1928 Delaware gubernatorial election

1928 Delaware gubernatorial election

← 1924 November 6, 1928 1932 →
 
Nominee C. Douglass Buck Charles M. Wharton
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 62,683 40,824
Percentage 60.56% 39.44%

County results
Buck:      50–60%      60–70%
Wharton:      50–60%

Governor before election

Robert P. Robinson
Republican

Elected Governor

C. Douglass Buck
Republican

The 1928 Delaware gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1928. Republican Governor Robert P. Robinson declined to seek a second term so C. Douglass Buck, the Chief Engineer of the State Highway Department, was seen as the likely frontrunner heading into the Republican convention.[1] At the convention, Buck's primary opponent was State Senator I. Dolphus Short, whom he defeated by a wide margin, receiving 104 votes to Short's 54.[2]

On the Democratic side, former State Senator Charles Wharton, a well-known football player on the Penn Quakers team at the University of Pennsylvania, emerged as the frontrunner.[3] Wharton was seen as a strong candidate by the Democratic establishment and won the nomination unopposed.[4]

However, despite Wharton's reputation and his strength as a candidate, he proved little obstacle to Buck. Republican presidential nominee Herbert Hoover won the state in a record-breaking landslide and helped Buck across the finish line. Though Buck underperformed Hoover, he still won handily, winning 61% of the vote to Wharton's 39%.

  1. ^ "Republicans Line Up for Buck, Vale". Evening Journal. Wilmington, Del. August 29, 1928. p. 1. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  2. ^ "Buck Nominated, Defeating Short for Governorship". News Journal. Wilmington, Del. September 12, 1928. p. 1. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  3. ^ "Democrats Ready to Name Ticket". Morning News. Wilmington, Del. August 30, 1928. p. 5. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  4. ^ "C. M. Wharton to Head Democratic Ticket; French Plane, N. Y. Bound, Down in Morocco: Sen. Bayard to be Re-Nominated by Democrats". Evening Journal. Wilmington, Del. September 4, 1928. p. 1. Retrieved June 19, 2021.