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. A runoff 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.[1] 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.[1] Peddy agreed to run against Mayfield as the candidate of the "Independent Democrats", members of the party who opposed the Klan.[1] The Texas Republican Party also backed Peddy, but was unable to have him included on the general election ballot as their official nominee.[1]
Peddy ran a write-in campaign as the candidate of the Independent Democrats and Republicans.[1] 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%).[1] Peddy challenged Mayfield's election, and the subsequent Senate investigation prevented Mayfield from taking his seat as scheduled on March 4, 1923.[1] Peddy's challenge was denied, and Mayfield assumed his seat on February 4, 1925.[2]
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[3]
- Charles Ousley
- 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 | 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 | |
| Republican | George Peddy | 130,744 | 33.10% |  20.01 | |
| Total votes | 395,004 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratic hold | |||||
See also
References
- Fleming, Richard T. "Biography, George Edwin Bailey Peddy (1892–1951)". Handbook of Texas. Austin, TX: Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
- 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. 9 Dec 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.
- 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.
- "Our Campaigns – TX US Senate Race – Nov 07, 1922". www.ourcampaigns.com.