1938 United States gubernatorial elections

United States gubernatorial elections were held in 1938, in 33 states, concurrent with the House and Senate elections, on November 8, 1938 (September 12 in Maine).

1938 United States gubernatorial elections

November 8, 1938; September 12, 1938 (ME)
33 state governorships
Majority party Minority party   Party Democratic Republican Last election 39 governorships 6 governorships Seats before 39 6 Seats after 30 18 Seat change 9 12   Third party Fourth party   Party Farmer–Labor Progressive Last election 1 governorship 1 governorship Seats before 1 1 Seats after 0 0 Seat change 1 1   Fifth party   Party Non-Partisan League Last election 1 governorship Seats before 1 Seats after 0 Seat change 1
Democratic gain      Democratic hold      Republican gain      Republican hold

In New York, the governor was elected to a 4-year term for the first time, instead of a 2-year term.

Results

State	Incumbent	Party	Status	Opposing Candidates
Alabama	Bibb Graves	Democratic	Term-limited, Democratic victory	Frank Dixon (Democratic) 87.52% W. A. Clardy (Republican) 12.48% [1]
Arizona	Rawghlie Clement Stanford	Democratic	Retired, Democratic victory	Robert Taylor Jones (Democratic) 68.57% Jerrie W. Lee (Republican) 27.33% James H. Kerby (Independent Democrat) 4.11% [2]
Arkansas	Carl E. Bailey	Democratic	Re-elected, 86.32%	Charles F. Cole (Independent) 8.78% Walter S. McNutt (Republican) 4.89% [3]
California	Frank Merriam	Republican	Defeated, 44.17%	Culbert Olson (Democratic) 52.49% Raymond L. Haight (Progressive) 2.43% Robert Noble (Commonwealth) 0.90% Scattering 0.02% [4]
Colorado	Teller Ammons	Democratic	Defeated, 40.02%	Ralph Lawrence Carr (Republican) 59.50% Jack R. White (National Union) 0.25% Harvey L. Mayfield (Royal Way) 0.23% [5]
Connecticut	Wilbur Lucius Cross	Democratic	Defeated, 36.00%	Raymond E. Baldwin (Republican) 36.43% Jasper McLevy (Socialist) 26.30% Joseph C. Borden Jr. (Socialist Labor) 1.15% Devere Allen (Labor) 0.12% [6]
Georgia	Eurith D. Rivers	Democratic	Re-elected, 94.28%	E. S. Fuller (Independent) 2.70% L. P. Glass (Prohibition) 1.92% Alexander Stephens Mitchell (Independent) 1.11% [7] (Democratic primary results) Eurith D. Rivers 50.72% Hugh Howell 42.40% J. J. Mangham 6.18% Robert F. Wood 0.70% [8]
Idaho	Barzilla W. Clark	Democratic	Defeated in Democratic primary, Republican victory	C. A. Bottolfsen (Republican) 57.30% C. Ben Ross (Democratic) 41.89% R. B. Wilson (National Progressive) 0.81% [9]
Iowa	Nelson G. Kraschel	Democratic	Defeated, 45.72%	George A. Wilson (Republican) 52.71% Wallace M. Short (Farmer Labor) 1.20% John F. Wirds (Progressive) 0.25% J. Alvin Mitchell (Prohibition) 0.13% [10]
Kansas	Walter A. Huxman	Democratic	Defeated, 45.13%	Payne Ratner (Republican) 52.10% Jonathan M. Davis (Independent) 1.99% C. Floyd Hester (Prohibition) 0.57% Ida A. Beloof (Socialist) 0.20% [11]
Maine (held, 12 September 1938)	Lewis O. Barrows	Republican	Re-elected, 52.89%	Louis J. Brann (Democratic) 47.02% Winfred Tabbutt (Communist) 0.10% [12]
Maryland	Harry Nice	Republican	Defeated, 42.88%	Herbert O'Conor (Democratic) 54.62% Herbert Brune (Independent) 1.33% Joshua C. Gwin (Union) 0.75% David W. Eyman (Socialist) 0.17% Robert Kadish (Labor) 0.13% Samuel Gordon (Communist) 0.11% [13]
Massachusetts	Charles F. Hurley	Democratic	Defeated in Democratic primary, Republican victory	Leverett Saltonstall (Republican) 53.32% James Michael Curley (Democratic) 44.96% William H. McMasters (Townsend Party) 0.41% Jeffrey W. Campbell (Socialist) 0.32% Henning A. Blomen (Socialist Labor) 0.22% Otis Archer Hood (Communist) 0.20% Roland S. Bruneau (Independent) 0.19% [14]
Michigan	Frank Murphy	Democratic	Defeated, 46.96%	Frank Fitzgerald (Republican) 52.78% Nahum Burnett (Socialist) 0.18% Clayton O’Donohue (Socialist Labor) 0.03% Scattering 0.05% [15]
Minnesota	Elmer Austin Benson	Farmer-Labor	Defeated, 34.18%	Harold Stassen (Republican) 59.92% Thomas F. Gallagher (Democratic) 5.82% John William Castle (Industrial) 0.08% [16]
Nebraska	Robert L. Cochran	Democratic	Re-elected, 44.03%	Charles J. Warner (Republican) 40.63% Charles W. Bryan (Independent) 15.35% [17]
Nevada	Richard Kirman Sr.	Democratic	Retired, Democratic victory	Edward P. Carville (Democratic) 61.86% John A. Fulton (Republican) 38.14% [18]
New Hampshire	Francis P. Murphy	Republican	Re-elected, 57.08%	John L. Sullivan (Democratic) 42.79% Elba K. Chase (Communist) 0.13% [19]
New Mexico	Clyde Tingley	Democratic	Term-limited, Democratic victory	John E. Miles (Democratic) 52.24% Albert K. Mitchell (Republican) 47.59% J. D. Shuster (Independent) 0.17% [20]
New York	Herbert H. Lehman	Democratic	Re-elected, 50.38%	Thomas E. Dewey (Republican) 49.02% Norman M. Thomas (Socialist) 0.53% Aaron M. Orange (Industrial Government) 0.07% [21]
North Dakota	William Langer	Non-Partisan League	Retired to run for U.S. Senate, Democratic victory	John Moses (Democratic) 52.47% John N. Hagan (Republican) 47.53% [22]
Ohio	Martin L. Davey	Democratic	Defeated in Democratic primary, Republican victory	John W. Bricker (Republican) 52.45% Charles Sawyer (Democratic) 47.55% [23]
Oklahoma	E. W. Marland	Democratic	Term-limited, Democratic victory	Leon C. Phillips (Democratic) 70.03% Ross Rizley (Republican) 29.31% John Wesley Lanham (Prohibition) 0.51% John Franing (Independent) 0.15% [24]
Oregon	Charles Martin	Democratic	Defeated in Democratic primary, Republican victory	Charles A. Sprague (Republican) 57.40% Henry L. Hess (Democratic) 42.59% Scattering 0.02% [25]
Pennsylvania	George Howard Earle III	Democratic	Term-limited, Republican victory	Arthur James (Republican) 53.39% Charles Alvin Jones (Democratic) 46.07% Jesse H. Holmes (Socialist) 0.33% Robert G. Burnham (Prohibition) 0.17% Ella Reeve Bloor Omholt (Communist) 0.03% [26]
Rhode Island	Robert E. Quinn	Democratic	Defeated, 41.63%	William Henry Vanderbilt III (Republican) 54.17% Walter E. O'Hara (Square Deal) 4.08% Morris Kominsky (Communist) 0.12% [27]
South Carolina	Olin D. Johnston	Democratic	Term-limited, Democratic victory	Burnet R. Maybank (Democratic) 99.43% Joseph A. Tolbert (Republican) 0.57% [28] (Democratic primary run-off results) Burnet Rhett Maybank 52.33% Wyndham Meredith Manning 47.67% [29]
South Dakota	Leslie Jensen	Republican	Retired to run for U.S. Senate, Democratic victory	Harlan J. Bushfield (Republican) 53.95% Oscar Fosheim (Democratic) 46.05% [30]
Tennessee	Gordon Browning	Democratic	Defeated in Democratic primary, Democratic victory	Prentice Cooper (Democratic) 71.72% Howard Baker Sr. (Republican) 28.28% [31]
Texas	James Allred	Democratic	Retired, Democratic victory	W. Lee O'Daniel (Democratic) 96.82% A. Boynton (Republican) 3.05% Earl E. Miller (Socialist) 0.08% Homer Brooks (Communist) 0.06% [32]
Vermont	George D. Aiken	Republican	Re-elected, 66.75%	Fred C. Martin (Democratic) 33.25% [33]
Wisconsin	Philip La Follette	Progressive	Defeated, 36.00%	Julius P. Heil (Republican) 55.39% Harry W. Bolens (Democratic) 7.99% Frank W. Smith (Union) 0.47% John Schleier Jr. (Independent) 0.15% [34]
Wyoming	Leslie A. Miller	Democratic	Defeated, 40.19%	Nels H. Smith (Republican) 59.81% [35]

