# 1903 Kentucky gubernatorial election

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The 1903 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1903. The incumbent Democratic governor, J. C. W. Beckham, defeated Republican nominee Morris B. Belknap to a win a term in his own right.

## Background

Although the Constitution of Kentucky prohibited governors from serving consecutive terms, J. C. W. Beckham, who won the 1900 special election to complete William Goebel's unexpired term, announced that he would seek a full term as governor in 1903. His candidacy was challenged in court, but the court ruled that Beckham had not served a full first term and so was eligible to run.

## General election

Beckham's record of reconciliation and of supporting non-controversial reforms prevented significant opposition when he won the party's nomination. His record also deprived his Republican opponent, Morris B. Belknap, of any significant campaign issue in the general election. Belknap touted his business management experience, contrasting it with charges that Governor Beckham had mismanaged the state's eleemosynary institutions. Belknap lacked name recognition outside Louisville; he was a poor public speaker and unable to make the race truly competitive. The New York Times reported that Belknap was "an athlete as well as a politician and a millionaire businessman".
Election day was a rowdy one throughout Kentucky as a judge supporting Belknap was shot by a sheriff at a polling place in Louisville. Beckham defeated Belknap and three minor candidates. Beckham won the majority of the popular vote, marking the first time in sixteen years that the Democrats had gained a majority of the votes cast.
1903 Kentucky gubernatorial election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | J. C. W. Beckham (incumbent) | 229,014 | 52.12% |
| | Republican | Morris B. Belknap | 202,862 | 46.17% |
| | Prohibition | T. P. Demaree | 4,830 | 1.10% |
| | Socialist Labor | Alfred Schmitz | 2,044 | 0.47% |
| | Socialist | Adam Nagel | 615 | 0.14% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 26,152 | |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Swing | |

## Citations

* 1 2 3 Klotter 1996, p. 206.
* ↑ "Kentucky Governor John Crepps Wickliffe Beckham". National Governors Association. Archived from the original on November 25, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
* ↑ Burckel 1978, p. 290.
* ↑ "An Athletic Candidate: Col. Belknap, Nominee for Governor of Kentucky, Keeps an Appointment by Pumping a Handcar". The New York Times. September 8, 1903. p. 1. Retrieved November 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
* ↑ "An Unfortunate Shooting Mars the Day at a Voting Place in Louisville—The Returns by Counties". The Cincinnati Enquirer. November 4, 1903. p. 3. Retrieved November 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
* ↑ Powell 1976, p. 78.
* ↑ CQ Press 2005, p..

## Works cited
### Books

* Guide to U.S. Elections. Vol. 2. CQ Press. 2005. ISBN 978-1-56802-981-8.
* Harrison, Lowell H. (1992). Kleber, John E. (ed.). The Kentucky Encyclopedia. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-1772-0.
* Klotter, James C. (1977). William Goebel: The Politics of Wrath. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-0240-5.
* —— (1996). Kentucky: Portrait in Paradox, 1900–1950. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-916968-24-3.
* Powell, Robert A. (1976). Kentucky Governors. Bluegrass Printing Company.

### Journal articles

* Burckel, Nicholas C. (1978). "From Beckham to McCreary: The Progressive Record of Kentucky Governors". The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society. 76 (4): 285–306. JSTOR 23378562.