senate
• Horace G. McKeever
• U. S. Stone, banker and oil operator

Results

Republican primary results ^{[1] [3]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Horace G. McKeever	14,950	36.11%
	Republican	John Golobie	9,076	21.92%
	Republican	U. S. Stone	8,161	19.71%
	Republican	J. T. Dickerson	6,260	15.12%
	Republican	John M. Claypool	2,957	7.14%
Total votes			41,404	100.00%

Socialist party

Candidates

• Patrick S. Nagle

Results

Socialist primary results ^{[1] [4]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Socialist	Patrick S. Nagle	5,791	100.00%
Total votes			5,791	100.00%

General election

Results

1918 Oklahoma gubernatorial election ^{[1] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	J. B. A. Robertson	104,132	53.56%	+13.91%
	Republican	Horace G. McKeever	82,865	42.62%	+4.81%
	Socialist	Patrick S. Nagle	7,438	3.83%	−16.95%
Total votes			194,435	100.00%
Majority			21,267	10.94%
	Democratic hold		Swing	+9.09%

Results by county

County [5]	J. B. A. Robertson Democratic		Horace G. McKeever Republican		Patrick S. Nagle Socialist		Margin		Total votes cast
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Adair	1,019	51.67%	923	46.81%	30	1.52%	96	4.87%	1,972
Alfalfa	892	36.74%	1,393	57.37%	143	5.89%	-501	-20.63%	2,428
Atoka	1,346	55.32%	1,037	42.62%	50	2.16%	309	12.70%	2,433
Beaver	878	45.49%	978	50.67%	74	3.83%	-100	-5.18%	1,930
Beckham	1,253	62.93%	600	30.14%	138	6.93%	653	32.80%	1,991
Blaine	831	35.35%	1,242	52.83%	278	11.82%	-411	-17.48%	2,351
Bryan	2,234	75.68%	609	20.63%	109	3.69%	1,625	55.05%	2,952
Caddo	1,949	44.16%	2,309	52.32%	155	3.51%	-360	-8.16%	4,413
Canadian	1,529	50.78%	1,362	45.23%	120	3.99%	167	5.55%	3,011
Carter	2,083	73.97%	639	22.69%	94	3.34%	1,444	51.28%	2,816
Cherokee	1,256	49.61%	1,246	49.21%	30	1.18%	10	0.39%	2,532
Choctaw	1,097	70.01%	356	22.72%	114	7.28%	741	47.29%	1,567
Cimarron	373	53.44%	289	41.40%	36	5.16%	84	12.03%	698
Cleveland	1,323	65.08%	625	30.74%	85	4.18%	698	34.33%	2,033
Coal	1,033	65.05%	454	28.59%	101	6.36%	579	36.46%	1,588
Comanche	1,374	55.58%	968	39.16%	130	5.26%	406	16.42%	2,472
Cotton	1,011	60.50%	611	36.56%	49	2.93%	400	23.94%	1,671
Craig	1,459	52.69%	1,276	46.08%	34	1.23%	183	6.61%	2,769
Creek	2,775	52.23%	2,422	45.59%	116	2.18%	353	6.64%	5,313
Custer	1,031	44.92%	1,181	51.46%	83	3.62%	-150	-6.54%	2,295
Delaware	1,021	54.28%	817	43.43%	43	2.29%	204	10.85%	1,881
Dewey	643	36.93%	794	45.61%	304	17.46%	-151	-8.67%	1,741
Ellis	494	32.27%	835	54.54%	202	13.19%	-341	-22.27%	1,531
Garfield	1,513	31.33%	3,176	65.77%	140	2.90%	-1,663	-34.44%	4,829
Garvin	1,798	71.89%	651	26.03%	52	2.08%	1,147	45.86%	2,501
Grady	2,231	70.67%	810	25.66%	116	3.67%	1,421	45.01%	3,157
Grant	1,091	41.90%	1,449	55.65%	64	2.46%	-358	-13.75%	2,604
Greer	996	71.45%	376	26.97%	22	1.58%	620	44.48%	1,394
Harmon	766	82.63%	140	15.10%	21	2.27%	626	67.53%	927
Harper	482	40.30%	647	54.10%	67	5.60%	-165	-13.80%	1,196
Haskell	1,108	56.65%	774	39.57%	74	3.78%	334	17.08%	1,956
Hughes	1,591	61.05%	982	37.68%	33	1.27%	609	23.37%	2,606
Jackson	1,392	75.90%	364	19.85%	78	4.25%	1,028	56.05%	1,834
Jefferson	1,079	71.93%	389	25.93%	32	2.13%	690	46.00%	1,500
Johnston	1,044	60.00%	630	36.21%	66	3.79%	414	23.79%	1,740
Kay	1,682	41.39%	2,274	55.95%	108	2.66%	-592	-14.57%	4,064
Kingfisher	791	32.12%	1,527	62.00%	145	5.89%	-736	-29.88%	2,463
Kiowa	1,218	51.07%	1,121	47.00%	46	1.93%	97	4.07%	2,385
Latimer	748	55.57%	539	40.04%	59	4.38%	209	15.53%	1,346
Le Flore	2,101	55.09%	1,630	42.74%	83	2.18%	471	12.35%	3,814
