1930 Texas gubernatorial election

1930 Texas gubernatorial election

←  1928 November 4, 1930 (1930-11-04) 1932  →
Turnout	24.6% 27.0% [1]
Nominee Ross S. Sterling William E. Talbot Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 252,738 62,224 Percentage 79.98% 19.69%
Governor before election Dan Moody Democratic Elected Governor Ross S. Sterling Democratic

The 1930 Texas gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1930 in order to elect the Governor of Texas. Democratic nominee Ross S. Sterling defeated Republican nominee William E. Talbot. ^[2]

Democratic primary

The Democratic primary election was held on July 26, 1930. As no candidate won a majority of votes, there was a run-off on August 23, 1930 between the two highest ranking candidates former Governor of Texas Miriam A. Ferguson and Ross S. Sterling. Sterling would eventually win the primary with 55.19% against Ferguson.

Results

Candidate	First Round		Run-off
	Votes	%	Votes	%
Ross S. Sterling	170,754	20.49	473,371	55.19
Miriam A. Ferguson	242,959	29.15	384,402	44.81
Clint C. Small	138,934	16.67
Thomas B. Love	87,068	10.45
James Young	73,385	8.81
Barry Miller	54,652	6.56
Earle Bradford Mayfield	54,459	6.53
C. C. Moody	4,382	0.53
Paul Loven	2,724	0.33
Frank Putnam	2,365	0.28
C. E. Walker	1,760	0.21
Total	833,442	100.00	857,773	100.00
Source: [3]

Republican primary

The Republican primary election was also held on July 26, 1930. It was only the second Republican primary in state history, coming off of W. H. Holmes' run for governor in 1928 which garnered over 120,000 votes. George Butte, the Republican nominee in 1924 won the parties primary in absentia but doubts remained as to whether Butte, who was a special assistant to the attorney general in Washington, D.C. at the time, would accept the nomination.

After being nominated by the state convention in San Angelo, Butte wrote a letter to the executive committee resigning as nominee; explaining that he had tried to prior to the convention but his resignation had not been accepted. After his resignation the committee nominated William E. Talbot on September 24, but he was not certified as the nominee until September 27 because of Butte's delayed resignation. Talbot, a colonel in World War One and sales manager at Southland Life Insurance, advocated for an old age pension, state development of river navigation, protection of independent oil producers, and prioritization of small trucks over large ones to protect the state's new highways. ^{[4] [5] [6]}

Results

Candidate	Votes	%
George Butte [a]	5,001	51.15
H.E. Exum	2,773	28.36
John F. Grant	1,800	18.41
John P. Gaines	203	2.08
Total	9,777	100.00
Source: [7]

General election

The Socialist Party nominated Lee Lightfoot Rhodes for a second consecutive time (and fourth time overall) as did the Communist Party with their nominee J. Stedham, after their shared election loss in the 1928 Texas gubernatorial election. On election day, November 4, 1930, Democratic nominee Ross S. Sterling won the election by a margin of 190,514 votes against his foremost opponent Republican nominee William E. Talbot, thereby retaining Democratic control over the office of Governor. Sterling was sworn in as the 31st Governor of Texas on January 20, 1931. ^[8]

Results

Texas gubernatorial election, 1930

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ross S. Sterling	252,738	79.98
	Republican	William E. Talbot	62,224	19.69
	Socialist	Lee Lightfoot Rhodes	829	0.26
	Communist	J. Stedham	231	0.07
Total votes			316,022	100.00
	Democratic hold

References

1. "Texas Almanac, 1939-1940". Portal to Texas History. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
2. "Jessie Ziegler and Governor Ross Sterling," East Texas Historical Association and West Texas Historical Association, annual meeting in Fort worth, Texas, 11 May 2023
3. "TX Governor - D Primary". ourcampaigns.com. January 13, 2010. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
4. "Butte Quits in Race for Governorship". Brownsville Herald. Brownsville, Texas. September 23, 1930. p. 1. Retrieved November 17, 2024– via Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers at the Library of Congress.
5. "Dallas Man Named to Succeed Butte". Brownsville Herald. Brownsville, Texas. September 25, 1930. p. 2. Retrieved November 17, 2024– via Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers at the Library of Congress.
6. "Republican Nominee Offers Self as State Hired Hand". Brownsville Herald. Brownsville, Texas. September 28, 1930. p. 12. Retrieved November 17, 2024– via Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers at the Library of Congress.
7. "1930 Republican Primary". texasalmanac.com. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
8. "TX Governor". ourcampaigns.com. June 26, 2006. Retrieved May 11, 2023.

1. George Butte did not accept the party nomination and William E. Talbot was nominated in his place