The 1926 Oregon gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 1926 to elect the

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 ...

of the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. The election matched incumbent

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 ...

Walter M. Pierce Walter Marcus Pierce (May 30, 1861 – March 27, 1954) was an American politician, a Democrat, who served as the 17th Governor of Oregon and a member of the United States House of Representatives from . A native of Illinois, he served in the ...

against

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 ...

Isaac L. Patterson and

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

candidate H. H. Stallard, who ran on an anti-

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

platform. Patterson won by a wide margin.

Background

During a period of time in which Republicans had dominated politics in Oregon, Democrat Pierce had won election in

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

with the support of the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

, which was for a short time a powerful political force in Oregon. However, soon after the 1922 election, the Klan faded in power due in part to internal struggles and changing public sentiment.

Campaign

Now running for re-election in 1926, Pierce won his party's primary for re-election in 1926 over Louise Palmer Weber, one of many anti-Prohibition candidates that year who ran on a platform of repealing or modifying laws regarding the regulation of alcoholic beverages in Oregon. In their primary, Republicans nominated former state senator

I. L. Patterson Isaac Lee "Ike" Patterson, (September 17, 1859December 21, 1929) was the List of Governors of Oregon, 18th Governor of Oregon from 1927 to 1929. An Oregon native, he served in the Oregon Legislative Assembly from 1918 to 1922, and was a farmer i ...

, who had chaired

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...

's successful election campaign in Oregon, over Jay H. Upton and W. A. Carter. An independent candidate, H. H. Stallard, also entered the campaign as an

with a focus on repealing prohibition in the state. In the general election, Patterson cruised to a 12-point victory over the incumbent Pierce, with Stallard earning more than 5% of the vote.

Election results

Aftermath

Patterson served about three years of his term before dying of pneumonia on December 22, 1929. Pierce was later elected to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

, and represented

Oregon's 2nd congressional district Oregon's 2nd congressional district is the largest of Oregon's six districts, and is the seventh largest district in the nation. It is the second-largest congressional district in the nation that does not cover an entire state. The district ...

from 1933 to 1942.

References

{{1926 United States elections

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 ...

1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of V ...

November 1926 events United States gubernatorial elections in the 1920s 1926 in Oregon Government of Oregon 1920s in Oregon 1926 elections 1926 elections in North America 1926 elections in the United States 1920s Oregon elections