Going into the convention, two party leaders—Independence Mayor William Sermon and Jackson County Clerk Ben Nordberg—supported different candidates.

At the beginning of the convention, Nordberg favored Robert W. Crawford, an administrative aide to Governor Blair, while Sermon backed Delton W. Houtchens, an attorney from Clinton.

On the eighth ballot, Jackson County Judge William J. Randall emerged as a compromise candidate and was nominated unanimously.

[2] The Republican convention took place on February 6, and resulted in the unanimous nomination of William R. McKee, a lumber dealer from Lee's Summit.

[4] Randall, however, was seen as the frontrunner, and benefited from the support of the local Democratic machine, the AFL-CIO,[5] and the National Farmers Organization.