1924 Wyoming gubernatorial special election

none January 2025 September 2023 1924 Wyoming gubernatorial special election Wyoming by-election 1924 11 4 no 1922 Wyoming gubernatorial election 1922 1926 Wyoming gubernatorial election 1926 File:Nellie Tayloe Ross 01.jpg 150x150px Nellie Tayloe Ross Democratic Party (United States) 43,323 55.12% File:Portrait of E. J. Sullivan.jpg 150x150px Republican Party (United States) E. J. Sullivan 35,275 44.88% 1924 Wyoming gubernatorial special election results map by county.svg 250px County resultsRoss: #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% Sullivan: #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70% Governor Frank Lucas Republican Party (United States) Nellie Tayloe Ross Democratic Party (United States) The 1924 Wyoming gubernatorial special election took place on November 4, 1924. William B. Ross, the Democratic Governor of Wyoming, died in office on October 2, 1924, temporarily elevating Republican Secretary of State Frank Lucas to the governorship. A special election was held to fill the remainder of Ross's term and his widow, Nellie Tayloe Ross, defeated Republican nominee E. J. Sullivan, becoming the first ever female governor of any U.S. state. Campaign Following Governor Ross's death on October 2, 1924, Secretary of State Frank Lucas ascended to the governorship. On October 6, Lucas issued a proclamation for a special election, but ambiguities in the law prompted him to seek a formal opinion from the state attorney general as to how candidates would be selected and how the election would be conducted.October 7, 1924 Committees Nominate Candidates This Week: Both Meetings Will Be Held at Cheyenne Casper Star-Tribune Casper, Wyo. 1 On October 9, the attorney general issued an opinion clarifying that candidates could be nominated by petition (in which case they would be listed as "independent" on the ballot) or by political party conventions.October 9, 1924 Nomination by State Committees Illegal: So Says Attorney General Howell in Opinion on Proposal to Nominate Candidates for Governor Casper Star-Tribune Casper, Wyo. 1 Accordingly, the Democratic and Republican parties scheduled conventions for October 14.October 10, 1924 Democrats Will Hold Convention Casper Star-Tribune Casper, Wyo. 1 Democratic convention As the Democratic convention convened in Cheyenne on October 14, speculation swirled around four potential candidates: Nellie Tayloe Ross, the widow of Governor Ross; Attorney General David J. Howell; former Assistant Secretary of the Interior Samuel G. Hopkins; and Charles D. Carey, the son of former Governor Joseph M. Carey.October 13, 1924 E. J. Sullivan Mentioned as Party Nominee: G.O.P. Convention Will Be Called to Order Tuesday in Cheyenne Casper Star-Tribune Casper, Wyo. 3 Ross was reported to be the favorite of the convention's delegates and it was considered a "not entirely remote" possibility that if the Democratic Party nominated her, the Republican Party would, too.October 14, 1924 May Select Woman Wyoming's Governor: Conventions Being Called and Mrs. Nellie Ross is Said to Be Favorite Okmulgee Daily Times Okmulgee, Okla. 5 As the convention started, however, it was unclear if Ross would be a candidate. By her own account, she was uncertain whether she would accept the nomination: When the day arrived on which the nominees were to be chosen by emergency conventions, a committee from the Democratic convention came to ask me if I would accept the nomination if it were proffered. I told them I should not. "Don't make it an absolute refusal," one of the members urged with fervor that almost disarmed me, and I think I made no reply. Nellie Tayloe Ross "The Governor Lady" Good Housekeeping (1927)Ross Nellie Taylor August 1927 The Governor Lady: America's First Woman Governor Tells for the First Time the Intimate Story