Roberts alienated a significant portion of his party by enacting unpopular tax reforms and helping ratify the 19th Amendment (which gave women the right to vote). Taylor also supported the 19th Amendment, but he campaigned primarily against Roberts' tax reforms. This was the state's first gubernatorial election in which women could vote.[1]
Before this election, Alfred A. Taylor ran for governor in 1886, which he lost to his brother. After this election, no Republican would win a Tennessee gubernatorial election until Winfield Dunn won in 1970.
