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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 County Results[1]
Mayfield: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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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][5] 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.[6] Peddy ran on an explicitly anti-Klan platform.[5]
Peddy ran a write-in campaign as the candidate of the Independent Democrats and Republicans.[7] Peddy also ran with the endorsements of Senator Culberson and President Warren G. Harding.[6][8] 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%).[9] Mayfield performed especially well in cities where the Klan had a strong presence, like Dallas and Houston.[10] 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,[11][12] and was sworn in pending a resolution to Peddy's challenge, which was ultimately denied on February 4, 1925.[13]
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[14]
- 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Withdrawn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
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