The 1928 Tennessee gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1928. Incumbent Democratic governor Austin Peay died in office on October 2, 1927. Tennessee’s Democratic Speaker of the Senate, Henry Hollis Horton became governor according to Tennessee’s gubernatorial succession law. In the general election, Henry defeated Republican nominee Raleigh Hopkins with 61.1% of the vote.
 | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
 County results Horton: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Hopkins: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
In the primary election, Horton turned to Austin Peay's longtime adviser, Luke Lea, publisher of the Nashville Tennessean, to help him win re-election. Lea's rivals, Memphis political boss E. H. Crump and Nashville political boss Hilary Howse endorsed Hill McAlister, who had been defeated by Peay in 1926. A third candidate, Lewis S. Pope also sought the Democratic nomination and had the backing of Peay's widow. After a hard-fought primary campaign, Horton won the nomination with 97,333 votes to 92,017 for McAlister and 27,779 for Pope.[1]
Primary elections
editPrimary elections were held on August 2, 1928.[2]
Democratic primary
editCandidates
edit- Henry Hollis Horton, incumbent governor
- Hill McAlister, Tennessee State Treasurer
- Lewis S. Pope
- D. W. Dodson
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Henry Hollis Horton (incumbent) | 97,333 | 44.72 | |
| Democratic | Hill McAlister | 92,017 | 42.27 | |
| Democratic | Lewis S. Pope | 27,779 | 12.76 | |
| Democratic | D. W. Dodson | 543 | 0.25 | |
| Total votes | 217,672 | 100.00 | ||
General election
editCandidates
edit- Henry Hollis Horton, Democratic
- Raleigh Hopkins, Republican
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Henry Hollis Horton (incumbent) | 195,546 | 61.06% | ||
| Republican | Raleigh Hopkins | 124,733 | 38.95% | ||
| Majority | 70,813 | ||||
| Turnout | |||||
| Democratic hold | Swing | ||||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Phillip Langsdon, Tennessee: A Political History (Franklin, Tenn.: Hillsboro Press, 2000), pp. 312-318.
- ^ a b c Guide to U.S. elections - CQ Press, Congressional Quarterly, inc. CQ Press. 2005. ISBN 9781568029818. Retrieved June 10, 2020.