A Review of Gubernatorial Elections without Two Major Party Candidates

More than 95 percent of gubernatorial elections since 1900 have had two major party candidates on the ballot including every election in 34 states

Last week Smart Politics documented those states in which voters have had the opportunity to choose from both Democrats and Republicans in every U.S. Senate general or special election conducted since 1913.

This week, the lens turns on gubernatorial elections – specifically the nearly 2,000 held in the United States since the turn of the 20th Century.

As surmised by a commenter on last week’s report, major parties have been able to secure candidates on the ballot at a higher rate in elections for governor than for the U.S. Senate over the last 100+ years.

For the U.S. Senate, voters did not have candidates from both major parties as options in 7.5 percent of the more than 2,000 elections conducted since 1913, with 20 states having an unblemished record through 2024.

Since 1900, voters in 34 states have had the choice of both Democratic and Republican candidates in races for governor, with only 4.6 percent of the 1,991 elections listing just one major party on the ballot.

These 34 states include:

• 11 from the Northeast: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont*
• Eight from the Midwest: Indiana, Iowa, Kansas*, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska*, Ohio, and South Dakota*
• Four from the South: Kentucky, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and West Virginia
• 11 from the West: Arizona, Colorado*, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada*, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming

* Vermont: In 1906, state legislator Percival Clement was on the ballot line of the Democratic and Independent parties. In 2020, Vermont Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman won the Democratic and Progressive primaries. He chose the Progressive ballot line in the general election with his Democratic nomination noted second.

* Kansas: In 1900, John Breidenthal was the nominee of the Peoples’ and Democratic parties. In 1902, W.H. Craddock was the nominee of the Peoples’ and Democratic parties.

* Nebraska: In 1900, William Poynter was the fusion nominee for the Peoples’ Independent, Democratic, and Silver Republican parties. In 1902, William H. Thompson was the nominee for the Peoples’ Independent and Democratic parties. In 1904, George W. Berge was the nominee for the Peoples’ Independent and Democratic parties. In 1906 and 1908, Ashton C. Shallenberger was the nominee for the Peoples’ Independent and Democratic parties.

* South Dakota: In 1900, Burre Lien ran as a fusion candidate nominated by the Democratic and Peoples’ parties

* Colorado: In 1900, James Orman was the nominee of the Democratic, Silver Republican, and Peoples’ parties

* Nevada: In 1902 and 1906 the Democratic and Silver parties ran a fusion ticket with nominee John Sparks winning both contests

It should be noted that the vast majority of the 92 gubernatorial elections with only one major party candidate on the general election ballot since 1900 were held in four states in the Deep South during an era that was essentially one-party Democratic rule (73 elections in total):

• 27 in Georgia: 1902, 1904, 1906, 1908, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1916, 1918, 1920, 1922, 1924, 1926, 1928, 1930, 1932, 1934, 1936, 1938, 1940, 1942, 1946, 1948, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962
• 22 in South Carolina: 1900, 1902, 1904, 1906, 1908, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1916, 1918, 1920, 1922, 1924, 1926, 1930, 1934, 1942, 1946, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962
• 15 in Mississippi: 1903, 1907, 1911, 1915, 1919, 1923, 1927, 1931, 1935, 1939, 1943, 1951, 1955, 1959, 1971
• Nine in Louisiana: 1916, 1932, 1936, 1944, 1948, 1956, 1968, 1975, 1987 (in 1987, GOP U.S. Rep. Bob Livingston was eliminated in the jungle primary)

An additional 11 elections were held without Republican candidates across six other southern states: three in Alabama (1918, 1930, 1970), three in Tennessee (1934, 1950, 1966), two in Arkansas (1918, 1942), and one each in Florida (1940), Texas (1952), and Virginia (1913).

All told, 84 of the 92 gubernatorial elections with candidates from only one major party did not have a Republican.

Of the eight contests without a Democrat, only one overlapped with any of the aforementioned states. In Virginia’s 1973 race, Republicans nominated former Democratic Governor Mills Godwin who was challenged by the sitting independent Democratic Lieutenant Governor Henry Howell.

Several of the remaining seven contests had rather unique circumstances surrounding why the Democratic Party ended up without a nominee on the general election ballot:

• California, 1918: The winner of the Democratic primary, cross-filing GOP San Francisco Mayor James Rolph, was not allowed to accept the nomination because of a state law at the time requiring such candidates to also win their own party’s primary (which Rolph lost to Governor William Stephens). Stephens also cross-filed in the Democratic and Socialist primaries but appeared on the general election ballot because he won the Republican primary (as well as Progressive and Prohibition primaries).
• North Dakota, 1921: Republican-turned-Non-Partisan League Governor Lynn Frazier faced a recall vote in October 1921 (along with Attorney General William Lemke and Commissioner of Agriculture and Labor John Hagan). Former State Representative Ragnvald Nestos – backed by many Republicans and the anti-Socialist Independent Voters Association – narrowly won the race marking the first successful gubernatorial recall in U.S. history.
• North Dakota, 1922: One year later, Nestos was reelected facing only the aforementioned Non-Partisan Leaguer and recalled Attorney General William Lemke
• Wisconsin, 1922: In that same cycle, Democrats technically did not run a nominee, although La Crosse Mayor Arthur Bentley had won the Democratic primary. However, Bentley and other Democrats had to run as independents in the general election because they did not receive enough votes in the September primary. Bentley, as well as other high profile candidates for lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer, attorney general and U.S. Senator, were listed under the “Independent” ballot line that November, with “Independent Democrat” noted below their names.
• Minnesota, 1936: By the 1930s, the Democratic Party in Minnesota had been relegated to the third largest party in the state, behind the Republicans and the Farmer-Laborites. Democrats did hold a gubernatorial primary in 1936, won by South St. Paul attorney Fred Curtis over New Prague physician Edward Novak. However, after the primary, Curtis was sued by Novak’s campaign manager, William Fitzharris, in Dakota County district court to set aside the nomination alleging Curtis had misrepresented Novak and violated the Minnesota Corrupt Practices Act. Curtis (and U.S. Senate nominee Patrick Delaney) eventually withdrew from the race in early October to coalesce support behind the Farmer-Laborite nominees (Elmer Benson and Ernest Lundeen respectively). Benson won the governorship over Republican nominee Martin Nelson, an attorney from Austin.
• Illinois, 1986: Former U.S. Senator Adlai Stevenson III won the state’s Democratic gubernatorial primary with a Lyndon LaRouche-ite candidate (Mark Fairchild) winning the nomination for lieutenant governor. Illinois law at the time required the winning candidates for governor and lieutenant governor – even though elected in separate primaries – to run as a single ticket in the general election. Stevenson refused to run alongside a LaRouche Democrat and instead ran as an independent candidate under the Illinois Solidarity banner. That left the official Democratic ticket with only a candidate for lieutenant governor and none for governor. Stevenson lost to GOP Governor Jim Thompson with the official Democratic ticket garnering only 6.6 percent.
• Alaska, 2014: Former Juneau Mayor Byron Mallott won the Democratic nomination in August, but in early September chose instead to serve as the lieutenant gubernatorial running mate of independent Bill Walker to coalesce the support of the two campaigns. The fusion had the support of Alaska’s Democratic Party, but left the Democrats without a nominee for governor for the first and only time in state history. Walker unseated GOP Governor Sean Parnell.

It is too soon to officially project that both major parties will have candidates in each of the 36 states holding contests this November, though recent history suggests it is very unlikely one party will sit out a race or otherwise fail to field a candidate.

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