The 1924 Colorado gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1924. Republican nominee Clarence Morley defeated Democratic incumbent William Ellery Sweet with 51.92% of the vote. Morley was supported by the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

, a white supremacist terrorist organization.

Primary elections

Primary elections Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pri ...

were held on September 9, 1924.

Democratic primary

Candidates

* William Ellery Sweet, incumbent

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 ...

Results

Republican primary

The

, established in Colorado in 1922, had become very powerful under the leadership of Grand Dragon John Galen Locke. In 1924, the Klan seized control of much of the party, especially in the

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

area, where mayor Benjamin F. Stapleton was first elected with Klan support (though he later turned his back on the Klan). Locke pushed Judge Morley, who was Klansman number 953 in Colorado. An early and loyal supporter, Locke suspected Morley would obey his every command. During his term as governor, this proved correct. According to the History Colorado Center, Locke was in frequent contact by telephone and letters. Indeed, "One man in the governor's office had as his primary duty the carrying of written messages between the Capitol and Locke's Glenarm Place office. For all practical purposes, Locke was the governor." Locke and Morley were opposed by incumbent Lt. Governor Robert F. Rockwell, a rancher and farmer from Western Colorado. Earl Cooley, another anti-Klan Republican, gained a small portion of the vote. In the end, though Rockwell was able to nearly sweep Western Colorado, Morley was carried across the finish line with a plurality thanks to strong support in Denver and Northeastern Colorado.

Candidates

* Clarence Morley,

District Court Judge * Robert F. Rockwell, incumbent

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

* Earl Cooley, former Lieutenant Governor

Results

General election

Candidates

Major party candidates *Clarence Morley, Republican *William Ellery Sweet, Democratic Other candidates *Frank Cass, Farmer–Labor *William R. Dietrich, Workers *Louis E. Leeder, Independent

Results

References

{{1924 United States elections

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20–January 30, 30 – Kuomintang in Ch ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

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 ...