Benjamin F. Harrison

Benjamin F. Harrison was a Native American politician in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. A member of the Democratic Party, he served for one term in the House before being elected Oklahoma's 3rd Secretary of State, where he would serve between January 1911 and January 1915.

Benjamin F. Harrison
Harrison in 1912
3rd Oklahoma Secretary of State
In office January 9, 1911 – January 2, 1915
Governor	Lee Cruce
Preceded by	Thomas Smith
Succeeded by	H. G. Oliver
Speaker Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma House of Representatives
In office November 16, 1908 – November 16, 1910
Preceded by	Albert H. Ellis
Member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives
In office November 16, 1907 – November 16, 1910
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	William A. Hammond
Constituency	Pittsburg County and Hughes County
Personal details
Born	(1875-01-12)January 12, 1875 Antlers, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory
Died	March 23, 1936(1936-03-23) (aged 61) Oklahoma, U.S.
Political party	Democratic Party

Biography

Benjamin F. Harrison was born in Antlers, Choctaw Nation on January 12, 1875, to a Chickasaw mother and a Choctaw father. He attended Wapanucka Institute in the Chickasaw Nation and later graduated from Trinity College of Arts and Sciences. After graduation he returned to Indian Territory to work as a schoolteacher before working for the Dawes Commission. He was a member of the Oklahoma Constitutional Convention. He represented Pittsburg County and Hughes County in the 1st and 2nd Oklahoma Legislatures. He was the speaker pro tem of the House during 2nd legislature.^[1] Harrison ran in the 1910 Oklahoma elections for Oklahoma Secretary of State, defeating Leo Meyer in the Democratic primary. He went on to win the general election with 49.3% of the vote.^[2] He was sworn in as the 3rd Oklahoma Secretary of State on January 9, 1911. He resigned from office sometime before January 2, 1915.^[3]

Electoral history

Oklahoma Secretary of State Democratic primary (August 2, 1910)^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ben F. Harrison	56,005	55.0%
	Democratic	Leo Meyer	45,874	45.0%
Turnout			101,879

1910 Oklahoma Secretary of State election^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Ben F. Harrison	117,790	49.3%	−5.5%
	Republican	Donald R. Fraser	94,180	39.4%	−1.6%
	Socialist	J.V. Kolachny	23,581	9.8%	+5.9%
	Prohibition	H.E. Strickler	2,931	1.2%	New
	Democratic hold		Swing