A general assumption exists that with politicians they ideologically come and go from Washington as the same people on ideological matters. Although more true today than it used to be, it is never a full guarantee. One example from the Deep South was Democrat William Jennings Bryan Dorn (1916-2005). Dorn was named after the politician William Jennings Bryan as his father wished for him to have a life in politics. He came on to the scene early, being elected to the State House in 1938 and the State Senate in 1940. His political career was interrupted by him serving in the US Army during World War II. On Dorn’s return, he sought to win election to Congress. He challenged incumbent Butler B. Hare of the 3^rd district, who had served in Congress 16 years, and defeated him. Dorn proved to be to Hare’s right in his first term, and often disagreed with his party on certain key issues. Notably, he voted for Republican tax reduction bills, voted for Taft-Hartley, and even was one of the few Southern Democrats to vote against the Marshall Plan. Although only a man of 32 by the 1948 election, Dorn was highly ambitious and decided to challenge incumbent Senator Burnet R. Maybank. However, Maybank was sufficiently popular to survive Dorn’s challenge from his right. Although out of office, he wasn’t for long, and sought his old seat in 1950, now held by Hare’s son, James. This election proved to be a boon to the political right, and Dorn won renomination, tantamount to election in the at-the-time one party state of South Carolina.

Although of the right, Dorn stood out among the South Carolina House delegation in his support for public housing. However, he was opposed to price and rent controls and consistently backed foreign aid cuts. During the Eisenhower Administration, Dorn continued his opposition to foreign aid, supported releasing the regulation of natural gas prices from the Federal Power Commission, and started voting against public housing measures. He did, however, express a preference for public control over power generation and transmission, one of the ways in which many Southern Democrats remained New Dealers.

From 1961 to 1964, Dorn proved South Carolina’s foremost foe of New Frontier and Great Society measures in the House, even though his district had voted for Kennedy in 1960. This included opposing highly popular measures such as the Manpower Development and Training Act of 1962 for vocational training of the unemployed and the Educational Television Facilities Act of 1962 for the construction of public television stations for educational broadcasting. He voted against the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, the Food Stamp Act of 1964, as well as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and Medicare in 1965. Notably, this is contrary to South Carolina Encyclopedia’s biography on him, which depicts him as a supporter of LBJ’s anti-poverty program, which simply wasn’t so during Johnson’s time as president (Moore). Like other South Carolinian officeholders, Dorn was a segregationist and opposed every civil rights measure during the Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson Administrations. Given this record quite hostile to social welfare measures and high spending, how Dorn would legislatively behave during the Nixon Administration would prove surprising if not shocking.

The Nixon Administration: Some Surprises

Agreement rates, ADA and ACA.

A preview of Congressman Dorn’s changes came in 1968, when he supported an open-ended appropriation for food stamps. Although this change is not nearly as represented in Americans for Democratic Action’s (ADA) ratings as opposed to Americans for Constitutional Action’s (ACA) ratings, these came in the form of how he addressed social programs and even civil rights. In 1969, Dorn opposed a conservative substitute to extending the Federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which he had opposed only four years before. In 1970, Dorn was the only South Carolina representative to vote for a bill for federal aid for desegregation. This absolutely floored his colleagues, especially when one considers that in other ways Dorn’s record remained in his old ways. For instance, he opposed extending the Voting Rights Act in 1970 and continued to oppose funding for the Civil Rights Commission. Dorn was also the only South Carolina representative to vote against the Equal Rights Amendment in 1971. However, he also voted against another amendment that proved even more surprising; he was also the only South Carolina representative to vote against a school prayer amendment that same year. Dorn also voted against several legislative efforts to curb busing as a means for desegregation, including Rep. Broomfield’s (R-Mich.) and Rep. Ashbrook’s (R-Ohio) 1971 proposals. Although in 1969 Dorn had supported transferring anti-poverty functions to the states, he supported extending such programs despite President Nixon’s opposition to the bill for the level of spending and for containing a provision for government daycare. He also opposed a Republican substitute to anti-poverty legislation which had a simple extension with no funding increases or government daycare program or legal services corporation the following year. The reason, however, that ADA found him still pretty conservative while ACA found him considerably less so was due to his staunchly pro-military voting record. Dorn constantly opposed defense cuts and was always supportive of President Nixon on the Vietnam War. He also voted against the War Powers Act of 1973, which was passed over President Nixon’s veto. ADA placed considerably more weight on military issues than ACA, which although far from neglectful of military spending and Vietnam, placed more weight on issues of spending and government expansion. Dorn was furthermore an advocate for veterans, and thus was well suited for his time as chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee from 1973 to 1974. In 1974, Dorn opted against another term in Congress to run for governor. This certainly seemed like a good idea, after all Republicans were being dragged down by Watergate. However, South Carolina defied this trend with the election of Republican Governor James Edwards. Dorn had sided with ADA 15% of the time during his time in Congress, ACA 72% of the time, and his DW-Nominate score is -0.017. None of these criterion really reflect the notion that Dorn was a “progressive populist” as South Carolina Encyclopedia’s profile depicts him in his later career (Moore). Sure, he became a bit more liberal, but his ACA agreement never fell below 48% and he never agreed with ADA more than 58% of the time in a given year. Although DW-Nominate’s score does not look conservative at all, bear in mind that party-line procedural votes get counted and that his score is higher than any Democrat serving nationally. Dorn tried again for governor in 1978, but lost the Democratic primary. From 1980 to 1984, he did one last service for his party by serving as the chairman of the state’s Democratic Party. Perhaps aside from the shifts in his record, the most interesting thing about Dorn is that his portrayal seems a bit different from reality.

References

ADA Voting Records. Americans for Democratic Action.

Retrieved from

Voting Records

Dorn, William Jennings Bryan. Voteview.

Retrieved from

https://voteview.com/person/2672/william-jennings-bryan-dorn

Moore, W.V. (2016, May 17). Dorn, William Jennings Bryan. South Carolina Encyclopedia.

Retrieved from

https://www.scencyclopedia.org/sce/entries/dorn-william-jennings-bryan/

As a state, Colorado seems to be of two worlds: that of the granola-munchers and the gun-toters. For now, the granola-munchers have the edge; Colorado has not elected a Republican governor since 2002, the last time its voters chose a Republican for president was George W. Bush in 2004, and the last time its voters chose a Republican senator was in 2014. Colorado Democrats have by and large been quite far from a conservative group in recent history and the current crop is going full-bore into social liberalism in this author’s opinion. However, this was not always true of Colorado Democrats, and one figure who was a prime example was Edwin “Big Ed” Johnson (1884-1970).

Johnson grew up in Kansas and went to Nebraska for work, but in 1909, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis and advised to move to Colorado. In an age before antibiotics people were often advised to move to warmer and drier climates in an effort to cure tuberculosis, and this worked for him. He proceeded to start a political career, which started with a loss when he tried for superintendent of Moffat County schools in 1914. This would be the only race he would lose. In 1922, Johnson ran for the Colorado House and won. At the time, the Ku Klux Klan was a powerful force in the state’s politics, and he stood as an opponent. By 1930, the Klan had fallen in influence, and he was elected lieutenant governor. In 1932, Johnson ran for governor and won, serving two terms. As governor, his approach differed a bit from the New Deal, as he pushed his own programs, which included tax reduction, highway construction, balanced budgets, and civil service reform (Colorado State Archives). In 1936, Johnson easily won election to the Senate over Republican Raymond Sauter by 28 points.

