In the 1930 gubernatorial election, George W. Joseph—who had been disbarred during an extensive dispute with the Oregon Supreme Court over the will and estate of E. Henry Wemme—won the Republican nomination for Governor of Oregon, but died shortly after. When Meier declined the nomination, the Republican Party selected Phil Metschan, Jr., son of a former Oregon state treasurer and affiliated with the KKK, as a replacement nominee. In contrast to a core element of Joseph's platform, Metschan opposed public development of hydroelectric power along the Columbia River.