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 County results Woodring: 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% 60-69% Haucke: 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% Brinkley: 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The1930 Kansas gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 1930.Harry H. Woodring was electedGovernor of Kansas, becoming only the fourth member of theDemocratic Party to hold the position in state history. He won with only 34.96% of the vote, with the remainder being split betweenRepublican candidateFrank Haucke andindependentwrite-in candidateJohn R. Brinkley. Woodring's final margin of victory over Haucke was just 251 votes, or 0.04 percent. The incumbent governor, RepublicanClyde M. Reed, was defeated for renomination.[1]
After losing his medical and broadcast licenses, "goat-gland doctor"John R. Brinkley decided to run for governor, a position that would enable him to appoint his own members to the medical board and thus regain his right to practice medicine. He began his candidacy in September 1930, just three days after he lost his medical license. He used his radio station to help his campaign, including recruiting acountry music star to campaign for him. He also made use of several other publicity stunts. Brinkley campaigned on a vague program that included public works (a state lake in every county), education (free textbooks for public schoolchildren and increased educational opportunities for African Americans), lower taxes, and old-age pensions.[2]
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 1930 gubernatorial campaign advertisement, published in theBelleville Telescope. Touting Brinkley's military service during World War I and decrying the loss of his medical license, the advertisement instructs voters explicitly how to vote for the write-in candidate. |
Because Brinkley announced his campaign so late, he had to run as awrite-in candidate. Three days before the election, theAttorney General of Kansas (a known opponent) announced that the rules surrounding write-in candidates had changed, and that Brinkley's name could only be written in in one specific way for the vote to count (as "J. R. Brinkley").[3] An article published at the time inThe Des Moines Register estimated that between 30,000 and 50,000 ballots were disqualified in this manner.[2] The successful candidate, Woodring, later admitted he would have lost had all of Brinkley's votes been counted.[4]
Woodring won 39 counties (includingRawlins County by a single vote), Haucke won 38 counties, and Brinkley 28 counties.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Harry H. Woodring | 217,171 | 34.96% | +1.76 | |
| Republican | Frank Haucke | 216,920 | 34.92% | –30.68 | |
| Independent | John R. Brinkley (write-in) | 183,278 | 29.50% | +29.50 | |
| Socialist | J. B. Shields | 3,866 | 0.62% | –0.58% | |
| Majority | 251 | 0.04% | N/A | ||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | Swing | 1.76% | |||
Two years ago Governor Woodring squeezed into office with a majority of 319 votes. John Brinkley, his name not on the ballot, polled close to the leaders with 188,000 votes.
