Democrats delayed Donnell's inauguration for six weeks as they unsuccessfully attempted to overturn the election result in an incident called the "Great Governorship Steal", which was ended by an order from the Missouri Supreme Court.

Immediately after the election, Missouri Democratic Party chairman C. Marion Hulen claimed that electoral fraud and vote-buying were responsible for Donnell's victory.

3, barring House Speaker Morris E. Osburn from proclaiming Donnell's election until a special joint legislative committee chaired by State Senator L. N. Searcy had re-examined the gubernatorial ballots for irregularities.

Governor Lloyd Stark, an anti-machine Democrat who openly opposed the attempt to overturn the election results and had vetoed Joint Resolution No.

With public opinion decidedly against the Democrats, the court on February 19 unanimously ordered Osburn to tabulate and proclaim the election results as provided, bypassing the attempts at a legislative recount.