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 County results Donnell: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% McDaniel: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% | |||||||||||||||||
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The1940 Missouri gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1940, and resulted in a victory for theRepublican nominee,Forrest C. Donnell, over theDemocratic nominee,Lawrence "Larry" McDaniel, and candidates representing theSocialist andSocialist Labor parties. Democrats delayed Donnell's inauguration for six weeks as they unsuccessfully attempted to overturn the election result in an incident called the "Great Governorship Steal", which was ended by an order from theMissouri Supreme Court.
In the Democratic primary, Excise Commissioner ofSt. Louis Larry McDaniel defeated State SenatorAllen McReynolds ofCarthage. McDaniel had the support of the urban Democraticpolitical machines ofTom Pendergast inKansas City and MayorBernard F. Dickmann in St. Louis, while McReynolds was supported by anti-machine reformists.[1][2]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Larry McDaniel | 323,395 | 49.56 | |
| Democratic | Allen McReynolds | 252,441 | 38.68 | |
| Democratic | Ferd J. Frankenhoff | 64,992 | 9.96 | |
| Democratic | Guy W. Runnion | 11,753 | 1.80 | |
| Total votes | 652,581 | 100 | ||
Divisions among Democrats from the primary, along with reformist opposition to the Pendergast and Dickmann machines, allowed the Republican Donnell to obtain a narrow majority even as the state narrowly re-elected PresidentFranklin Delano Roosevelt and SenatorHarry S. Truman, both Democrats.[4]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Forrest C. Donnell | 911,530 | 50.05 | +7.52 | |
| Democratic | Larry McDaniel | 907,917 | 49.85 | −7.21 | |
| Socialist | Jed A. High | 1,555 | 0.09 | −0.06 | |
| Socialist Labor | William Wesley Cox | 205 | 0.01 | −0.01 | |
| Majority | 3,613 | 0.20 | −14.34 | ||
| Turnout | 1,821,207 | 48.12 | −1.96 | ||
| Republicangain fromDemocratic | Swing | ||||
Donnell's win was a disaster for the Democratic machines due to the governorship's control over judgeships, boards, and commissions that could be used for politicalpatronage. Immediately after the election,Missouri Democratic Party chairmanC. Marion Hulen claimed thatelectoral fraud and vote-buying were responsible for Donnell's victory. On November 13, Hulen met with SenatorBennett Champ Clark, St. Louis MayorBernard F. Dickmann, state Attorney GeneralRoy McKittrick, St. Louis Democratic Party chairmanRobert Hannegan, and others at the DeSoto Hotel in St. Louis, where they were suspected of strategizing how to overturn the election. One concern of the Democrats was that calling for arecount would allow Donnell to be seated provisionally as Governor and exercise the powers of the office.[4][6]
On December 30, Hulen proposed to the Democratic state committee inJefferson City that under Article V of the 1875Missouri Constitution, the new governor could not be lawfully sworn in until thespeaker of the state House of Representatives announced the results to the public, which he could decline to do on account of election fraud. On January 8, the state legislature voted for Joint Resolution No. 3, barring House SpeakerMorris E. Osburn from proclaiming Donnell's election until a special joint legislative committee chaired by State SenatorL. N. Searcy had re-examined the gubernatorial ballots for irregularities. Citing this resolution, Osburn refused to announce Donnell's election on January 10.[4][6]
On January 13, the date when all newly elected statewide officials were to start their term, Chief JusticeCharles A. Leedy, Jr. swore in all statewide elected officials except for Donnell. GovernorLloyd Stark, an anti-machine Democrat who openly opposed the attempt to overturn the election results and had vetoed Joint Resolution No. 3, remained in office as a caretaker.[7] The same day, Donnell and three lawyers affiliated with the stateRepublican Party filed two lawsuits, one to compel Osburn to announce Donnell as duly elected, and the other to bar the Searcy committee from examining any ballots. The cases were consolidated and argued before the Supreme Court on February 11. With public opinion decidedly against the Democrats, the court on February 19 unanimously ordered Osburn to tabulate and proclaim the election results as provided, bypassing the attempts at a legislative recount. Donnell was sworn in as Governor the next day.[4]
McDaniel formally requested a recount of the election on March 4. After initial retabulations indicated Donnell's margin of victory would grow beyond 7,000, McDaniel withdrew the request and conceded the election on May 21. The Searcy committee disbanded shortly afterward.[4]
The incident has been called the "Great Governorship Steal" in various sources.[1][4][6]
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