Lincoln	1,555	37.31%	2,461	59.05%	152	3.65%	-906	-21.74%	4,168
Logan	1,275	38.12%	1,933	57.79%	137	4.10%	-658	-19.67%	3,345
Love	856	81.52%	159	15.14%	35	3.33%	697	66.38%	1,050
Major	474	28.06%	863	51.10%	352	20.84%	-389	-23.03%	1,689
Marshall	841	64.89%	365	28.16%	90	6.94%	476	36.73%	1,296
Mayes	1,127	53.06%	955	44.96%	42	1.98%	172	8.10%	2,124
McClain	994	66.09%	469	31.18%	41	2.73%	525	34.91%	1,504
McCurtain	955	73.69%	305	23.53%	36	2.78%	650	50.15%	1,296
McIntosh	1,185	60.00%	725	36.71%	65	3.29%	460	23.29%	1,975
Murray	903	71.72%	336	26.69%	20	1.59%	567	45.04%	1,259
Muskogee	2,692	64.10%	1,473	35.07%	35	0.83%	1,219	29.02%	4,200
Noble	916	40.95%	1,239	55.39%	82	3.67%	-323	-14.44%	2,237
Nowata	933	43.64%	1,180	55.19%	25	1.17%	-247	-11.55%	2,138
Okfuskee	887	59.29%	557	37.23%	52	3.48%	330	22.06%	1,496
Oklahoma	5,461	54.53%	4,332	43.26%	222	2.22%	1,129	11.27%	10,015
Okmulgee	1,809	52.09%	1,550	44.63%	114	3.28%	259	7.46%	3,473
Osage	1,443	53.64%	1,184	44.01%	63	2.34%	259	9.63%	2,690
Ottawa	2,222	53.85%	1,808	43.82%	96	2.33%	414	10.03%	4,126
Pawnee	1,123	46.02%	1,205	49.39%	112	4.59%	-82	-3.36%	2,440
Payne	1,484	42.93%	1,808	52.30%	165	4.77%	-324	-9.37%	3,457
Pittsburg	2,602	66.04%	1,222	31.02%	116	2.94%	1,380	35.03%	3,940
Pontotoc	1,785	74.31%	567	23.61%	50	2.08%	1,218	50.71%	2,402
Pottawatomie	2,086	54.59%	1,592	41.66%	143	3.74%	494	12.93%	3,821
Pushmataha	793	56.85%	534	38.28%	68	4.87%	259	18.57%	1,395
Roger Mills	695	50.11%	516	37.20%	176	12.69%	179	12.91%	1,387
Rogers	1,425	53.07%	1,190	44.32%	70	2.61%	235	8.75%	2,685
Seminole	1,151	51.59%	987	44.24%	93	4.17%	164	7.35%	2,231
Sequoyah	1,395	55.38%	1,082	42.95%	42	1.67%	313	12.43%	2,519
Stephens	1,337	70.55%	461	24.33%	97	5.12%	876	46.23%	1,895
Texas	947	53.81%	743	42.22%	70	3.98%	204	11.59%	1,760
Tillman	1,203	74.67%	360	22.35%	48	2.98%	843	52.33%	1,611
Tulsa	4,011	52.74%	3,456	45.44%	138	1.81%	555	7.30%	7,605
Wagoner	820	54.49%	595	39.53%	90	5.98%	225	14.95%	1,505
Washington	1,130	46.85%	1,227	50.87%	55	2.28%	-97	-4.02%	2,412
Washita	1,304	59.95%	580	26.67%	291	13.38%	724	33.29%	2,175
Woods	936	38.77%	1,365	56.55%	113	4.68%	-429	-17.77%	2,414
Woodward	842	41.21%	1,076	52.67%	125	6.12%	-234	-11.45%	2,043
Totals	104,132	53.56%	82,865 [a]	40.62%	7,438 [b]	3.83%	21,267	10.94%	194,435

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Canadian
• Comanche
• Craig
• Creek
• Oklahoma
• Ottawa
• Pottawatomie
• Tulsa

Counties that flipped from Socialist to Democratic

• Beckham
• Kiowa
• Roger Mills

Notes

1. The county figures add up to 82,905
2. The county figures add up to 7,445

References

1. "1918-1920 results" (PDF). Oklahoma State Election Board. pp. 1, 6, 11.
2. Oklahoma State Election Board (1918). "For Governor". Abstract of the Total Vote of the Democratic Party at the Primary Election Held August 6, 1918. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
3. Oklahoma State Election Board (1918). "For Governor". Abstract of the Total Vote of the Republican Party at the Primary Election Held August 6, 1918. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
4. Oklahoma State Election Board (1918). "For Governor". Abstract of the Total Vote of the Socialist Party at the Primary Election Held August 6, 1918. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
5. Oklahoma State Election Board (1918). "For Governor". Returns of General Election held in the State of Oklahoma November 5, 1918. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.