The 1907 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 5. Incumbent Republican Governor
Curtis Guild Jr.
Curtis Guild Jr. (February 2, 1860 – April 6, 1915) was an American journalist, soldier, diplomat and politician from Massachusetts. He was the 43rd Governor of Massachusetts, serving from 1906 to 1909. Prior to his election as governor, Guil ...
was re-elected for a third one-year term.
The election was noted for the split in the Democratic Party and the very strong third-party performance for Independence Party nominee
Thomas Hisgen
Thomas Louis Hisgen (November 26, 1858 – August 27, 1925) was an American petroleum producer and politician.
He refused to sell his firm to the Standard Oil Trust and was chosen by the Massachusetts Independence League as its candidate for ...
. Hisgen actually received more votes than the Democratic ticket, though Democratic nominee Henry M. Whitney received more votes than Hisgen when considering votes Whitney received on three independent tickets.
Republican nomination
Candidates
*
Curtis Guild Jr.
Curtis Guild Jr. (February 2, 1860 – April 6, 1915) was an American journalist, soldier, diplomat and politician from Massachusetts. He was the 43rd Governor of Massachusetts, serving from 1906 to 1909. Prior to his election as governor, Guil ...
, incumbent Governor
Campaign
The contest for the Republican nomination was seen as a referendum on the Roosevelt administration. The Massachusetts political establishment, led by Senator
Henry Cabot Lodge
Henry Cabot Lodge (May 12, 1850 November 9, 1924) was an American Republican politician, historian, and statesman from Massachusetts. He served in the United States Senate from 1893 to 1924 and is best known for his positions on foreign policy. ...
and Governor Guild, was solidly in support of Roosevelt, Lodge's close personal friend. Republican critics of Governor Guild included State Senator
Arthur M. Taft, over the governor's allegedly insufficient support for the protective tariff.
Democratic nomination
Candidates
*
Charles W. Bartlett
Charles William Bartlett (1 June 186016 April 1940) was an English painter and printmaker who settled in Hawaii.
Biography
Bartlett studied metallurgy and worked in that field for several years. At age 23, he enrolled in the Royal Aca ...
, attorney and Democratic nominee for Governor in 1905
*
Henry Melville Whitney
Henry Melville Whitney (October 22, 1839 – January 25, 1923) was an American industrialist, the founder of the West End Street Railway Company of Boston, Massachusetts, and later the Dominion Coal Company Ltd. and the Dominion Iron and Steel ...
, industrialist and Democratic nominee for Lt. Governor in 1905
Campaign
In a poll taken of the Democratic state legislators in May, 25 favored Whitney and 8 favored Bartlett, with 5 scattering and 32 noncommittal.
Convention
The Democratic convention was held in Springfield on October 5. Whitney delegates gained control of the convention hall and barred Bartlett delegates from entry. The Bartlett delegates assembled themselves to nominate their candidate and adopt their own platform.
Bartlett's supporters were generally aligned with the presidential campaign of
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running ...
, while Whitney's were in opposition to Bryan's third campaign for the Democratic nomination. Bartlett supporters also cited seniority
and Whitney's support of the merger of the
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of ...
and
Boston and Maine Corporation
The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022).
At the end of 1970, B ...
.
Aftermath
Whitney's nomination led Grenville MacFarland, the Chairman of the Democratic State Committee, to resign his post and his membership in the State Committee.
MacFarland felt that Whitney represented corporate interests over "true Democratic principles"
in his support of the merger of
New York, New Haven and Hartford
The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of ...
with
Boston and Maine
The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022).
At the end of 1970, ...
railroads.
General election
Candidates
*
Charles W. Bartlett
Charles William Bartlett (1 June 186016 April 1940) was an English painter and printmaker who settled in Hawaii.
Biography
Bartlett studied metallurgy and worked in that field for several years. At age 23, he enrolled in the Royal Aca ...
, attorney and Democratic nominee for Governor in 1905 (Anti-Merger)
*John W. Brown (Socialist)
*Thomas F. Brennan (Socialist Labor)
*Hervey S. Cowell (Prohibition)
*
Curtis Guild Jr.
Curtis Guild Jr. (February 2, 1860 – April 6, 1915) was an American journalist, soldier, diplomat and politician from Massachusetts. He was the 43rd Governor of Massachusetts, serving from 1906 to 1909. Prior to his election as governor, Guil ...
, incumbent Governor (Republican)
*
Thomas Hisgen
Thomas Louis Hisgen (November 26, 1858 – August 27, 1925) was an American petroleum producer and politician.
He refused to sell his firm to the Standard Oil Trust and was chosen by the Massachusetts Independence League as its candidate for ...
, petroleum businessman (Independence)
*
Henry Melville Whitney
Henry Melville Whitney (October 22, 1839 – January 25, 1923) was an American industrialist, the founder of the West End Street Railway Company of Boston, Massachusetts, and later the Dominion Coal Company Ltd. and the Dominion Iron and Steel ...
, industrialist and Democratic nominee for Lt. Governor in 1905 (Democratic-Independent)
Campaign
The split in the Democratic Party assured Guild of re-election in the normally Republican state. Guild ran a quiet, positive campaign emphasizing his record in office, largely ignoring his three main opponents. He characterized his party's record as: "a larger amount of progress legislation, a larger amount of radical reorganization of state institutions, and for a larger amount of new appointments than has ever occurred before in any similar period in the whole history of the commonwealth."
Results
See also
*
1907 Massachusetts legislature
Notes
References
{{Massachusetts elections
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
1907
November 1907 events