1906 Texas gubernatorial election

1906 Texas gubernatorial election

November 8, 1906

Candidate Thomas Mitchell Campbell C. A. Gray Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 149,105 23,771 Percentage 77.6% 12.4%

County results Campbell:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      90-100% Gray:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      90–100% No Data/Vote:

Governor before election S. W. T. Lanham Democratic Governor-elect Thomas Mitchell Campbell Democratic

The 1906 Texas gubernatorial election was held to elect the Governor of Texas. Thomas Mitchell Campbell was elected to a two-year term in office.

This was the first election in which a party held a primary to determine its nominee.[1] Thomas Mitchell Campbell won the Democratic nomination over a four-man field including M. M. Brooks, Oscar Branch Colquitt and Charles K. Bell; his victory was tantamount to election with the Republican Party already weak in Texas and deeply divided at the time.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Charles K. Bell, Attorney General of Texas and former U.S. Representative from Hamilton
• Micajah Madison Brooks, associate justice of the Court of Criminal Appeals[2]
• Thomas Mitchell Campbell, attorney and general manager of the International–Great Northern Railroad
• Oscar Branch Colquitt, member of the Texas Railroad Commission

Results

1906 Democratic gubernatorial primary[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Thomas Mitchell Campbell	90,345	30.72%
	Democratic	M. M. Brooks	70,064	23.82%
	Democratic	Oscar Branch Colquitt	68,529	23.30%
	Democratic	Charles K. Bell	65,168	22.16%
Total votes			294,106	100.00%

General election

Candidates

• Alexander W. Acheson, physician and former mayor of Denison (Reorganized Republican)[3]
• Thomas Mitchell Campbell, attorney and general manager of the International–Great Northern Railroad (Democratic)
• C. A. Gray (Republican)
• George Clifton Edwards, editor and publisher of the Laborer (Socialist)[4]
• J. W. Pearson (Prohibition)
• Arthur S. Dowler, postmaster of Finlay (Socialist Labor)[5]

Acheson was the candidate of the "black and tan" faction of the Republicans, while Gray was nominated by the "lily-white movement" which sought to exclude non-white men from the party.

Results

1906 Texas gubernatorial election[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Thomas Mitchell Campbell	149,105	77.59%	4.02
	Republican	C. A. Gray	23,771	12.37%	7.92
	Independent Republican	Alex W. Atcheson	5,395	2.81%	N/A
	Socialist	George Clifton Edwards	2,958	1.54%	0.52
	Prohibition	J. W. Pearson	2,215	1.15%	0.46
	Socialist Labor	Arthur S. Dowler	260	0.14%	0.06
Total votes			183,704	100.00%

References

1. "Texas Almanac". Archived from the original on November 19, 2015. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
2. Hazlewood, Claudia (1952). "TSHA | Brooks, Micajah Madison (1856–1934)". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
3. Hart, Brian (1952). "TSHA | Acheson, Alexander W. (1842–1934)". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
4. Edwards, George (January 1, 1995). "TSHA | Edwards, George Clifton (1876–1961)". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
5. Donell Kohout, Martin (1952). "TSHA | Finlay, TX". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved March 17, 2023.