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.
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]
^"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...")
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