See also

• United States elections, 1938
  • United States Senate elections, 1938
  • United States House of Representatives elections, 1938

References

1. "AL Governor, 1938". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
2. "AZ Governor, 1938". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
3. "AR Governor, 1938". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
4. "CA Governor, 1938". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
5. "CO Governor, 1938". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
6. "CT Governor, 1938". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
7. "GA Governor, 1938". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
8. "GA Governor, 1938 – D Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
9. "ID Governor, 1938". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
10. "IA Governor, 1938". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
11. "KS Governor, 1938". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
12. "ME Governor, 1938". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
13. "MD Governor, 1938". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
14. "MA Governor, 1938". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
15. "MI Governor, 1938". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
16. "MN Governor, 1938". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
17. "NE Governor, 1938". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
18. "NV Governor, 1938". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
19. "NH Governor, 1938". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
20. "NM Governor, 1938". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
21. "NY Governor, 1938". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
22. "ND Governor, 1938". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
23. "OH Governor, 1938". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
24. "OK Governor, 1938". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
25. "OR Governor, 1938". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
26. "PA Governor, 1938". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
27. "RI Governor, 1938". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
28. "SC Governor, 1938". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
29. "SC Governor, 1938 – D Run-off". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
30. "SD Governor, 1938". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
31. "TN Governor, 1938". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
32. "TX Governor, 1938". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
33. "VT Governor, 1938". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
34. "WI Governor, 1938". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
35. "WY Governor, 1938". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 15 March 2019.