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  Willis: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Donaldson: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Kentucky |
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 Government |
The 1943 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1943. Republican nominee Simeon Willis defeated Democratic nominee J. Lyter Donaldson with 50.49% of the vote.
Primary elections were held on August 7, 1943. [1]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | J. Lyter Donaldson | 135,576 | 53.56 | |
| Democratic | Ben Kilgore | 81,027 | 32.01 | |
| Democratic | Rodes K. Myers | 34,077 | 13.46 | |
| Democratic | John J. Thobe | 2,456 | 0.97 | |
| Total votes | 253,136 | 100.00 | ||
Major party candidates
Other candidates
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Simeon Willis | 279,144 | 50.49% | ||
| Democratic | J. Lyter Donaldson | 270,525 | 48.93% | ||
| Prohibition | Andrew N. Johnson | 3,239 | 0.59% | ||
| Majority | |||||
| Turnout | 552,908 | ||||
| Republican gain from Democratic | Swing | ||||
Joseph Lyter Donaldson was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Kentucky in 1943. Donaldson, of Carrollton, Kentucky served as state highway commissioner. In the 1943 Democratic primary for governor Donaldson defeated Rodes K. Myers, the incumbent Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky, and Ben Kilgore. Donaldson, however, proved to be a lackluster candidate in the general election. Although no Republican had won that office since the height of national Republican strength in 1927, before the Great Depression, Donaldson lost the general election to Republican Simeon S. Willis, 279,144 to 270,525, with 3,239 votes going to the Prohibition Party candidate.
Keen Johnson was an American politician who served as the 45th Governor of Kentucky, serving from 1939 to 1943; being the only journalist to have held that office. After serving in World War I, Johnson purchased and edited the Elizabethtown Mirror newspaper. He revived the struggling paper, sold it to a competitor and used the profits to obtain his journalism degree from the University of Kentucky in 1922. After graduation, he became editor of The Anderson News, and in 1925, he accepted an offer to co-publish and edit the Richmond Daily Register.
Rodes Kirby Myers was an American politician who served as the 38th Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky 1939 to 1943.
Simeon Slavens Willis was an American attorney who served as the 46th Governor of Kentucky, United States, serving from 1943 to 1947. He was the only Republican elected governor of Kentucky between 1927 and 1967.
The 1967 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1967. Republican nominee Louie Nunn defeated Democratic nominee Henry Ward with 51.20% of the vote. Nunn became the first Republican elected since 1943.
The 1959 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1959. Democratic nominee Bert Combs defeated Republican nominee John M. Robsion Jr. with 60.56% of the vote.
The 1955 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1955. Democratic nominee Happy Chandler defeated Republican nominee Edwin R. Denney with 58.02% of the vote.
The 1947 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1947. Democratic nominee Earle Clements defeated Republican nominee Eldon S. Dummit with 57.24% of the vote.
The 1935 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1935. Democratic nominee Happy Chandler defeated Republican nominee King Swope with 54.45% of the vote.
The 1931 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1931. Democratic nominee Ruby Laffoon defeated Republican nominee William B. Harrison with 54.28% of the vote.
The 1927 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1927. Republican nominee Flem D. Sampson defeated the Democratic nominee, former governor and former U.S. Senator J. C. W. Beckham, with 52.09% of the vote.
The 1923 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1923. Democratic nominee William J. Fields defeated Republican nominee Charles I. Dawson, the attorney general, with 53.25% of the vote. The Democratic State Central Executive Committee chose Fields to replace nominee J. Campbell Cantrill, a U.S. representative who died suddenly on September 2 two months before the election.
The 1915 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1915. Democratic nominee Augustus Owsley Stanley narrowly defeated Republican nominee Edwin P. Morrow by 471 votes.
The 1911 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1911. Democratic nominee James B. McCreary defeated Republican nominee Edward C. O'Rear with 52.01% of the vote.
The 1912 Rhode Island gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1912. Incumbent Republican Aram J. Pothier defeated Democratic nominee Theodore F. Green with 43.67% of the vote.
The 1912 Connecticut gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1912. Incumbent Democrat Simeon E. Baldwin defeated Republican nominee J. P. Studley with 41.11% of the vote.
The 1910 Connecticut gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1910. Democratic nominee Simeon E. Baldwin defeated Republican nominee Charles A. Goodwin with 46.48% of the vote. This was the first such election in which a candidate won with only a plurality of the vote, as the state constitution no longer required a subsequent vote by the Connecticut General Assembly in the absence of a majority.
The 1902 Kansas gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1902. Republican nominee Willis J. Bailey defeated Democratic nominee W. H. Craddock with 55.45% of the vote.
The 1909 Rhode Island gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1909. Incumbent Republican Aram J. Pothier defeated Democratic nominee Olney Arnold with 57.00% of the vote.
The 1871 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held on August 7, 1871. Incumbent Democrat Preston Leslie defeated Republican nominee John Marshall Harlan with 58.61% of the vote.
