The 1906 North Dakota gubernatorial election, sometimes called 'The Revolution of 1906' was held on November 6, 1906. This election marked a major shift in North Dakota politics as the incumbent,

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Elmore Sarles, was defeated by a 53.20% majority vote for

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

John Burke, who had garnered bipartisan support across the state of constituents tired of Sarles' administration, which was supported by the Republican political machine run by politician Alexander McKenzie.

Background

Incumbent Elmore Sarles had been a businessman prior to his election as the

ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

governor of North Dakota The governor of North Dakota is the head of government of North Dakota and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The Constitution of North Dakota specifies that "the executive power is vested in the governor" in Secti ...

in 1904, taking office in 1905. During his tenure in office, Sarles was frequently criticized for taking positions favoring big businesses, and for publicly drinking while the state constitution had enacted prohibition since its admission into the United States. Furthermore, Sarles was supported by a Republican political machine headed by Alexander McKenzie, who had been known for being a confidant of many top officials, and who had personally selected many candidates who later won state offices. In the lead-up to the 1906 election, many newspapers began to publish articles and editorials railing against 'McKenzieism', and the Democrat candidate, John Burke, who had initially not wanted to run, used this as a campaign point, becoming very active, and winning over many Progressive Republicans who had been looking to oust the influence of McKenzie and Sarles.

General election results

Results by county

References

{{North Dakota elections

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

Gubernatorial A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...