of her Political Career https://digitalcollections.uwyo.edu/ahcpublic/NTR/ah00948_002035-2047.pdf Good Housekeeping New York, N.Y. Hearst Corporation May 30, 2021 The state party chairman relayed this uncertainty, saying that Ross had informed him that she might not accept a nomination.October 14, 1924 Widow Won't Be Governor? Mrs. Ross May Decline Wyoming Democratic Nomination Kansas City Star Kansas City, Mo. 1 At the beginning of the convention, Hopkins withdrew from consideration and the race apparently narrowed to Carey and Howell.October 14, 1924 E.J. Sullivan Wins Republican Nomination, State Democrats Name Mrs. Nellie T. Ross as Candidate: Selection in Each Meeting is Unanimous Casper Star-Tribune Casper, Wyo. 1, 7 However, Carey's reluctance to accept the nomination pushed the convention to adjourn for several hours. When the convention returned, delegates put Ross's name, and that of former State Senator Patrick J. O'Connor, into consideration. O'Connor withdrew and the convention unanimously nominated Ross. Ross was informed that she had been nominated and had just 45 minutes to accept or decline it prior to the filing deadline. She reported that she was "overwhelmed" by the "warm protestations of loyalty and confident predictions of victory of those faithful friends," and "the first thing I knew, I was committed." Republican convention On the Republican side, speculation about potential candidates circled around three men: former State Representative E. J. Sullivan; acting Governor Lucas; and C. Watt Brandon, an official with the Coolidge presidential campaign. Though former Governor Robert D. Carey was favored by many of the convention delegates, he ultimately declined to run. During the course of the convention, Brandon, Lucas, and Sullivan were all nominated, as were attorney George Brimmer; former State Senator H.J. Chassell, and banker S. A. Nelson. After several rounds of balloting, Sullivan emerged as the presumptive nominee, winning the support of 17 out of 22 committee members, who then moved to nominate him unanimously. General election Results 1924 Wyoming gubernatorial electionLucas Frank E. 1925 Official Directory of Wyoming and Election Returns for 1924 Cheyenne, Wyo. Wyoming Labor Journal 40–41 1925 Nellie Tayloe Ross Democratic Party (United States) 43,323 55.12 +5.71% E. J. Sullivan Republican Party (United States) 35,275 44.88 -5.71% 8,048 10.24% +9.06% 78,598 100.00% Democratic Party (United States) Republican Party (United States) By county SourceWyoming gubernatorial special election, 1924 https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=263441 Our Campaigns 20 July 2025 County Nellie Tayloe RossDemocratic E. J. SullivanRepublican Margin Total Votes % Votes % Votes %Albany2,75060.18%1,82039.82%93020.35%4,570Big Horn1,96453.36%1,71746.64%2476.71%3,681Campbell1,25861.22%79738.78%46122.43%2,055Carbon2,22851.15%2,12848.85%1002.30%4,356Converse1,61653.40%1,41046.60%2066.81%3,026Crook1,02258.30%73141.70%29116.60%1,753Fremont2,20458.85%1,54141.15%66317.70%3,745Goshen1,65258.42%1,17641.58%47616.83%2,828Hot Springs1,23355.97%97044.03%26311.94%2,203Johnson1,06556.02%83643.98%22912.05%1,901Laramie4,10254.12%3,47745.88%6258.25%7,579Lincoln1,35746.00%1,59354.00%-236-8.00%2,950Natrona6,31246.68%7,20953.32%-897-6.63%13,521Niobrara1,02362.42%61637.58%40724.83%1,639Park1,84664.01%1,03835.99%80828.02%2,884Platte1,82767.62%87532.38%95235.23%2,702Sheridan3,45060.79%2,22539.21%1,22521.59%5,675Sublette28735.26%52764.74%-240-29.48%814Sweetwater2,63156.89%1,99443.11%63713.77%4,625Teton31550.08%31449.92%10.16%629Uinta1,41658.01%1,02541.99%39116.02%2,441Washakie63452.70%56947.30%655.40%1,203Weston1,13162.21%68737.79%44424.42%1,818 References Category:1924 Wyoming elections 1924 Gubernatorial Wyoming Wyoming 1924 Category:1924 in women's history Category:History of women in Wyoming