Socialist state
In 1914, the SPO had over 800 locals and over 175 elected officials, including six state legislators - the second largest caucus of Socialist state legislators in the country, after Wisconsin. In that year's gubernatorial election, Socialist candidate Fred W. Holt took 20 percent of the vote. In the mid-1910s the party claimed around 10,000 members, giving it the highest membership "per capita" of any state affiliate of the Socialist Party. In the aftermath of the 1914 campaign, one friendly analyst offered reasons for the growth and success of the Socialist Party in the state: