The Strange Case of the Texas Governor Who Would Not Concede
He locked himself in the State Capitol building, and the new governor had to climb through windows to reach the legislature
“Would it not be prudent, as well as right, to yield to the verdict of the people as expressed by their ballots?”
If you think that’s a recent quote attributed to the 2020 American presidential election, think again. That was said by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1874 to Gov. Edmund J. Davis of Texas. Davis had barricaded himself in his office on the first floor of the State Capitol building in Austin, after experiencing a crushing defeat from his challenger.
Soon-to-be former President Trump may be the first American president in modern history to refuse to admit an election defeat, but he’s not the first person in history to do so. Indeed, there are many examples of people refusing to face the inevitable.
- In 2019, there was chaos in Moldova when the current administration refused to leave after the new administration took power. For a short while, the country was confusingly led by both groups, both claiming power simultaneously. Eventually, the former prime minister resigned amid intense international and domestic pressure to do so.
- And in Japan, after the end of World War II, Army officer, Hiroo Onada, sat in a jungle, combat-ready, for 29 years after the war had ended. It took sending in his former commanding officer to relieve him of his duty before he finally went home to a hero’s welcome.
- We can see examples in fiction as well. The comedic novel, “Don’t Tell Alfred”, by Nancy Mitford, tells the story of a former British ambassador’s wife that refuses to move out of her office when the time comes for the new ambassador's wife to move in. She continues to receive a steady stream of visitors and holds extravagant parties as if it were all perfectly normal. How do they get her to finally leave? They deprive her of attention, and she grows bored.
- Ironically, according to a story in Vanity Fair, Trump’s father was led to believe that he was still running the Trump Organization after he began to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. He went to work every day and sat in his office where he signed blank papers and used a phone that was hooked up only to his secretary.
Texas in 1873
Which brings us to Gov. Edmund J. Davis of Texas. A Republican that lost the 1873 election and refused to move out of the State Capitol. When it was time for the winner, Democrat Richard Coke to assume the governorship, Davis refused to concede. He barricaded himself on the first floor, refusing to let the new governor or any of his staff in the building.
Davis was narrowly elected governor when he ran against another Republican in 1869. However, his policies made him wildly unpopular in the state of Texas. Looking back at the place and time, we can see why. He sought to limit the power of the secessionists while protecting the rights of freed slaves. He worked to expand the voting rights for Black Texans.
He wanted to break the large state up into several states. He also wanted to improve public schools, restore the bureaus of immigration and geology, and protect the frontier. These policies may not sound controversial today, but in Texas in the 1870s, they were strongly opposed by both Democrats and Republicans.
It was in this landscape that Davis ran for reelection. It wasn’t even close. Davis lost his reelection by a landslide, (42,633 to 85,549). Davis insisted that the entire election was invalid due to fraud and voter suppression. Unlike what we’re witnessing today, he had quite a case for fraud. It was such a strong case that the Texas Supreme Court sided with Davis.
Despite the Supreme Court ruling, Coke showed up for work in January of 1874, ready to assume the role of governorship. Davis was having none of it. He locked himself in the governor’s office on the first floor of the capitol building.
It’s reported that Coke and the Democratic lawmakers had to climb ladders to get in through windows to reach the second-floor legislature where Coke was sworn in.
Davis asked President Grant to send troops for help, but Grant refused. When Davis realized the cavalry was not coming, he finally left his office. But he wasn’t happy about it. He locked the door on his way out and took the only keys with him. Coke and the other Democrats were forced to break the door down with an ax.
It’s a funny story, thinking of lawmakers scrambling up ladders and breaking doors down with axes. But what happened next to Black voters in Texas has a much darker side.
Voter suppression in Texas grew even more widespread after Davis was gone. Laws were passed to disenfranchise non-white voters. Eventually, a white primary law was enacted, which meant only whites could vote in the primaries. By 1906, the number of Black voters had fallen from 100,000 to only 5,000. It would take the Voting Rights Act of 1965 for Black voters to recover their constitutional rights in the state of Texas.
With the votes against him two to one, it’s hard to see why Davis fought so hard to retain governorship, and yet, the Texas Supreme Court saw enough evidence to rule the election was invalid.
We will probably never know the true winner of the 1873 election for governor in Texas. It’s unlike the presidential election today, in which no evidence of any kind has been found for widespread voter fraud. Unlike Davis, Trump isn’t worried that voter suppression may have occurred. On the contrary, his plan is to suppress any vote that wasn’t for him.
Despite the differences, history repeats itself. Another man, another defeat, another denial. It’s not hard for anyone to imagine Trump barricading himself in the oval office. The question remains, like Davis, will he finally admit the obvious, give up the fight, and walk out the door?
