1926 Georgia gubernatorial election

The 1926 Georgia gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 1926, in order to elect the Governor of Georgia.

1926 Georgia Democratic gubernatorial primary runoff
October 6, 1926
 
Nominee Lamartine Griffin Hardman John N. Holder
Party Democratic Democratic
Electoral vote 276 138
Popular vote 80,868 60,197
Percentage 57.33% 42.67%
Governor before election

Clifford Walker
Democratic

 Elected Governor

Lamartine Griffin Hardman
Democratic

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Incumbent Democrat Governor Clifford Walker was term-limited, and ineligible to run for a third term.

As was common at the time, the Democratic candidate ran unopposed in the general election so therefore the Democratic primary was the real contest, and winning the primary was considered tantamount to election.

Democratic primary

The Democratic primary election was held on September 8, 1926. As no candidate won a majority of county unit votes, a run-off was held between the top two candidates on October 6, 1926.

County unit system

From 1917 until 1962, the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Georgia used a voting system called the county unit system to determine victors in statewide primary elections.[1]

The system was ostensibly designed to function similarly to the Electoral College, but in practice the large ratio of unit votes for small, rural counties to unit votes for more populous urban areas provided outsized political influence to the smaller counties.[2][3]

Under the county unit system, the 159 counties in Georgia were divided by population into three categories. The largest eight counties were classified as "Urban", the next-largest 30 counties were classified as "Town", and the remaining 121 counties were classified as "Rural". Urban counties were given 6 unit votes, Town counties were given 4 unit votes, and Rural counties were given 2 unit votes, for a total of 410 available unit votes. Each county's unit votes were awarded on a winner-take-all basis.[2][3]

Candidates were required to obtain a majority of unit votes (not necessarily a majority of the popular vote), or 206 total unit votes, to win the election. If no candidate received a majority in the initial primary, a runoff election was held between the top two candidates to determine a winner.[4]

Candidates

Results

Although Holder won a plurality of the popular vote in the first round, Hardman won a plurality of county unit votes. No candidate winning a majority of county unit votes in the first round, the election went to a run-off.

Democratic primary[7][8][9]
Candidate Votes % CUV
Lamartine Griffin Hardman 67,708 35.08 168
John N. Holder 71,976 37.29 160
George H. Carswell 32,484 16.83 70
Joe O. Wood 20,857 10.81 16
Democratic primary runoff[7][10][11]
Candidate Votes % CUV
Lamartine Griffin Hardman 80,868 57.33 276
John N. Holder 60,197 42.67 138

General election

In the general election, Hardman ran unopposed.

Results
1926 Georgia gubernatorial election[12][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Lamartine Griffin Hardman 47,267[lower-alpha 1] 100.00%
Turnout 47,267 100.00%
Democratic hold Swing

References
  1. "County Unit System". Georgia County Clerks Association. Archived from the original on 31 May 2008. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  2. "Eugene Talmadge". The Jim Crow Encyclopedia. The African American Experience. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
  3. "County Unit System, eh?". Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies. 6 October 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  4. Buchanan, Scott (13 June 2017). "County Unit System". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  5. "Georgia votes tomorrow". Evening Star. Washington, D.C. 7 September 1926. p. 2. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  6. "Georgia is voting today on Senator". Evening Star. Washington, D.C. 8 September 1926. p. 4. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  7. Congressional Quarterly 1998, p. 107.
  8. "GA Governor, 1926 - D Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  9. Georgia Register 1927, pp. 314-317.
  10. "GA Governor, 1926 - D Runoff". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  11. Georgia Register 1927, pp. 354-357.
  12. "GA Governor, 1926". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  13. Glashan 1979, pp. 68-69.
  14. Congressional Quarterly 1998, p. 48.
  15. Dubin 2013, p. 11.

Notes
  1. Some sources indicate Hardman received 47,300 votes.[14][15]

Bibliography
  • Gubernatorial Elections, 1787-1997. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Inc. 1998. ISBN 1-56802-396-0.
  • Glashan, Roy R. (1979). American Governors and Gubernatorial Elections, 1775-1978. Meckler Books. ISBN 0-930466-17-9.
  • Dubin, Michael J. (2013). "Annual Summary". United States Gubernatorial Elections, 1912-1931: The Official Results by State and County. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 9781476601007.
  • Compiled by Ruth Blair, State Historian and Director (1927). Georgia's Official Register, 1927 (PDF). Atlanta, GA: State of Georgia, Department of Archives and History.
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