In Arizona, the 1916 governor's election took more than a year for the courts to sort out. After the initial vote count, Republican candidate Thomas E. Campbell was victorious over incumbent Democratic Gov. George W.P. Hunt, who had been the state's first governor.
Hunt challenged the results, creating an awkward situation in which both candidates took the oath of office. Hunt also wouldn't relinquish his office until the Arizona Supreme Court forced him to do so on Jan. 27, 1917.
Campbell assumed the post of de facto governor as the election legal case proceeded.
''The days go by, and I am still hanging on the limb of uncertainty, praying for the end,'' Hunt wrote in a diary, as quoted in a 1994 Phoenix Gazette account of the 1916 dispute. ''It is like stewing over a fire.''
Hunt's patience and determination paid off: The state Supreme Court eventually sided with him, and Campbell had to vacate the office a few days before Christmas 1917. The final vote tally gave Hunt the win by 43 votes.
Campbell served as governor for months without pay and, to add insult to injury, had to pay Hunt's legal bills and the court's expenses.
I'd be interested in knowing, were any of Campbell's actions as governor undone after he was replaced by Hunt? i.e. If he had signed and enacted legislation that Hunt was opposed to, and would not have signed had he been in office, did the legislation stay in place?
I'd be interested in knowing, were any of Campbell's actions as governor undone after he was replaced by Hunt? i.e. If he had signed and enacted legislation that Hunt was opposed to, and would not have signed had he been in office, did the legislation stay in place?