1934 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election
The Pennsylvania gubernatorial election of 1934 occurred on November 6, 1934. Incumbent Republican governor Gifford Pinchot was not a candidate for re-election. Democratic candidate George Howard Earle III defeated Republican candidate William A. Schnader to become Governor of Pennsylvania. 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.Results
