The 1934 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election occurred on November 6, 1934. Incumbent Republican governor

Gifford Pinchot Gifford Pinchot (August 11, 1865October 4, 1946) was an American forester and politician. He served as the fourth chief of the U.S. Division of Forestry, as the first head of the United States Forest Service, and as the 28th governor of Pennsy ...

was not a candidate for re-election. Democratic candidate

George Howard Earle III George Howard Earle III (December 5, 1890December 30, 1974) was an American politician and diplomat from Pennsylvania. He was a member of the prominent Earle and Van Leer families and the 30th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1935 to 1939. Earle ...

defeated Republican candidate

William A. Schnader William A. Schnader (October 5, 1886March 18, 1968) was Attorney General of Pennsylvania and co-founder of the law firm Schnader, Harrison, Segal & Lewis. Schnader graduated from Franklin & Marshall College in 1908. After earning a law degree ...

to become

Governor of Pennsylvania A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

. This was the first Pennsylvania gubernatorial election won by the Democratic Party since 1890. Election eve was marred by the Kelayres massacre, where the local small-town Republican boss and his family fired pistols, rifles and shotguns upon a Democratic rally and parade, killing three that night, and leaving at least a dozen more seriously wounded. News of the attack was front-page headlines across the nation. In Pennsylvania, the attack was strongly politicized in Democratic newspapers and on the radio. There were numerous reports of Republicans voting Democratic due to the attack. Schnader, as incumbent Attorney General, was forced to comment on the attack in strong terms, and to the end of his life, believed the attack cost him the election.

Republican primary

Candidates

* Thomas Wharton Phillips Jr., former U.S. Representative from Butler County and candidate for Governor in 1926 and 1930 *

, Pennsylvania Attorney General * Edward C. Shannon, Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania *

Edward L. Stokes Edward Lowber Stokes (September 29, 1880 – November 8, 1964) was an American politician from Philadelphia who served as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's 2nd congressional district from 1931 to 1933 and ...

, U.S. Representative from

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

George Austin Welsh George Austin Welsh (August 9, 1878 – October 22, 1970) was a United States representative from Pennsylvania and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Education and career ...

U.S. District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

judge and former U.S. Representative from

Democratic primary

Candidates

, U.S. Minister to Austria * John A. McSparran, Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture and nominee for Governor in 1922 * William N. McNair, Mayor of Pittsburgh

General election

Candidates

* Herbert T. Ames, former mayor of Williamsport (Prohibition) *Emmett Patrick Cush (Communist) *Bess Gyekis (Industrial Labor) *

, U.S. Minister to Austria (Democratic) *Jesse H. Holmes (Socialist) *

, Pennsylvania Attorney General (Republican)

Results

References

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Gubernatorial A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...

November 1934 events {{Pennsylvania-election-stub