As the 1931 gubernatorial election approached, Chandler and Prestonsburg native Jack Howard were mentioned as candidates for lieutenant governor. US Representative Fred M. Vinson backed Howard, a fellow Eastern Kentuckian, but political bosses Billy Klair, Johnson N. Camden Jr., and Ben Johnson supported Chandler. The support of another political boss, Mickey Brennan, gave Chandler the edge at the party's nominating convention. Democratic gubernatorial nominee Ruby Laffoon also owed his selection to the machinations of the state's political bosses, notably his uncle, Representative Polk Laffoon. Problematically, Chandler was an ally of former Governor J. C. W. Beckham, "Louisville Courier-Journal" publisher Robert Worth Bingham, and political boss Percy Haly, which put him at odds with Laffoon, a member of a Democratic faction that was headed by Russellville political boss Thomas Rhea and opposed to Beckham, Worth, and Haly. Despite the disharmony within the ticket, the worsening of the Great Depression under Republican President Herbert Hoover and Governor Sampson ensured a Democratic victory. Chandler was elected over John C. Worsham, by a vote of 426,247 to 353,573. In a break with precedent, Chandler set up an office on the executive floor of the state capitol and worked there full-time. Previous lieutenant governors had stayed in Frankfort only during legislative sessions, when they were charged with presiding over the State Senate.