# Electoral history of Thomas Wilford

This is a summary of the electoral history of Sir Thomas Wilford, Mayor of Wellington (1910–11), Leader of the Liberal Party (1920–25) and Member of Parliament for Wellington Suburbs (1896–97, 1899-1902), then Hutt (1902–29).

## Parliamentary elections
### 1893 election

1893 general election: Suburbs of Wellington :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Alfred Newman | 1,839 | 51.74 |
| | Liberal | Thomas Wilford | 1,715 | 48.25 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 124 | 3.48 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,554 | 78.21 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 4,544 | |

### 1896 election

1896 general election: Suburbs of Wellington :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Thomas Wilford | 2,194 | 53.05 | +4.80 |
| | Conservative | Thomas William Hislop | 1,942 | 46.95 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 252 | 6.09 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,136 | | |

### 1899 election

1899 general election: Suburbs of Wellington :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal | Thomas Wilford | 2,298 | 50.39 |
| | Conservative | Alfred Newman | 1,762 | 38.64 |
| | Independent Liberal | Richard Clement Kirk | 491 | 10.77 |
| | Independent | Richard Giles Knight | 9 | 0.20 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 536 | 11.75 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,560 | 74.44 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 6,126 | |

### 1902 election

1902 general election: Hutt :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal | Thomas Wilford | 2,115 | 54.52 |
| | Independent Liberal | Frederick Pirani | 1,674 | 43.15 |
| | Independent | Joseph Collier | 90 | 2.32 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 441 | 11.36 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,879 | 76.59 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 5,064 | |

### 1905 election

1905 general election: Hutt :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Thomas Wilford | 3,452 | 57.49 | +2.97 |
| | New Liberal | George Yerex | 1,540 | 25.64 | |
| | Independent | George London | 957 | 15.93 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 55 | 0.91 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,912 | 31.84 | +20.48 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,004 | 82.42 | +5.83 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 7,284 | | |

### 1908 election

1908 general election: Hutt, First ballot :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Thomas Wilford | 3,764 | 61.60 | +7.08 |
| | Conservative | Richard Shortt | 2,226 | 36.43 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 120 | 1.96 | +1.05 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,538 | 25.17 | +6.67 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,110 | 78.45 | −3.97 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 7,788 | | |

### 1911 election

1911 general election: Hutt, First ballot :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Thomas Wilford | 3,471 | 50.33 | −11.27 |
| | Labour | Michael Reardon | 1,540 | 22.33 | |
| | Independent | John McEwan | 911 | 13.21 | |
| | Reform | Richard Shortt | 881 | 12.77 | −23.66 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 93 | 1.34 | −0.52 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,931 | 28.00 | +2.83 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,896 | 83.60 | +5.15 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 8,248 | | |

### 1914 election

1914 general election: Hutt :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Thomas Wilford | 3,977 | 56.72 | −6.39 |
| | United Labour | Albert Samuel | 3,034 | 43.27 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 143 | 2.03 | +0.69 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 943 | 13.45 | −14.55 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,011 | 83.03 | +0.57 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 8,443 | | |

### 1919 election

1919 general election: Hutt :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Thomas Wilford | 3,422 | 41.59 | −15.13 |
| | Labour | David Pritchard | 2,417 | 29.38 | |
| | Reform | Percy Rishworth | 2,319 | 28.19 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 68 | 0.82 | −1.21 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,005 | 12.21 | −1.24 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,226 | 82.44 | −0.59 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 9,983 | | |

### 1922 election

1922 general election: Hutt :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Thomas Wilford | 3,707 | 41.15 | −0.44 |
| | Labour | David Pritchard | 2,905 | 32.25 | +2.87 |
| | Reform | Henry Bennett | 2,317 | 25.72 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 78 | 0.86 | +0.04 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 802 | 8.90 | −3.31 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,007 | 91.21 | +8.77 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 9,874 | | |

### 1925 election

1925 general election: Hutt :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Thomas Wilford | 6,080 | 58.13 | +16.98 |
| | Labour | Walter Nash | 4,286 | 40.98 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 92 | 0.87 | +0.01 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,794 | 17.15 | +8.25 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,458 | 91.04 | −0.17 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 11,487 | | |

### 1928 election

1928 general election: Hutt :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | United | Thomas Wilford | 7,283 | 54.92 | −3.21 |
| | Labour | Walter Nash | 5,978 | 45.08 | +4.10 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 288 | 2.13 | +1.26 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,305 | 9.84 | −7.31 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 13,549 | 90.95 | −0.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 14,898 | | |

## Local elections
### Wellington City mayoral election, 1901

Wellington mayoral election, 1901 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | John Aitken | 5,801 | 67.98 |
| | Independent | Thomas Wilford | 2,732 | 32.02 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,069 | 35.96 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,533 | |

### Wellington City mayoral election, 1907

Wellington mayoral election, 1907 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Thomas William Hislop | 5,658 | 65.63 | +34.14 |
| | Independent | Thomas Wilford | 2,962 | 34.36 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,696 | 31.27 | +23.97 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,620 | | |

### Wellington City mayoral election, 1909

Wellington mayoral election, 1909 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Alfred Newman | 4,523 | 33.72 | |
| | Independent | Thomas Wilford | 4,240 | 31.61 | −2.75 |
| | Independent | Francis Fisher | 3,208 | 23.92 | |
| | Ind. Labour League | John Rigg | 824 | 6.14 | |
| | Independent | Frederick Bolton | 616 | 4.59 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 283 | 2.11 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 13,411 | | |

### Wellington City mayoral election, 1910

Wellington City mayoral election, 1910 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Thomas Wilford | 6,248 | 54.26 | +22.75 |
| | Independent | Charles John Crawford | 5,267 | 45.74 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 981 | 8.51 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,515 | | |

### Wellington City mayoral election, 1911

Wellington mayoral election, 1911 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Citizens League | Thomas Wilford | unopposed | | |