Frederick Gillett (R-Mass.), who was elected Speaker of the House with the new Republican Congress.

I figured my readers could use a bit of a break from Rhode Island history, so I have yet another story about an election! President Woodrow Wilson had a benefit that many presidents envy…having both legislative branches controlled by their party for most of their presidency. Although the 1916 election came very close to Republican control of the House with Republicans having more representatives than Democrats, Democrats were able to maintain a majority with a coalition of Progressive Party members and a Socialist. Wilson and Democrats would not be so fortunate in the 1918 midterms. It is often true that the public gets some fatigue with a president well into his term, and this year was no exception. In the House, Republicans gained 24 seats and, in the Senate, they secured a narrow 49-47 majority. This was also the election that occurred during the “Spanish flu”, thus when people went out to vote, they did so at some risk.

Wilson was particularly hurt in the Midwest for his insistence on price controls on wheat, vetoing a bill that would raise the maximum of $2.20 per bushel to $2.40. The results were quite clear in Indiana, in which Republicans won all of the state’s House seats, in Kansas, in which Republicans won all but one of Kansas’ eight districts, and in Nebraska, in which Republicans won all of its House seats by defeating three Democratic incumbents. In the Senate, Kansas Democrat William Thompson lost reelection by a devastating thirty points to Republican Arthur Capper, who would become a foremost champion of agricultural interests in his 30-year career. Opponents of WWI did badly too. The following representatives who voted against World War I did not return to Congress this year:

Everis Hayes, R-Calif. – Defeated for reelection by conservative Democrat Hugh Hersman, who would only serve a term.

Benjamin Hilliard, D-Colo. – Defeated for renomination, ran for reelection as an Independent but lost badly to Republican William Vaile.

Edward Keating, D-Colo. – Defeated for reelection by Republican Guy Hardy.

Frank Woods, R-Iowa – Defeated for renomination by Lester J. Dickinson. who would win the election.

John Connelly, D-Kan. – Defeated for reelection by Republican Hays White, although its hard to say how much of his defeat was due to wheat price controls as opposed to his vote against entering World War I.

Ernest Lundeen, R-Minn. – Lundeen lost renomination to conservative Walter Newton, who would win the election. Lundeen’s career would be revived as a Farmer-Labor politician during the Great Depression.

James K. Vardaman, D-Miss. – Defeated for renomination by Wilson loyalist Congressman Pat Harrison, with his vote against entering World War I the centerpiece of the campaign. He was the only one of the six senators who voted against declaring war on Germany to face electoral consequences in 1918, with Democrats William J. Stone of Missouri and Harry Lane of Oregon dying before the next election and Republican Asle Gronna of North Dakota losing renomination in 1920, albeit to similarly minded Edwin F. Ladd. Republican George Norris of Nebraska was reelected this year, and Republican Robert La Follette of Wisconsin was reelected in 1920.

Dorsey Shackleford, D-Mo. – Lost renomination to William L. Nelson, who won the election.

Perl Decker, D-Mo. – Lost reelection to Republican Isaac McPherson.

Jeannette Rankin, R-Mont. – Declined to run for reelection, would be again elected to Congress in 1940 where she would vote against declaring war on Japan.

Edwin Roberts, R-Nev. – Retired from the House to run for the Senate, lost to Democrat Charles Henderson, in part due to the third-party candidacy of Independent suffragette Anne Henrietta Martin.

Meyer London, S-N.Y. – Congress’s only member of the Socialist Party lost reelection to Democrat Henry M. Goldfogle.

A. Jeff McLemore, D-Tex. – Lost reelection to Democrat Joe Eagle for his anti-war and anti-Wilson stances.
Clarence Dill, D-Wash. – Lost reelection to Republican J. Stanley Webster. He managed to make a comeback by getting elected to the Senate in 1922, where he served two terms.

