1925 Indianapolis mayoral election

The Indianapolis mayoral election of 1925 took place on November 3, 1925 and saw the election of Republican former Marion County treasurer John L. Duvall, who defeated Democratic former Indianapolis city attorney Walter Meyers.[1][2]

Indianapolis mayoral election, 1925

November 3, 1925
Turnout63.9%[1]
 
Nominee John L. Duvall Walter Meyers
Party Republican Democratic
Percentage 55% 45%

Mayor before election

Samuel L. Shank
Republican

Elected Mayor

John L. Duvall
Republican

The 1925 municipal elections were notable for the presence of the Ku Klux Klan.[1] John L. Duvall was a member of the Klan.[1] However, contemporarily, the election was considered to one of the most tame municipal elections in then-recent memory.[1]

Nominations

Walter Meyers defeated A.G. Emhardt for the Democratic nomination.[1]

Duvall, a Klansman, defeated anti-Klan candidate Ralph Lemcke for the Republican nomination.[1][2]

Results

Duvall won roughly 52,000 votes to Myers' roughly 43,000 votes.[1]

Duvall carried every ward except the city's 12th and 13th wards.[1] Despite his being a Klansman, Duvall's victory was, in part, due to his carrying the predominantly African American 5th and 6th wards.[1] Duvall, despite winning, underperformed in many wards compared to down-ticket Republicans.[1]

Voter turnout was considered to be low, with only 95,872 out of an estimated 150,000 registered voters participating in the municipal election.[1]

In the coinciding city council elections, which were voted at-large, six out of nine city council members elected were also pro-Klan Republicans.[1] Additionally, the Klan-backed "United Protestant" slate won in the city's coinciding school board elections.[1]

References

  1. Bodenhamer, David J.; Barrows, Robert G. (1994). The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Indiana University Press. p. 557. ISBN 0-253-31222-1.
  2. Stone, Andrew E. (28 June 2011). "Wicked Indianapolis". Arcadia Publishing. p. 85.
Preceded by
1921
Indianapolis mayoral election
1925
Succeeded by
1929
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