The 1910 Oregon gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1910, to elect the
governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
of the U.S. state of
Oregon
Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
. The election matched incumbent
Republican Jay Bowerman
Jay Bowerman (August 15, 1876 – October 25, 1957) was an American politician of the Republican Party who served as the 13th Governor of Oregon, for the final few months of the term of Frank Benson, who retired due to illness.
Early life
B ...
against
Democratic challenger
Oswald West
Oswald West (May 20, 1873 – August 22, 1960) was an American politician, a Democrat, who served most notably as the 14th Governor of Oregon.
Early life
West was born in Guelph, Ontario, Canada but moved to Salem, Oregon with his family at t ...
. In the election, approximately 118,442 ballots were cast.
After the resignations of
George Chamberlain (to take up a Senate seat) and
Frank W. Benson (due to illness), then
President of the Oregon Senate Jay Bowerman took up the role as Governor for the remainder of the term. Bowerman sought election as governor in his own right on a platform advocating modernization of highways, economies in government administration, and tight control of state land management.
Oswald West, a former agent of
State Land Board and then member of the Oregon Railroad Commission, won the Democratic primary on the back of his good reputation on both offices. As an agent of the State Land Board, he helped recover thousands of acres that had been fraudulently obtained with the help of corrupt officials. As an agent of the Railroad Commission, he was popular and had enough public clout to win his party's nomination.
Despite Oregon being a mostly Republican state at the time, Bowerman was defeated by his Democratic opponent after being labeled an opponent of direct government. Bowerman was nominated by the Republican Party in assembly despite the fact that Oregonians had adopted a direct primary law prohibiting party nominating conventions.
Two minor candidates, a Socialist and Prohibitionist, took about twelve percent of the vote between themselves.
Results
References
{{1910 United States elections
Gubernatorial
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...
1910
Events
January
* January 6 – Abé people in the French West Africa colony of Côte d'Ivoire rise against the colonial administration; the rebellion is brutally suppressed by the military.
* January 8 – By the Treaty of Punakha, t ...
Oregon
Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
November 1910 in the United States