The 1926 Tennessee gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1926. Incumbent Democratic governor Austin Peay defeated Republican nominee Walter White with 64.7% of the vote, improving on his performance from 1924.
Peay narrowly won the Democratic primary against Hill McAlister, defeating him by a little over 4%.
Shortly after beginning his third term, Peay's health began to decline and he died from a cerebral hemorrhage at 8:05 p.m. on October 2, 1927.Associated Press, “Tennessee Governor Dies After Operation,” The San Bernardino Daily Sun, San Bernardino, California, Monday 3 October 1927, Volume 61, Number 33, page 3.Joseph MacPherson, "Democratic Progressivism in Tennessee: The Administrations of Governor Austin Peay, 1923–1927," East Tennessee Historical Society Publications, Vol. 40 (1968), pp. 50–61.
Primary elections Primary elections were held on August 5, 1926.
Democratic primary Hill McAlister sought the Democratic Party's nomination against the incumbent, Austin Peay. Peay had radically transformed the state government, and had angered numerous members of his own party in the process, among them political bosses E. H. Crump of Memphis and Hilary Howse of Nashville. With the help of Crump and Howse, McAlister was able to win Shelby and Davidson counties, but Peay won the state's rural areas and East Tennessee, and defeated McAlister for the nomination by 8,057 votes.Phillip Langsdon, Tennessee: A Political History (Franklin, Tenn.: Hillsboro Press, 2000), pp. 305–309, 319-325. Candidates Austin Peay, incumbent governor Hill McAlister, Tennessee State Treasurer John Randolph Neal Jr., attorney
Results
General election Candidates Major party candidates Austin Peay, Democratic Walter White, Republican
Results
References
Works cited