In his younger years he worked as a miner in Colorado, and in the newspaper business in Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas.

[2] Davis was a newspaperman, and in 1909 was the editor of the Parker Herald,[3] and by 1911 was the owner of the State Press Printing Company.

[12][13][14] The disagreement grew out of the provision in the Arizona Constitution that state elections would be held in "even numbered years".

Men themselves have wisely curtailed the ballot to a certain age, to defined conditions and in many states to educational requirements.

Just why women should be classed with children, the uneducated, criminals and idiots in the division of the human family who are denied the suffrage privilege has always surpassed my comprehension.

[17] Davis was successful in his campaign, and the referendum giving women the right to vote in Arizona passed by a 2-1 margin on November 5, 1912.

[18] Following the passage of the suffrage referendum, Davis authored a bill to expedite the registration of women voters to ensure they were eligible to vote in the next election.

He felt that the loss in revenue could be made up from other sources, particularly better management of the income derived from lands owned by the university.

[36] During his term in office, like is contemporary Fred Sutter, he opposed ratification of the Colorado River Compact.

[37] In April 1926, Davis announced his intention to run for the Democrat nomination as a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, with the primary being held in September.