Henry A. Cooper, R-Wis. – Lost renomination to conservative Clifford Randall, who won the election. He would regain his seat in the 1920 election and hold it until his death in 1931.

John Nelson, R-Wis. – Lost renomination to conservative James Monahan, who won the election. He would regain his seat in the 1920 election and hold it until he lost renomination in 1932.

William Cary, R-Wis. – Lost renomination to John C. Kleczka, who won the election.

The Loss of the Anti-Suffragists

The following members who voted against women’s suffrage in 1918 did not return to Congress, and no anti-suffragist defeated a member of Congress who had voted for suffrage. The failure of the Democratic Congress to ratify the women’s suffrage amendment damaged them at the polls, and the following anti-suffrage legislators were ousted:

Senate

Delaware – Democrat Willard Saulsbury Jr. lost reelection to Republican L. Heisler Ball, who paired for suffrage in 1919.

Georgia – Democrat Thomas Hardwick was defeated for renomination by William Harris, who voted for suffrage in 1919. However, this likely had more to do with Hardwick’s political independence from President Wilson.

Massachusetts – Republican John W. Weeks lost reelection to Democrat David I. Walsh, who voted for suffrage in 1919. Weeks was the only Republican senator to lose reelection that year.

House

Delaware – Democrat Albert Polk loses reelection to Republican Caleb Layton, who votes for suffrage. Interestingly, Layton would lose reelection in 1922 and his vote against the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill was likely the decisive factor.

Georgia – Democrat William S. Howard declines to run for reelection in a bid for the Senate, but loses the primary to William Harris, who votes for suffrage.

Maryland – Democrat Jesse Price loses reelection to William Andrews.

Kentucky – Democrat J. Swagar Sherley, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee who had served since 1903 lost reelection to Republican Charles Ogden, who would vote for suffrage in 1919.

New Jersey – Republican Edward Gray doesn’t run for reelection to run for the Senate, but loses the nomination to Walter Edge, who votes for suffrage.

Republican R. Wayne Parker loses reelection to Democrat Daniel F. Minahan, who votes for suffrage. Parker wins his seat back in 1920, only to lose again in 1922 to Minahan.

Ohio – There’s a lot to cover here!

Democrat John S. Snook loses reelection to Republican Charles Thompson, who votes for suffrage.

Democrat John Key loses reelection to Republican R. Clint Cole, who votes for suffrage.

Democrat Horatio Claypool loses reelection to Republican Edwin Ricketts, who votes for suffrage.

Democrat Arthur Overmyer loses reelection to Republican James Begg, who votes for suffrage.

Democrat George White loses reelection to Republican C. Ellis Moore, who votes for suffrage.

Democrat William Gordon loses renomination to Charles A. Mooney, who votes for suffrage.

Wisconsin – Republican William Stafford loses reelection to Socialist Victor Berger, but Congress refused to seat Berger due to his indictment for sedition.

References

1918 House of Representatives Elections. Wikipedia.

Retrieved from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1918_United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections

1918 Senate Elections. Wikipedia.

Retrieved from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1918_United_States_Senate_elections

The Wheat Veto. (1918, July 16). The Bridgeport Telegram.

Retrieved from

https://www.newspapers.com/image/24469781/?match=1&terms=%22veto%20wheat%22

To Adopt S.J. Res. 1… Voteview.

Retrieved from

https://voteview.com/rollcall/RH0650010

To Adopt H.J. Res. 200. Voteview.

Retrieved from

https://voteview.com/rollcall/RH0650069

To Pass HJR 1. Voteview.

Retrieved from

https://voteview.com/rollcall/RS0660013

To Pass H.J. Res. 1… Voteview.

Retrieved from

https://voteview.com/rollcall/RH0660002

To Pass H.J. Res. 200. Voteview.

Retrieved from

https://voteview.com/rollcall/RS0650325

To Pass S.J. Res. 1… Voteview.

Retrieved from

https://voteview.com/rollcall/RS0650002