1926 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania

1926 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania
	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; Republican

The 1926 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on November 2, 1926. Incumbent Republican George W. Pepper, who was appointed following the death of Boies Penrose, was defeated for re-nomination by William Scott Vare.^[1] Vare won the election, defeating Democratic opponent 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

George W. Pepper, incumbent U.S. Senator^[1]
Gifford Pinchot, Governor of Pennsylvania and former Chief of the United States Forest Service
William Scott Vare, U.S. Representative from Philadelphia

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
Gifford Pinchot, Governor of Pennsylvania and former 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

George W. Pepper, incumbent U.S. Senator^[1]
Gifford Pinchot, Governor of Pennsylvania and former Chief of the United States Forest Service
William Scott Vare, U.S. Representative from Philadelphia

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%	2.96
	Democratic	William B. Wilson	648,680	43.11%	10.19
	Prohibition	Elisha K. Kane	19,523	1.30%	1.10
	Socialist	George W. Snyder	9,869	0.66%	2.03
	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

^ Not seated

References

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

[1] Not seated

[pepper-2] "PEPPER, George Wharton, (1867 - 1961)". Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress. Retrieved July 4, 2012.

[3] "VARE, William Scott, (1867 - 1934)". Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress. Retrieved July 4, 2012.

[primaryresults-4] "Pennsylvania Manual". 1927. p. 441. Retrieved March 23, 2021.

[results-5] "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 1926" (PDF). Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House. Retrieved July 8, 2014.

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