1926 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania

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1926 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania

← 1922 (special) November 2, 1926 1930 (special) →
 
Nominee William Scott Vare
William Bauchop Wilson
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 822,187 648,680
Percentage 54.64% 43.11%

County results
Vare:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Wilson:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election

George W. Pepper
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

William Scott Vare[a]
Republican

The 1926 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on November 2, 1926. Incumbent Republican

William Bauchop Wilson. He was not permitted to assume office, however, until an investigation was conducted into possible election fraud and corruption. Vare was ultimately unseated in December 1929 by the Senate, following charges of corruption.[2]

Despite Wilson's loss, this is the last time that the following counties have voted Democratic: Bradford, Cameron, Huntingdon, Lebanon, McKean, Perry, Potter, Snyder, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Union, Wayne, and Wyoming.

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

1926 Republican U.S. Senate primary[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican
William Scott Vare 596,928 41.12%
Republican
George W. Pepper (incumbent) 515,502 35.51%
Republican
Gifford Pinchot 339,127 23.36%
Write-in 20 0.00%
Total votes 1,451,577 100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

  • William Bauchop Wilson
    , former U.S. Secretary of Labor

Results

1926 Democratic U.S. Senate primary[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic
William Bauchop Wilson
153,750 98.03%
Republican
Gifford Pinchot (write-in) 1,382 0.88%
Republican
William Scott Vare (write-in) 781 0.50%
Republican
George W. Pepper (write-in) 329 0.21%
Write-in 592 0.38%
Total votes 156,834 100.00%

Prohibition primary

Candidates

  • Elisha Kent Kane
  • Chief of the United States Forest Service

Results

1926 Prohibition U.S. Senate primary[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Prohibition
Elisha Kent Kane 2,908 55.36%
Prohibition
Gifford Pinchot 2,036 38.76%
Write-in 309 5.88%
Total votes 5,253 100.00%

Socialist primary

Candidates

  • Cora M. Bixler

Results

1926 Socialist U.S. Senate primary[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Socialist
Cora Bixler 1,761 86.03%
Write-in 286 13.97%
Total votes 2,047 100.00%

Labor primary

Candidates

Results

1926 Labor U.S. Senate primary[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Labor Gifford Pinchot 521 50.68%
Labor William Scott Vare 348 33.85%
Labor George W. Pepper (incumbent) 120 11.67%
Write-in 39 3.79%
Total votes 1,028 100.00%

General election

Results

General election results[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican
William Scott Vare 822,187 54.64% Decrease2.96
Democratic
William B. Wilson 648,680 43.11% Increase10.19
Prohibition Elisha K. Kane 19,523 1.30% Decrease1.10
Socialist George W. Snyder 9,869 0.66% Decrease2.03
Workers A. J. Carey 3,094 0.21% N/A
Commonwealth Land
Robert Colvin Macauley, Jr. 1,053 0.07% N/A
Write-in 290 0.02% N/A
Total votes 1,504,696 100.00%

Notes

  1. ^ Not seated

References

  1. ^ a b c "PEPPER, George Wharton, (1867 - 1961)". Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress. Retrieved July 4, 2012.
  2. ^ "VARE, William Scott, (1867 - 1934)". Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress. Retrieved July 4, 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Pennsylvania Manual". 1927. p. 441. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  4. ^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 1926" (PDF). Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House. Retrieved July 8, 2014.