1922 United States Senate special election in Pennsylvania

1922 United States Senate special election in Pennsylvania
	County results; Pepper: 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%; Kerr: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%
U.S. senator before election; George Pepper; Republican	Elected U.S. Senator ; George Pepper; Republican

The 1922 United States Senate special election in Pennsylvania was held on November 7, 1922. Incumbent Republican Senator George Pepper, who had been appointed to the seat by Governor William Sproul following the death of Boies Penrose, was elected to fill the remaining four years on the term to which Penrose had been elected in 1920. Pepper comfortably defeated five other candidates, including Democratic nominee Fred Kerr of Clearfield County.^[1]

Background

Incumbent Senator Boies Penrose, who had been elected in 1920 for a term expiring in 1927, died on December 31, 1921. Governor of Pennsylvania William Cameron Sproul appointed George W. Pepper to fill Penrose's seat until a successor could be duly elected. The special election for the remainder of Penrose's term was scheduled for November 7, simultaneous with the general election.

Primary elections were held on May 16.^[2] Pepper was a candidate to complete the term.

Republican primary

Candidates

William J. Burke, U.S. Representative from Pittsburgh (representing Pennsylvania at-large)
George W. Pepper, former University of Pennsylvania Law School professor and interim U.S. Senator
Edward R. Wood, retired Philadelphia businessman

Results

1922 U.S. Senate special Republican primary^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	George W. Pepper (inc.)	577,534	58.65%
	Republican	William J. Burke	336,375	34.16%
	Republican	Edward R. Wood	70,727	7.18%
	Write-in		47	0.00%
Total votes			984,636	100.00%

After losing the Republican primary, Burke campaigned as the Progressive nominee in the regularly scheduled election for Pennsylvania's other U.S. Senate seat.

General election

Candidates

Fred Kerr, Clearfield businessman and U.S. Army veteran (Democratic)^[3]
Frank Lewis (Prohibition)
George Wharton Pepper, former University of Pennsylvania Law School professor and interim U.S. Senator^[4] (Republican)
James Robinson (Single Tax)
Earl Thompson (Progressive)
William Van Essen (Socialist)

Results

General election results^[5]
	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Republican	George Pepper (incumbent)	819,507	57.60%	−2.34%
Democratic	Fred Kerr	468,330	32.91%	+5.73%
Progressive	Earl Thompson	57,075	4.01%	N/A
Socialist	William Van Essen	38,440	2.70%	−1.08%
Prohibition	Frank Lewis	34,089	2.40%	−5.04%
Single Tax	James Robinson	5,356	0.38%	+0.26%
N/A	Other	59	0.00%	N/A

References

^ "Washington's Eyes On Pennsylvania". The New York Times. May 16, 1922. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
^ ^a ^b Smull's Legislative Handbook and Manual of the State of Pennsylvania, 1921–22. Pennsylvania State University. pp. 769–75. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
^ "Col. Frederick B. Kerr". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. October 16, 1922. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
^ "PEPPER, George Wharton". The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. The United States Congress. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 1922" (PDF). Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House. Retrieved July 9, 2014.

[nyt-1] "Washington's Eyes On Pennsylvania". The New York Times. May 16, 1922. Retrieved August 8, 2012.

[smull-2] Smull's Legislative Handbook and Manual of the State of Pennsylvania, 1921–22. Pennsylvania State University. pp. 769–75. Retrieved December 10, 2022.

[3] "Col. Frederick B. Kerr". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. October 16, 1922. Retrieved August 14, 2022.

[pepperbio-4] "PEPPER, George Wharton". The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. The United States Congress. Retrieved August 8, 2012.

[results-5] "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 1922" (PDF). Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House. Retrieved July 9, 2014.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]