The 1930 Kansas gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 1930.

Harry H. Woodring Harry Hines Woodring (May 31, 1887September 9, 1967) was an American politician. A Democrat, he was the 25th Governor of Kansas and the United States Assistant Secretary of War from 1933 to 1936. His most important role was Secretary of War in Pr ...

was elected

Governor of Kansas 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 r ...

, becoming only the fourth member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

to hold the position in state history. He won with only 34.96% of the vote, with the remainder being split between

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 ...

candidate Frank Haucke 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 ...

write-in candidate A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...

John R. Brinkley. Woodring's final margin of victory over Haucke was just 251 votes, or 0.04 percent. The incumbent governor, Republican Clyde M. Reed, was defeated for renomination.

Campaign and voting controversy

After losing his medical and broadcast licenses, "goat-gland doctor" John R. Brinkley decided to run for governor, a position that would enable him to appoint his own members to the medical board and thus regain his right to practice medicine. He began his candidacy in September 1930, just three days after he lost his medical license. He used his radio station to help his campaign, including recruiting a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

star to campaign for him. He also made use of several other publicity stunts. Brinkley campaigned on a vague program that included public works (a state lake in every county), education (free textbooks for public schoolchildren and increased educational opportunities for African Americans), lower taxes, and old-age pensions.Brock, Pope
''Charlatan: America's Most Dangerous Huckster, the Man Who Pursued Him, and the Age of Flimflam''
Crown Publishing. 2008. Because Brinkley announced his campaign so late, he had to run as a

. Three days before the election, the

Attorney General of Kansas The Attorney General of Kansas is a statewide elected official responsible for providing legal services to the state government of Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city i ...

(a known opponent) announced that the rules surrounding write-in candidates had changed, and that Brinkley's name could only be written in in one specific way for the vote to count (as "J. R. Brinkley"). An article published at the time in ''

The Des Moines Register ''The Des Moines Register'' is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa. History Early period The first newspaper in Des Moines was the ''Iowa Star''. In July 1849, Barlow Granger began the paper in an abandoned log cabin by the junctio ...

'' estimated that between 30,000 and 50,000 ballots were disqualified in this manner. The successful candidate, Woodring, later admitted he would have lost had all of Brinkley's votes been counted.

Results

Woodring won 39 counties (including Rawlins County by a single vote), Haucke won 38 counties, and Brinkley 28 counties.

References

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...

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 ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

November 1930 events United States gubernatorial elections in the 1930s 1930 elections 1930 elections in North America 1930 elections in the United States 1930 in Kansas {{1930 United States elections

Campaign and voting controversy

Results

See also

References