Jonathan McMillan Davis (April 27, 1871 – June 27, 1943) was an American politician and the 22nd Governor of Kansas.

Biography

Davis was born in

Bronson, Kansas Bronson is a city in Bourbon County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 304. History Bronson was founded in the 1880s. The first store and post office opened in September 1881. The city was formerly n ...

, to Jonathan McMillan and Eve (Holeman) Davis. His education was in the public schools and the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

and the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a public land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the Morrill Act of 1862, the school was known as the Universit ...

. He left college without graduating due to the death of his father. He married Mary "Mollie" Purdom on September 26, 1894, and they had four children. Mollie died in 1926 and he married Mary E. (Winston) Raymond on December 16, 1931.

Career

Davis served in the

Kansas House of Representatives The Kansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. Composed of 125 state representatives from districts with roughly equal populations of at least 19,000, its members are responsible for craftin ...

from 1905 to 1913; and then in the

Kansas State Senate The Kansas Senate is the upper house of the Kansas Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. State of Kansas. It is composed of 40 senators elected from single-member districts, each with a population of at least 60,000 inhabitants. Members o ...

from 1915 to 1917. Davis won a narrow victory over Republican

William Yoast Morgan William Yoast Morgan (April 6, 1866 – February 17, 1932) was an American newspaperman, author and politician who served as the 21st Lieutenant Governor of Kansas from 1915 to 1919 under Governor Arthur Capper. He was a member of the Republican ...

in the 1922 Kansas gubernatorial election and was sworn into office on January 8, 1923. During his tenure, taxes were cut, prohibition and women's suffrage were endorsed, increased funding secured for veteran's pensions, banking procedures were limited, an improved road bill was authorized, utilities were controlled, and the chancellor of the University of Kansas was fired. Davis was the Democratic candidate in the

1924 Kansas gubernatorial election The 1924 Kansas gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1924. Republican nominee Benjamin S. Paulen defeated Democratic incumbent Jonathan M. Davis with 49.02% of the vote. General election Candidates Major party candidates *Benjami ...

but the independent candidacy of publisher

William Allen White William Allen White (February 10, 1868 – January 29, 1944) was an American newspaper editor, politician, author, and leader of the Progressive movement. Between 1896 and his death, White became a spokesman for middle America. At a 1937 ...

on an anti-

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 ...

platform split the progressive vote and Republican

Benjamin S. Paulen Benjamin Sanford Paulen (July 14, 1869 – July 11, 1961) was an American banker and the 23rd Governor of Kansas from 1925 to 1929. He served as mayor of Fredonia, Kansas and in the Kansas Senate. Biography Paulen was born in DeWitt County, I ...

was elected by a plurality. Davis was arrested the day after his term ended. He was indicted twice for bribery, tried twice and acquitted both times. His defense was led by Populist lawyers

Alexander Miller Harvey Alexander Miller Harvey (November 24, 1867 in Richmond, Kentucky, Richmond, Kentucky – March 9, 1928 in Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, Kansas) was an American lawyer, politician, and author. Political career A lawyer from Topeka admitted to the bar i ...

and

Frank Doster Frank Doster (January 19, 1847 – February 25, 1933) was a chief justice of the Kansas Supreme Court from January 11, 1897, to January 12, 1903. Early life, education, and career Born in Morgan County, Virginia in 1847, Doster spent most of hi ...

. He was again the Democratic nominee in the 1926 Kansas gubernatorial election but lost in a landslide to the incumbent Paulen. In 1930 Davis was the Democratic nominee for US Senate opposing incumbent Republican

Arthur Capper Arthur Capper (July 14, 1865 – December 19, 1951) was an American politician from Kansas. He was the 20th governor of Kansas (the first born in the state) from 1915 to 1919 and a United States senator from 1919 to 1949. He also owned a radio ...

and suffered another landslide loss. In 1936 Davis made another run for governor but lost the Democratic primary to Walter A. Huxman. He ran for governor as an independent in 1938 but received less than 2% of the vote.

Death

Davis died on June 27, 1943, following a lengthy illness and several repeat visits to a Fort Scott hospital. He is interred at Bronson Cemetery in

References

External links

*
The Political GraveyardPublications concerning Kansas Governor Davis' administration available via the KGI Online Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Jonathan M. Democratic Party governors of Kansas Democratic Party members of the Kansas House of Representatives Democratic Party Kansas state senators 1871 births 1943 deaths People from Bourbon County, Kansas Methodists from Kansas