 Marshall 's opponent in the general election was Republican Congressman James E. Watson , and the campaign focused on temperance and prohibition . Just as it began , the Republican @-@ controlled state government passed a local @-@ option law that allowed counties to ban the sale of liquor . The law became the central point of debate between the parties and their gubernatorial candidates . The Democrats proposed that the local @-@ option law be changed so that the decision to ban liquor sales could be made at the city and township level . This drew support from anti @-@ prohibitionists , who saw it as an opportunity to roll back prohibition in some areas , and as the only alternative available to the total prohibition which the Republican Party advocated . The Democratic position also helped to retain prohibitionists ' support by allowing prohibition to remain enacted in communities where a majority supported it . The Republican Party was in the midst of a period of instability , splitting along progressive and conservative lines . Their internal problems proved to be the deciding factor in the election , giving Marshall a narrow victory : he received 48 @.@ 1 % of the vote to Watson 's 48 % . He was the first Democratic governor in two decades . Democrats also came to power in the Indiana House of Representatives by a small margin , though Republicans retained control of the Indiana Senate . 
