1930 Tennessee gubernatorial election

1930 Tennessee gubernatorial election

November 4, 1930
 
Nominee Henry Hollis Horton C. Arthur Bruce
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 153,341 85,558
Percentage 63.84% 35.62%

County results
Horton:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Bruce:      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election

Henry Hollis Horton
Democratic

Elected Governor

Henry Hollis Horton
Democratic

The 1930 Tennessee gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1930. Incumbent Democratic governor Henry Hollis Horton defeated Republican nominee C. Arthur Bruce with 63.8% of the vote.

During Horton's second term, he and Luke Lea, the publisher of the Nashville Tennessean, began using state patronage to distribute jobs in Memphis in an attempt to weaken E. H. Crump's influence there. Crump, who was running for Congress and wanted to focus on his own campaign, agreed to support Horton in the 1930 governor's race if he and Lea would stop providing patronage to his foes. With Crump out of the way, Horton defeated his chief opponent, Lambert Estes Gwinn, in the Democratic primary. He went on to win the general election.