1922 United States Senate election in Texas
The 1922 United States Senate election in Texas was held on November 7, 1922. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Charles Culberson ran for re-election to a fifth term, but lost the Democratic primary.[2] A runoff was held between former Governor Pa Ferguson and Railroads Commissioner Earle Bradford Mayfield.
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In the runoff, Mayfield, a member of the Texas Railroad Commission defeated Ferguson for the Democratic nomination, then tantamount to election in Texas as a legacy of the American Civil War. Mayfield had the support of the resurgent Ku Klux Klan, and anti-Klan activists in the Democratic Party including George Peddy were unable to have him stripped of the nomination.[3] Peddy agreed to run against Mayfield as the candidate of the "Independent Democrats," members of the party who opposed the Klan.[4] The Texas Republican Party also backed Peddy, but after a lengthy court battle, they were unable to have him included on the general election ballot as their official nominee.[5]
Peddy ran a write-in campaign as the candidate of the Independent Democrats and Republicans.[6] Peddy also ran with the endorsements of Senator Culberson and President Warren G. Harding.[5][7] In the general election, he ran a surprisingly strong race and held Mayfield to a smaller margin than was usual for Texas Democrats, but Mayfield defeated him 264,260 votes (66.9%) to 130,744 (33.1%).[8] Peddy challenged Mayfield's election, and the subsequent Senate investigation prevented Mayfield from taking his seat as scheduled on March 4, 1923.[3] Mayfield assumed his seat on December 3, 1923,[9][10] and was sworn in pending a resolution to Peddy's challenge, which was ultimately denied on February 4, 1925.[11]
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Charles Allen Culberson, incumbent U.S. Senator since 1899
- James E. "Pa" Ferguson, former Governor of Texas (1915–17)
- Robert Lee Henry, former U.S. Representative from Waco (1897–1917)
- Earle Bradford Mayfield, member of the Railroad Commission of Texas and former State Senator from Tyler
- Cullen F. Thomas, Dallas attorney[12]
- Charles Ousley
Withdrawn
- Sterling P. Strong, traveling salesman and former Montague County Clerk
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Earle B. Mayfield | 153,538 | 26.78% | |
| Democratic | Pa Ferguson | 127,071 | 22.16% | |
| Democratic | Charles Culberson (incumbent) | 99,635 | 17.38% | |
| Democratic | Cullen F. Thomas | 88,026 | 15.35% | |
| Democratic | Charles Ousley | 62,451 | 10.89% | |
| Democratic | Robert Lee Henry | 41,567 | 7.25% | |
| Democratic | Sterling P. Strong (withdrew) | 1,085 | 0.19% | |
| Total votes | 573,373 | 100.00% | ||
Runoff
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Earle B. Mayfield | 273,308 | 54.44% | |
| Democratic | Pa Ferguson | 228,701 | 45.56% | |
| Total votes | 502,009 | 100.00% | ||
General election
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Earle B. Mayfield | 264,260 | 66.90% |  14.40 | |
| Ind. Democratic | George Peddy (write-in) | 130,744 | 33.10% |  20.01 | |
| Total votes | 395,004 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratic hold | |||||
See also
References
- Heard, Alexander; Strong, Donald (1950). Southern Primaries and Elections 1920-1949. University of Alabama Press. pp. 167–169. ISBN 9780836955248.
- "CULBERSON ADMITS DEFEAT; Texan Senator Tells Friends to Support Whom They Please". The New York Times. July 27, 1922. p. 4. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
- Fleming, Richard T. "Biography, George Edwin Bailey Peddy (1892–1951)". Handbook of Texas. Austin, TX: Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
- "PARIES JOIN IN TO OPPOSE: George E. B. Peddy Senatorial Nominee by licans and Independent Democrats". St. Louis Post - Dispatch. September 17, 1922. p. 4. ProQuest 578909309. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
- "KEEP PEDDY'S NAME OFF TEXAS BALLOT; Federal Judges Decline to Order Fusion Senatorial Nominee Placed on Ticket". The New York Times. October 24, 1922. p. 17. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
- "TEXAS PARTIES JOIN IN ANTI-KLAN FIGHT: George B. Peddy Nominated to Oppose E.B. Mayfield for Senatorship". The Christian Science Monitor. September 19, 1922. p. 1. ProQuest 510775232. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
- "Culberson Out To Drive Klan From Texas". New - York Tribune. September 24, 1922. p. 3. ProQuest 576673937. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
- Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives (1923). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 6, 1922" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office.
- "He's Senator Now", San Angelo (Texas) Evening Standard, December 4, 1923, p. 1 ("Oath of office as member of the United States Senate from Texas was administered Monday to Earle B. Mayfield, elected over George E. B. Peddy...")
- "Crooker's Protest Not Heard From", Boston Globe, December 4, 1923, p.12 ("Senator Mayfield of Texas, who was sworn in today, will have to face the committee...")
- Lester, Carole N. (February 9, 2020). "Duly Elected? The Texas Senate Race of 1922, the Ku Klux Klan and Texas Newspapers". What Do You Know About History?. Dallas, TX. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
- "Obituary: Cullen F. Thomas". The New York Times. December 9, 1938. p. 25.
- "Our Campaigns – TX US Senate – D Primary Race – July 22, 1922". www.ourcampaigns.com.
- "Our Campaigns – TX US Senate – D Primary Race – August 26, 1922". www.ourcampaigns.com.
- "Our Campaigns – TX US Senate Race – Nov 07, 1922". www.ourcampaigns.com.