This past week on August 25, some fine public servants put themselves before the public; some moved forward toward the Nov. 2 election and inauguration in January 2027. Other candidates did not advance. Political careers are fragile. The same was true for Governor T.B. Ferguson.
“Conflict with his Republican cohorts, specifically Dennis T. Flynn and Bird S. McGuire, hastened Ferguson's political demise. Unsuccessful at smearing the governor with charges of election fraud and financial malfeasance, they took another tack. Both having been territorial delegates to Congress, they persuaded President Roosevelt against reappointing Ferguson in 1905. OK History In addition, Frank Frantz, a former officer in the Rough Riders, was a close friend of President Theodore Roosevelt. Frantz was appointed as the last Territorial Governor Jerry L. Gill Chronicles of Oklahoma 'Honest Tom' Ferguson served his territory well for four years, longer than any other territorial governor, but was replaced on January 13, 1906, by Frank Frantz.” Ferguson wrote to Interior Secretary Hitchcock “I have no regrets in the this matter knowing that I have put forth every possible effort to serve the people of Oklahoma in a honorable manner.”
“One of Ferguson’s keenest disappointments was his failure to secure the benefits of separate statehood for Oklahoma Territory during his years as governor (his annual reports to the Secretary of the Interior Hitchcock make strong arguments in favor of statehood). But his administrative and political contributions did much to bring statehood for both Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory.”
“Although Ferguson returned to the newspaper business in Watonga, he kept his political aspirations. In the state's first congressional election 1907 he lost the race to Democrat Elmer L. Fulton in the second congression district by a vote of 26,006 to 25,028.
In 1910 the crusading editor lost the Republican gubernatorial nomination to Joe W. McNeal in the Republican primary.” Jerry L. Gill Chronicles of Oklahoma.
Campaigning was hard traveling both the former Indian and Oklahoma Territories. A letter from far NE Oklahoma to Elva Ferguson illustrates the difficulties. (Ferguson Feature in The Watonga Republican, June 24, 2024).
So whether win or lose, I maintain “I have great respect for all our candidates for county, state and federal offices. All contribute to the democracy and patriotism of which our United States and Oklahoma flags are emblematic.”