1930 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election

Background

1926 United States Senate election

Main article: 1926 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania

In 1926, Gifford Pinchot (then Governor of Pennsylvania) and William Scott Vare (U.S. Representative and boss of the powerful Philadelphia political machine) both challenged incumbent United States Senator George W. Pepper in the Republican primary. Pepper carried nearly every county in the state, but Vare won the race narrowly, thanks to a 224,000 vote margin in Philadelphia County. Vare went on to win the general election by a wider margin, again relying on a large margin from Philadelphia.

Pinchot, acting in his role as governor, declined to certify the results of Vare's election. After a year-long review of the contested election, the Senate voted 58–22 not to seat Vare on the grounds that he had fraudulently and extravagantly financed his campaign against Pepper. During the lengthy investigation, Vare suffered a stroke brought on by stress.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Francis Shunk Brown, former Pennsylvania Attorney General (1915–19)
• Joseph D. Herben, Philadelphia resident
• Thomas Wharton Phillips Jr., former U.S. Representative from Butler (1923–27) and candidate in 1926
• Gifford Pinchot, former Governor (1923–27)

Withdrew

• Samuel S. Lewis, former Treasurer and Auditor General
• J. Ambler Williams, Norristown judge

Campaign

To avenge his defeat in 1926, Vare and Philadelphia leaders were able to recruit Francis Shunk Brown, the former state Attorney General, to run in the primary against Pinchot. The dominant issue in the campaign was the prohibition of alcohol and Volstead Act, which set the terms of its enforcement, and a third candidate, former Representative Thomas Wharton Phillips Jr., ran the second of three campaigns for governor on an aggressive anti-prohibition platform. Brown, though privately opposed to the Volstead Act, could not openly support its repeal given his ties to the Philadelphia machine and President Herbert Hoover. Instead, he called for a state referendum on the modification of the Act, a lukewarm position in contrast to that of Pinchot, an ardent prohibitionist. However, Pinchot's previous term as Governor had been noted for a relatively permissive enforcement of prohibition laws, so some moderates were drawn to his campaign. Republican National Committeeman W. W. Atterbury, president of the Pennsylvania Railroad and a Brown supporter, unsuccessfully worked to have Representative Phillips withdraw in an effort to unify the anti-prohibition campaign behind a single candidate.

Shortly before the April 1 filing deadline, Samuel S. Lewis dropped out of the race. He had been running on an anti-machine ticket with interim Senator Joseph R. Grundy, who did not replace him. A second candidate, Norristown judge J. Ambler Williams, who had run on a "bone-dry" prohibitionist platform, dropped out on April 7.

Race also came into the campaign in April. Joseph D. Herben, who filed a last-minute campaign to run on a "Negro ticket," was invited by the Pennsylvania League of Women Voters to an open discussion of Republican issues. Though Pinchot, Phillips, and Grundy agreed to participate, Brown declined, stating, "I refuse to discuss state politics on the same platform with a Negro."

Results

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Democratic nomination

On February 25, 1930, the Democratic state executive committee selected Lawrence H. Rupp as their candidate for Governor. Rupp, who was being considered for the position of Grand Exalted Ruler of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, chose to withdraw from the gubernatorial race in March to campaign for the Elks leadership instead. W. C. Bamrbrick who was the committee's choice for Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, also declined the nomination. On March 24, 1930, the executive committee selected John M. Hemphill for Governor and Guy K. Bard for Lieutenant Governor.

General election

Candidates

• John M. Hemphill (Democratic and Liberal)
• James H. Maurer (Socialist)
• Frank Mozer (Communist)
• Gifford Pinchot, former Governor (Republican and Prohibition)

Results

References

References

1. "U.S. Senate: The Election Case of William B. Wilson vs. William S. Vare of Pennsylvania (1929)".
2. "Pennsylvania Gubernatorial Election Returns 1930". Wilkes University.
3. "Our Campaigns - PA US Senate - R Primary Race - May 18, 1926".
4. (1982). "Philadelphia: A 300 Year History". W. W. Norton.
5. "Contractor Bosses (1880s to 1930s)".
6. (1 Apr 1930). "1400 Candidates File Petitions: Receive Papers of 552 Persons on Final Day; Many Contests". [[The Harrisburg Evening News]].
7. (2003). "Ruling Suburbia: John J. McClure and the Republican Machine in Delaware County, Pennsylvania". University of Delaware Press.
8. Carlisle Bargeron. (1930-10-30). "Pennsylvania is in Turmoil over Pinchot". Washington Post.
9. (7 Apr 1930). "WILLIAMS, DRY, QUITS PENNSYLVANIA RACE; Republican Who Sought Gubernatorial Nomination Leaves Field to Three Others.". [[The New York Times]].
10. (1930-04-19). "Pa. Candidate Balks at Negro Opponent". Baltimore Afro-American.
11. (September 27, 2023). "Senatorial Campaign Expenditures, 1930: New Jersey. North Carolina. Pennsylvania, PTS. 1-3. Tennessee".
12. (February 26, 1930). "Democratic Chiefs Pick State Ticket". The Pittsburgh Press.
13. (March 21, 1930). "Elks Interested In Rupp's Announcement of Quitting State Gubernatorial Race". Gettysburg Times.
14. (March 25, 1930). "Ticker Filled By Democrats; Rupp Resigns". The Daily Times.
15. "Pennsylvania Gubernatorial Election Returns 1930". Wilkes University.