Ralph Waldo McDonald was an educator, legislator, and North Carolina gubernatorial candidate in the Democratic primary elections of 1936 and 1944. He was associated with the extension service and taught in the education and radio departments at the University of North Carolina beginning in the late 1930s and served as president of Bowling Green State University in Ohio, 1951-1961. The collection includes correspondence, speeches, political materials, and other items related to Ralph Waldo McDonald's 1936 Democratic Party gubernatorial primary campaign against Clyde R. Hoey and Alexander H. Graham. Campaign-related correspondence includes letters between McDonald and his campaign staff, particularly W. L. Lumpkin and Itimous T. Valentine, and to and from McDonald supporters and campaign volunteers. Topics include finances; press and newspaper coverage; the organization of volunteers; the political atmosphere and leanings of North Carolina counties; Hoey's reputation and claims; and critical campaign issues such as the sales tax, old age pensions, liquor regulation, and Post-primary correspondence also discusses allegations of electoral irregularities, campaign finance difficulties, and McDonald's decision to campaign for Hoey. There are also materials relating to organizing campaign workers and supporters--including women--in North Carolina counties and precincts; publicity materials, including speeches, press releases, photographs, and political cartoons; financial records; appointments and itineraries; tables charting votes by county and candidate; and Hoey campaign materials. Topics include banking, electric power and Hoey's connection to the Duke Power Company, prison reform, labor, and the sales tax. Also included are few personal and family letters, a group photograph of members of the Order of Gimghoul that features author Walker Percy, and other items. Sandy the political machine.
