Thanks to his horse thief brigade, the Grand Dragon now had files on nearly every voter and politician. These dossiers were given to the Klan’s county leaders, who made house visits pushing the hate slate. The first big test of the Machine’s ability to control the state was in the May primary. For governor, of course, the Klan’s man was the Klansman—Ed Jackson. But another Republican, Indianapolis mayor Lew Shank, was rallying what remained of the anti-Klan forces in his party. The Klansman won the primary in a rout.
