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.

1922 United States Senate election in Texas

← 1916 November 7, 1922 1928 →

Nominee Earle Mayfield George Peddy (write-in) Party Democratic Independent Democratic Alliance Republican Popular vote 264,260 130,744 Percentage 66.90% 33.10%

County Results[1] Mayfield:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Peddy:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% No vote:

U.S. senator before election Charles Culberson Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Earle Mayfield Democratic

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

1922 Democratic U.S. Senate primary^[15]

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

1922 Democratic U.S. Senate runoff^[16]

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

1922 United States Senate election in Texas^[17]

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

• 1922 United States Senate elections

References

1. Heard, Alexander; Strong, Donald (1950). Southern Primaries and Elections 1920-1949. University of Alabama Press. pp. 167–169. ISBN 9780836955248.
2. "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.
3. Fleming, Richard T. "Biography, George Edwin Bailey Peddy (1892–1951)". Handbook of Texas. Austin, TX: Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
4. "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.
5. Wright, B. F. (1922). "The Texas Senatorial Election". The Southwestern Political Science Quarterly. 3 (3): 225–231. ISSN 2374-1295.
6. "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.
7. "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.
8. "Culberson Out To Drive Klan From Texas". New - York Tribune. September 24, 1922. p. 3. ProQuest 576673937. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
9. 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.
10. "Texas". The New York Times. November 8, 1922. p. 3. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
11. "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...")
12. "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...")
13. 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.
14. "Obituary: Cullen F. Thomas". The New York Times. December 9, 1938. p. 25.
15. "Our Campaigns – TX US Senate – D Primary Race – July 22, 1922". www.ourcampaigns.com.
16. "Our Campaigns – TX US Senate – D Primary Race – August 26, 1922". www.ourcampaigns.com.
17. "Our Campaigns – TX US Senate Race – Nov 07, 1922". www.ourcampaigns.com.