The 1934 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election occurred on November 6, 1934. Incumbent Republican governor Gifford Pinchot was not a candidate for re-election.
The 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, in which a local, small-town, Republican boss and his family fired pistols, rifles and shotguns during a Democratic rally and parade, killing three, and leaving at least a dozen more seriously wounded. News of the attack was reported across the nation with front-page headlines.
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.