Election Name: | 1920 South Dakota gubernatorial election |
Country: | South Dakota |
Flag Year: | 1909 |
Type: | presidential |
Ongoing: | no |
Previous Election: | 1918 South Dakota gubernatorial election |
Previous Year: | 1918 |
Next Election: | 1922 South Dakota gubernatorial election |
Next Year: | 1922 |
Election Date: | November 2, 1920 |
Image1: | File:WHMcMaster.jpg |
Nominee1: | William H. McMaster |
Party1: | Republican Party (United States) |
Popular Vote1: | 103,592 |
Percentage1: | 56.33% |
Nominee2: | Mark P. Bates |
Party2: | Nonpartisan League |
Popular Vote2: | 48,426 |
Percentage2: | 26.12% |
Nominee3: | William W. Howes |
Party3: | Democratic Party (United States) |
Popular Vote3: | 31,870 |
Percentage3: | 17.33% |
Map Size: | 250px |
Governor of South Dakota | |
Before Election: | Peter Norbeck |
Before Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
After Election: | William H. McMaster |
After Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
The 1920 South Dakota gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1920. Incumbent Republican Governor Peter Norbeck declined to run for re-election, instead choosing to run for the U.S. Senate. Lieutenant Governor William H. McMaster won the Republican primary and advanced to the general election, where he faced Nonpartisan League candidate Mark P. Bates and former State Senator William W. Howes, the Democratic nominee. The election was largely a replay of the 1918 election, with McMaster winning a large victory, Bates coming in second, and Howes coming in a distant third.
Former State Senator William W. Howes, who previously represented Beadle County in the State Senate,[1] won the Democratic nomination unopposed and the race did not appear on the primary election ballot.