1924 Wyoming gubernatorial special election
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 County results Ross: 50–60% 60–70% Sullivan: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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The 1924 Wyoming gubernatorial special election took place on November 4, 1924. William B. Ross, the Democratic Governor of Wyoming, died in office on October 2, 1924, temporarily elevating Republican Secretary of State Frank Lucas to the governorship. A special election was held to fill the remainder of Ross's term and his widow, Nellie Tayloe Ross, defeated Republican nominee E. J. Sullivan, becoming the first ever female governor of any U.S. state.
Campaign
[edit]Following Governor Ross's death on October 2, 1924, Secretary of State Frank Lucas ascended to the governorship. On October 6, Lucas issued a proclamation for a special election, but ambiguities in the law prompted him to seek a formal opinion from the state attorney general as to how candidates would be selected and how the election would be conducted.[1] On October 9, the attorney general issued an opinion clarifying that candidates could be nominated by petition (in which case they would be listed as "independent" on the ballot) or by political party conventions.[2] Accordingly, the Democratic and Republican parties scheduled conventions for October 14.[3]
Democratic convention
[edit]As the Democratic convention convened in Cheyenne on October 14, speculation swirled around four potential candidates: Nellie Tayloe Ross, the widow of Governor Ross; Attorney General David J. Howell; former Assistant Secretary of the Interior Samuel G. Hopkins; and Charles D. Carey, the son of former Governor Joseph M. Carey.[4] Ross was reported to be the favorite of the convention's delegates and it was considered a "not entirely remote" possibility that if the Democratic Party nominated her, the Republican Party would, too.[5]
As the convention started, however, it was unclear if Ross would be a candidate. By her own account, she was uncertain whether she would accept the nomination:
When the day arrived on which the nominees were to be chosen by emergency conventions, a committee from the Democratic convention came to ask me if I would accept the nomination if it were proffered.
I told them I should not.
"Don't make it an absolute refusal," one of the members urged with fervor that almost disarmed me, and I think I made no reply.
— Nellie Tayloe Ross, "The Governor Lady", Good Housekeeping (1927)[6]
The state party chairman relayed this uncertainty, saying that Ross had informed him that she might not accept a nomination.[7] At the beginning of the convention, Hopkins withdrew from consideration and the race apparently narrowed to Carey and Howell.[8] However, Carey's reluctance to accept the nomination pushed the convention to adjourn for several hours.[8]
When the convention returned, delegates put Ross's name, and that of former State Senator Patrick J. O'Connor, into consideration. O'Connor withdrew and the convention unanimously nominated Ross.[8] Ross was informed that she had been nominated and had just 45 minutes to accept or decline it prior to the filing deadline. She reported that she was "overwhelmed" by the "warm protestations of loyalty and confident predictions of victory of those faithful friends," and "the first thing I knew, I was committed."[6]
Republican convention
[edit]On the Republican side, speculation about potential candidates circled around three men: former State Representative Eugene J. Sullivan; acting Governor Lucas; and C. Watt Brandon, an official with the Coolidge presidential campaign.[4] Though former Governor Robert D. Carey was favored by many of the convention delegates, he ultimately declined to run.[8] During the course of the convention, Brandon, Lucas, and Sullivan were all nominated, as were attorney George Brimmer; former State Senator H.J. Chassell, and banker S. A. Nelson.[8] After several rounds of balloting, Sullivan emerged as the presumptive nominee, winning the support of 17 out of 22 committee members, who then moved to nominate him unanimously.[8]
