The1912 United States Senate elections inArizona took place in theArizona State Legislature on March 27, 1912, confirming the selection ofMarcus A. Smith andHenry F. Ashurst as the state's first U.S. Senators.[1] Their results were predetermined on the basis on the results of a popular vote taken on December 12, 1911.
This marked the firstU.S. Senate elections held in the state after it was admitted to the union as the 48th state on February 14, 1912. The two men were sworn in on April 2.[2]
TheSeventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution established the direct election of United States senators in each state. The amendment supersedes Article I, §3, Clauses 1 and 2 of the Constitution, under which senators were elected by state legislatures. The amendment was proposed by the62nd Congress in 1912 and became part of the Constitution on April 8, 1913, on ratification by three-quarters (36) of the state legislatures.
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December 12, 1911 1916 → | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Election results by county Ashurst: 40–50% 50–60% Cameron: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Henry F. Ashurst was elected to theTerritorial House of Representatives in 1897. He was re-elected in 1899, and became the territory's youngestspeaker. In 1902, he was elected to theTerritorial Senate. In 1911, Ashurst presided over Arizona'sconstitutional convention.[3] During the convention, he positioned himself for a U.S. Senate seat by avoiding the political fighting over various clauses in the constitution which damaged his rivals.[4]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Henry F. Ashurst | 10,872 | 49.99% | ||
| Republican | Ralph H. Cameron | 9,640 | 44.33% | ||
| Socialist | E. Johnson | 1,234 | 5.68% | ||
| Majority | 1,232 | 5.66% | |||
| Turnout | 21,746 | ||||
| Democraticwin (new seat) | |||||
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December 12, 1911 1914 → | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Election results by county Smith: 40–50% 50–60% Smith: 40-50% 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Arizona | ||||||||
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Marcus A. Smith announced his candidacy for one of Arizona's two senate seats on September 24, 1911.[6] As the campaign began, Smith abandoned his long standing conservative stand and declared himself a "Progressive".[7]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Marcus A. Smith | 10,598 | 50.35% | ||
| Republican | Hoval A. Smith | 9,228 | 43.85% | ||
| Socialist | E. B. Simonton | 1,221 | 5.80% | ||
| Majority | 1,370 | 6.50% | |||
| Turnout | 21,047 | ||||
| Democraticwin (new seat) | |||||
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