The 1916 Missouri gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1916 and resulted in a narrow victory for the
Democratic nominee,
St. Louis businessman
Frederick D. Gardner, over the
Republican candidate, Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court of Missouri Henry Lamm,[1][2] and candidates representing the
Socialist,
Progressive,
Prohibition, and
Socialist Labor parties. To date it is the closest gubernatorial election in Missouri history. Gardner defeated Secretary of State Cornelius Roach, Attorney General John Tull Barker, and lieutenant governor
William Rock Painter for his party's nomination.