General election
[edit]Results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Nellie Tayloe Ross | 43,323 | 55.12 | +5.71% | |
| Republican | E. J. Sullivan | 35,275 | 44.88 | −5.71% | |
| Majority | 8,048 | 10.24% | +9.06% | ||
| Total votes | 78,598 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratic gain from Republican | |||||
By county
[edit]Source[10]
| County | Nellie Tayloe Ross Democratic |
E. J. Sullivan Republican |
Margin | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | ||
| Albany | 2,750 | 60.18% | 1,820 | 39.82% | 930 | 20.35% | 4,570 |
| Big Horn | 1,964 | 53.36% | 1,717 | 46.64% | 247 | 6.71% | 3,681 |
| Campbell | 1,258 | 61.22% | 797 | 38.78% | 461 | 22.43% | 2,055 |
| Carbon | 2,228 | 51.15% | 2,128 | 48.85% | 100 | 2.30% | 4,356 |
| Converse | 1,616 | 53.40% | 1,410 | 46.60% | 206 | 6.81% | 3,026 |
| Crook | 1,022 | 58.30% | 731 | 41.70% | 291 | 16.60% | 1,753 |
| Fremont | 2,204 | 58.85% | 1,541 | 41.15% | 663 | 17.70% | 3,745 |
| Goshen | 1,652 | 58.42% | 1,176 | 41.58% | 476 | 16.83% | 2,828 |
| Hot Springs | 1,233 | 55.97% | 970 | 44.03% | 263 | 11.94% | 2,203 |
| Johnson | 1,065 | 56.02% | 836 | 43.98% | 229 | 12.05% | 1,901 |
| Laramie | 4,102 | 54.12% | 3,477 | 45.88% | 625 | 8.25% | 7,579 |
| Lincoln | 1,357 | 46.00% | 1,593 | 54.00% | -236 | -8.00% | 2,950 |
| Natrona | 6,312 | 46.68% | 7,209 | 53.32% | -897 | -6.63% | 13,521 |
| Niobrara | 1,023 | 62.42% | 616 | 37.58% | 407 | 24.83% | 1,639 |
| Park | 1,846 | 64.01% | 1,038 | 35.99% | 808 | 28.02% | 2,884 |
| Platte | 1,827 | 67.62% | 875 | 32.38% | 952 | 35.23% | 2,702 |
| Sheridan | 3,450 | 60.79% | 2,225 | 39.21% | 1,225 | 21.59% | 5,675 |
| Sublette | 287 | 35.26% | 527 | 64.74% | -240 | -29.48% | 814 |
| Sweetwater | 2,631 | 56.89% | 1,994 | 43.11% | 637 | 13.77% | 4,625 |
| Teton | 315 | 50.08% | 314 | 49.92% | 1 | 0.16% | 629 |
| Uinta | 1,416 | 58.01% | 1,025 | 41.99% | 391 | 16.02% | 2,441 |
| Washakie | 634 | 52.70% | 569 | 47.30% | 65 | 5.40% | 1,203 |
| Weston | 1,131 | 62.21% | 687 | 37.79% | 444 | 24.42% | 1,818 |
References
[edit]- ^ "Committees Nominate Candidates This Week: Both Meetings Will Be Held at Cheyenne". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. October 7, 1924. p. 1.
- ^ "Nomination by State Committees Illegal: So Says Attorney General Howell in Opinion on Proposal to Nominate Candidates for Governor". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. October 9, 1924. p. 1.
- ^ "Democrats Will Hold Convention". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. October 10, 1924. p. 1.
- ^ a b "E. J. Sullivan Mentioned as Party Nominee: G.O.P. Convention Will Be Called to Order Tuesday in Cheyenne". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. October 13, 1924. p. 3.
- ^ "May Select Woman Wyoming's Governor: Conventions Being Called and Mrs. Nellie Ross is Said to Be Favorite". Okmulgee Daily Times. Okmulgee, Okla. October 14, 1924. p. 5.
- ^ a b Ross, Nellie Taylor (August 1927). "The Governor Lady: America's First Woman Governor Tells for the First Time the Intimate Story of her Political Career" (PDF). Good Housekeeping. New York, N.Y.: Hearst Corporation. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
- ^ "Widow Won't Be Governor? Mrs. Ross May Decline Wyoming Democratic Nomination". Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Mo. October 14, 1924. p. 1.
- ^ a b c d e f "E.J. Sullivan Wins Republican Nomination, State Democrats Name Mrs. Nellie T. Ross as Candidate: Selection in Each Meeting is Unanimous". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. October 14, 1924. pp. 1, 7.
- ^ Lucas, Frank E. (1925). 1925 Official Directory of Wyoming and Election Returns for 1924. Cheyenne, Wyo.: Wyoming Labor Journal. pp. 40–41.
- ^ "Wyoming gubernatorial special election, 1924". Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 20, 2025.