# 1926 South Dakota gubernatorial election

"none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]]
Elections in South Dakota :
Federal government
Presidential elections
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Presidential primaries
Democratic
2004
2008
2016
2020
2024
Republican
2008
2016
2024
U.S. Senate elections
1889
1891
1894
1897
1901
1903
1903 sp
1907
1909
1913
1914
1918
1920
1924
1926
1930
1932
1936
1938
1938 sp
1942
1944
1948
1950
1954
1956
1960
1962
1966
1968
1972
1974
1978
1980
1984
1986
1990
1992
1996
1998
2002
2004
2008
2010
2014
2016
2020
2022
2026
U.S. House elections
1889
1890
1891
AL sp
1892
1894
1896
1898
1900
1902
1904
1906
1908
AL sp
1910
1912
1914
1916
1918
1920
1922
1924
1926
1928
1930
1932
1934
1936
1938
1940
1942
1944
1946
1948
1950
1952
1954
1956
1958
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
AL sp
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024 :
State government
General elections
2010
2014
2018
2020
2022
Gubernatorial elections
1889
1890
1892
1894
1896
1898
1900
1902
1904
1906
1908
1910
1912
1914
1916
1918
1920
1922
1924
1926
1928
1930
1932
1934
1936
1938
1940
1942
1944
1946
1948
1950
1952
1954
1956
1958
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1970
1972
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
Secretary of State elections
2022
Attorney General elections
2018
2022
Senate elections
2020
2022
House of Representatives elections
2020
2022 :
Ballot measures
2006
Amendment C
2008
Measure 9
Measure 10
2020
Amendment A
Measure 26
2024
Amendment E
Amendment G
Amendment H :
Sioux Falls
City elections
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
Mayoral elections
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022 :
Rapid City
City elections
2020
2022
2024
2026
Mayoral elections
2022 :
Pierre
City elections
2020
2022
2024
2026
Mayoral elections
2022 :
vte :
The 1926 South Dakota gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1926. Incumbent Republican Governor Carl Gunderson ran for re-election to a second term. The election was largely a rematch of the 1924 election, with Gunderson's chief opponent from two years prior, Democrat William J. Bulow, challenging him once again. Two other candidates—Farmer–Labor nominee Tom Ayres and Pierre Mayor John E. Hipple, an independent—also ran. Though the left-leaning vote was split, Bulow was still able to win a decisive victory over Gunderson, whose support from two years earlier had completely collapsed.

## Democratic primary
### Candidates

* William J. Bulow, former State Senator, former Union County Judge, former Mayor of Beresford, 1924 Democratic nominee for Governor
* Richard O. Richards, perennial candidate

### Results

Democratic primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | William J. Bulow | 5,775 | 69.13% |
| | Democratic | Richard O. Richards | 2,579 | 30.87% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 8,354 | 100.00% |

## Republican primary
### Candidates

* Carl Gunderson, incumbent Governor
* C. E. Coyne, Secretary of State

### Campaign

In the Republican primary, Gunderson faced a stiff challenge from Secretary of State C. E. Coyne, who lambasted the Gunderson administration for overspending, backtracking on his promises, creating a spoils system with his appointments, and committing "[f]requent blunders." Coyne's most prominent line of attack against Gunderson, however, was against the Governor's controversial reorganization of state government, which Coyne argued was a subterfuge for greed and corruption. Gunderson ultimately defeated Coyne by a decisive margin, but the difficulty he faced against Coyne presaged his weak position with the Republican base in the state.

### Results

Republican primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Carl Gunderson (inc.) | 48,782 | 61.83% |
| | Republican | C. E. Coyne | 30,116 | 38.17% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 78,898 | 100.00% |

## General election
### Campaign

As the general election began, Gunderson started in a strong position, with some of the Republican newspapers in the state praising his primary victory as an "emphatic endorsement." The Lead Daily Call argued that "the voters have faith in this man of principle and honor" and "are eager to have him continue the work he has started at Pierre." The Rapid City Journal struck a similar tone, concluding that "Governor Gunderson should find great satisfaction in his vote. While he also had opposition, . . . the lack of attention paid the rival by the voters is assurance to the governor that the people want him to have a free swing at carrying out the reorganization plans which he has started." Further, the candidacy of John Hipple was seen as a blow to Bulow's chances. The Lead Daily Call predicted that Hipple was "promised several towns and several counties," splitting the anti-Gunderson vote in the general election.
But in the final weeks of the campaign, Gunderson seemed to lose ground. The South Dakota Farmers Union endorsed Bulow over Gunderson, even as it endorsed Republican Senator Peter Norbeck for re-election. An anti-Gunderson groundswell was apparently building with regular Republican voters, causing alarm in the Gunderson campaign, though it was unclear whether enough Republicans would defect to elect Bulow.
Ultimately, Bulow defeated Gunderson by a decisive margin, though he fell several points short of a majority victory. He became the state's first Democratic-affiliated candidate to win a gubernatorial election since Andrew E. Lee in 1898, and the first Democrat to serve as Governor. Even as Bulow won, however, the Republican Party's other nominees for statewide office won, and the legislature remained "overwhelmingly [R]epublican." Accordingly, despite Gunderson's loss, the Chairman of the Republican Party of South Dakota argued that "South Dakota [R]epublicans have every reason to rejoice over the election notwithstanding the fact that our candidate for the governorship was defeated." He added, "I feel it is a matter for congratulations that we have fared well."

### Results

1926 South Dakota gubernatorial election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | William J. Bulow | 87,136 | 47.40% | +24.52% |
| | Republican | Carl Gunderson (inc.) | 74,101 | 40.31% | −13.58% |
| | Farmer–Labor | Tom Ayres | 11,958 | 6.50% | −6.75% |
| | Independent | John E. Hipple | 10,637 | 5.79% | — |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 13,035 | 7.09% | −23.91% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 183,832 | 100.00% | |
| | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican |