1912 Washington gubernatorial election
The 1912 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1912. Democratic nominee Ernest Lister defeated Republican incumbent Marion E. Hay with 30.55% of the vote. Lister was voted in with the smallest percentage of the vote in a gubernatorial election in the 1900s. This was the first election in Washington in which women had the right to vote.
Primary election
Primary elections were held on September 10, 1912.Democratic party
Candidates
- W. W. Black
- Ernest Lister, former member of the Tacoma City Council
- Hugh C. Todd
- E. C. Million
- M. M. Godman
- William Henry Dunphy
- L. F. Chester
Results
Since no candidate received more than 40% of the first choice votes, the second choice votes were counted. W. W. Black was disqualified for being a sitting judge, so the second-placed Ernest Lister was ultimately the Democratic nominee.Republican party
Candidates
- Marion E. Hay, incumbent Governor
- Orville Billings
General election
Candidates
Major party candidates- Ernest Lister, Democratic
- Marion E. Hay, Republican
- Robert T. Hodge, Progressive
- Anna A. Maley, Socialist
- George F. Stivers, Prohibition
- Abraham Lincoln Brearcliff, Socialist Labor