1906 South Dakota gubernatorial election

1906 South Dakota gubernatorial election
	County results; Crawford: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%; Stransky: 50–60%; No Vote:
Governor of South Dakota before election; Samuel H. Elrod; Republican	Elected Governor of South Dakota ; Coe I. Crawford; Republican

The 1906 South Dakota gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1906. Incumbent Republican Governor Samuel H. Elrod ran for re-election, but was defeated for renomination at the Republican convention by former Attorney General Coe I. Crawford. In the general election, Crawford was opposed by the Democratic nominee, former State Representative John A. Stransky of Brule County. Crawford had little difficulty defeating Stransky in a landslide, largely matching Elrod's margin of victory from two years earlier.

Republican convention

In January 1906, former Attorney General Coe I. Crawford, who unsuccessfully ran for Governor in 1904, announced that he would challenge Governor Samuel H. Elrod for renomination, queueing up a contest between the insurgent wing of the party, led by U.S. Senator Robert J. Gamble, and the stalwart wing of the party, also referred to as the "machine."^[1] As county delegates were elected to the convention, Crawford-affiliated delegates won a clear majority,^[2] though both sides claimed that they would win.^[3] In the end, however, Crawford defeated Elrod at the convention by a wide margin, winning 893 votes to Elrod's 476, with Crawford's political allies winning the convention's nomination, as well.^[4]

Democratic conventions

In the weeks leading to the Democratic convention in June 1906, no clear frontrunner for the Party's nomination emerged. Former Governor Andrew E. Lee was mentioned as a possibility, though he declined to run. Former Hughes County Sheriff and former Deputy U.S. Marshal Ben Ash^[5] and former State Representative John A. Stransky^[6] were the other two potential candidates.^[7] Stransky ended up winning the nomination.^[8]

General election

Results

1904 South Dakota gubernatorial special election^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Coe I. Crawford	48,709	65.32%	−2.98%
	Democratic	John A. Stransky	19,923	26.72%	+2.04%
	Prohibition	Knute Lewis	3,398	4.56%	+1.65%
	Socialist	Freeman Knowles	2,542	3.41%	+0.39%
Majority			28,786	38.60%	−5.02%
Turnout			74,572	100.00%
	Republican hold