James M. Cox, a proven administrator, an astute businessman, and the only “Democrat” to be elected Governor of Ohio three times just ran at the wrong time.
Eugene V. Debs, the Socialist candidate, running for his fifth and last time. Convicted under the 1918 Sedition Act, he campaigned from the Atlanta Penitentiary. A vote for Debs was a vote for freedom of speech. Parley P. Christensen, the Farmer-Labor candidate, was relatively unknown, a proponent of the universal language Esperanto (even more unknown) and had a penchants for wearing white linen suits. The American Party candidate, James E. Ferguson, was the impeached Democrat Governor of Texas. He was only on the Texas ballot running for the sole purpose of helping the Republicans carry the Lone Star State. He ran against women’s suffrage and prohibition. Interestingly in 1924 his wife, Miriam Ferguson, would become the first woman governor of Texas. Not to be forgotten are Aaron Watkins, Prohibition candidate from Ohio, and William W. Cox, Socialist Labor Party. Combined they received less than 1% of the votes and information about their lives is limited. |
|