Earle Bradford Mayfield | |
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United States Senator from Texas |
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In office March 4, 1923 – March 3, 1929 |
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Preceded by | Charles A. Culberson |
Succeeded by | Tom Connally |
Member of the Texas Senate from District 27 | |
In office 1907–1913 |
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Preceded by | Robert W. Martin |
Succeeded by | Charles W. Taylor |
Personal details | |
Born |
Overton, Texas |
April 12, 1881
Died | June 23, 1964 Tyler, Texas |
(aged 83)
Political party | Democratic |
Earle Bradford Mayfield (April 12, 1881 – June 23, 1964) was a lawyer and Democratic Party politician from Overton, Texas who served in both the Texas State Senate and United States Senate.
Mayfield was born in Overton, Texas on April 12, 1881, the son of John Blythe and Mary (D'Guerin) Mayfield. He graduated from high school in Timpson, Texas, and then from Tyler Business College.
In 1900, Mayfield graduated from Southwestern University, and he studied law at the University of Texas at Austin from 1900 to 1901. He continued to study law, was admitted to the bar in 1907, and practiced in Meridian, Bosque County. Mayfield was also involved in several business ventures including the wholesale grocery industry and operation of several farms.
A Democrat, he served in the Texas State Senate from 1907 to 1913, and as a member of the Texas Railroad Commission from 1913 to 1923.
In 1922, Mayfield was one of six candidates who challenged five-term United States Senator Charles A. Culberson for the Democratic senatorial nomination. In the ensuing runoff between Mayfield and former Governor James E. Ferguson, Mayfield was labeled the "Ku Klux Klan candidate" because he and the KKK supported prohibition, while Ferguson emphasized an anti-prohibition stance; at the time the sale of alcoholic beverage was illegal throughout the United States under the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution.