The 1922 United States Senate election in Mississippi was held on November 7, 1922. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator

John Sharp Williams John Sharp Williams (July 30, 1854September 27, 1932) was a prominent American politician in the Democratic Party from the 1890s through the 1920s, and served as the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives from 1903 to 1908 ...

did not run for re-election to a third term in office. In the Democratic primary to succeed Williams, U.S. Representative

Hubert D. Stephens Hubert Durrett Stephens (July 2, 1875March 14, 1946) was an American politician who served as a Democratic United States Senator from Mississippi from 1923 until 1935. Stephens was born in New Albany, Mississippi. He graduated from the Universi ...

defeated former Senator

James K. Vardaman James Kimble Vardaman (July 26, 1861 – June 25, 1930) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Mississippi and was the Governor of Mississippi from 1904 to 1908. A Democrat, Vardaman was elected in 1912 to the United States Senate in ...

, who had held Mississippi's other Senate seat for one term. The race required a run-off, as neither candidate achieved a majority in the August primary with suffragette Belle Kearney in the race. Stephens's victory in the September 5 run-off was tantamount to election; he faced only nominal opposition from the Republican and Socialist candidates in the November general election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

* Belle Kearney, suffragette and temperance lecturer *

, former U.S. Representative from New Albany *

, former U.S. Senator (1913–19) and Governor (1904–08) Former Senator James Vardaman joined the race in June.

Campaign

Vardaman was condemned by former President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

, who had engineered his defeat in 1918 over his opposition to

American involvement in World War I American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

. Wilson emphatically denounced Vardaman in a single sentence, stating, "I think he is thoroughly false and untrustworthy and that it would be a great detriment to Mississippi and the nation if he should be returned to the Senate." Vardaman responded with a lengthy statement attributing Wilson's opposition to their long-standing enmity. Belle Kearney, among the first women to run for Senate anywhere in the country, encountered opposition from both men and women. One politician was quoted as saying, "When I cast my ballot for a woman, you can rest assured she is going to be a good-looking one and not so damn old as Miss Belle." Other former suffragettes privately withheld support based on past experience with Kearney. Nellie Nugent Somerville told a friend that Kearney "would never get ervote" because she had "worried and hindered legislative work." Nevertheless, she received a rare endorsement from the state

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV or the League) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan political organization in the United States. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include registering voters, providing voter information, and advocating for vot ...

Results

Runoff

In the run-off, held September 5, both candidates vied for Kearney's primary voters, many of whom were women voting in a primary for the first time. Ultimately, Kearney threw her support behind Stephens, and her voters were credited with defeating the Vardaman machine in Mississippi.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Campaign

Results

Runoff

General election

Results

See also

References

Further reading