1918 United States Senate election in Mississippi

1918 U.S. Senate Democratic primary in Mississippi

August 20, 1918

Nominee Pat Harrison James K. Vardaman Edmond Noel Party Democratic Democratic Democratic Popular vote 56,715 44,154 6,730 Percentage 52.71% 41.04% 6.26%

County results Harrison:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Vardaman:      40–50%      50–60%      60-70%      70-80% Noel:      50-60%

U.S. senator before election James K. Vardaman Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Pat Harrison Democratic

The 1918 United States Senate election in Mississippi was held on November 3, 1918. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator James K. Vardaman ran for re-election to a second term in office, but was defeated in the Democratic primary by U.S. Representative Pat Harrison.

Because Harrison faced only nominal opposition in the general election, his victory in the August 20 primary was tantamount to election.

Background

In 1911, former Governor of Mississippi James K. Vardaman challenged and defeated Senator LeRoy Percy in the Democratic Party primary election, the first in state history. The victory established Vardaman and Theodore Bilbo as the uncontested leaders of the state Democratic Party. Vardaman established a reputation as a populist opponent of the state's planter elite and a white supremacist critic of the Theodore Roosevelt administration on racial issues.

In 1917, Vardaman stirred controversy by voting with the six-person minority against the United States declaration of war on Germany, defying President Woodrow Wilson and the vast majority of Southern sentiment.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Pat Harrison, U.S. Representative from Gulfport
• Edmond Noel, former Governor of Mississippi (1908–12)
• James K. Vardaman, incumbent U.S. Senator since 1913

Campaign

Harrison ran with the public support of President Wilson, who opposed Vardaman over his vote against the war.

Results

1918 Democratic U.S. Senate primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Pat Harrison	56,715	52.71%
	Democratic	James K. Vardaman (incumbent)	44,154	41.04%
	Democratic	Edmond Noel	6,730	6.26%
Total votes			107,599	100.00%

General election

Results

1918 U.S. Senate election in Mississippi

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Pat Harrison	30,055	95.04%	4.96
	Socialist	Sumner W. Rose	1,569	4.96%	N/A
Total votes			31,624	100.00%

See also

• 1918 United States Senate elections

References

Further reading

• Mullins, Phillip. The Ancestors Of George & Hazel Mullins: Chapter 14 - "The Revolt of the Rednecks. University of Texas at Austin. Archived from the original on February 12, 2012.