As a senator, Johnson was independent of the Roosevelt Administration, and in 1940 he condemned President Roosevelt’s decision to seek a third term. He was a supporter of organized labor but also opposed his foreign policy, voting against repealing the arms embargo in 1939, the peacetime draft in 1940, Lend-Lease in 1941, and permitting both the arming of merchant ships and permitting them to enter belligerent ports just a month before Pearl Harbor. While today, such stances against a president of your party would have put him at great risk for a primary defeat, the truth is that Colorado was moving against the president; in 1940 and 1944 the state’s voters voted for Wendell Willkie and Thomas E. Dewey respectively over Roosevelt. Johnson himself was almost defeated for reelection in 1942 by Republican Governor Ralph Carr, but he had not courted popularity by standing up for the rights of Japanese-Americans, and he won another term by a point. Although often thought of as a conservative Democrat, Johnson went to bat for labor unions in his vote against the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947 and would also do so when he refused to vote to use the Taft-Hartley injunction during steel strikes in 1952. On foreign policy, Johnson’s postwar record was very mixed indeed. He voted against aid to Greece and Turkey in 1947 and only voted for the Marshall Plan the following year after supporting cutting funds. However, he would also support Point Four aid to poor nations in 1950 and at times voted for and against cuts to foreign aid. The 1948 election went much better for him, with Johnson winning almost 67% of the vote.

On March 14, 1950, Johnson denounced the affair of Roberto Rossellini and Ingrid Bergman on the floor of the Senate, and the negative publicity that followed Bergman resulted in her living in Europe for the next few years. He charged that Bergman, who had been his favorite actress, “had perpetrated an assault upon the institution of marriage” and that she was “a powerful influence for evil” and condemned Rossellini as “vile and unspeakable” and a “common love thief” (Hill). Johnson’s fiery condemnations of the two seemed to reflect a personal feeling of betrayal in the image he had of Bergman as a person. He even went as far as to propose legislation to license film performers based on personal morality (Colorado State Archives). Senator Charles Percy (R-Ill.) would apologize on behalf of the Senate for this incident in 1972. In 1952, Johnson endorsed Senator Richard Russell’s (D-Ga.) candidacy for the Democratic nomination for president and headed up his campaign, but Russell got no success outside of the South. On civil rights, he had something of a mixed record. Although he voted against Russell’s effort to undermine army desegregation in 1950, that same year he voted against ending debate on a Fair Employment Practices bill.

In 1953, Johnson was one of only two Democrats to vote against confirming Charles Bohlen as ambassador to the USSR, the push against him being spearheaded by Senator Joseph McCarthy (R-Wis.). Interestingly, he was also among a minority of senators to oppose Eisenhower’s nomination of former Congressman and public housing opponent Albert Cole (R-Kan.) as Housing Administrator. In 1954, Johnson decided against another term in the Senate as his wife, Fern, desired to return to Colorado, but surprised observers when he chose to run for governor again, which he won. In his final address, Johnson warned against committing troops to Vietnam (Colorado State Archives). His last vote as a senator had been to vote to censure Joseph McCarthy. Johnson had sided with the liberal Americans for Democratic Action from 1947 to 1954 40% of the time, and his DW-Nominate score stands as a 0.01, or more conservative than any Democrat serving in Congress today. However, his stint as governor would be limited to one term as a heart attack shortly after winning convinced him that he needed to take it easy. Despite his heart attack, Johnson did well after and persisted as a public figure after his final stint, including campaigning for the reelection of Democratic Congressman Wayne Aspinall in 1964. On May 7, 1970, Johnson was admitted to the hospital for a hernia, and underwent an operation four days later, but his condition deteriorated throughout the month, and he died on May 30th (Hill). Johnson to this day has a unique distinction in Colorado history; being the only person to serve three terms as governor and as senator. He is remembered in Colorado through the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel, a marvel of engineering that runs through Loveland Pass.

References

ADA Voting Records. Americans for Democratic Action.

Retrieved from

Voting Records

Edwin Johnson. Colorado State Archives.

Retrieved from

Click to access Edwin%20Johnson.pdf

Hill, R. (2025, September 28). ‘Big Ed’ Johnson of Colorado. The Knoxville Focus.

Retrieved from

‘Big Ed’ Johnson of Colorado

Johnson, Edwin Carl. Voteview.

Retrieved from

https://voteview.com/person/4949/edwin-carl-johnson

Speaker of the House Champ Clark (D-Mo.), who retained his majority, although considerably shrunken from what it had been at the start of the Wilson Administration.

The 1914 midterms were rather peculiar. They were one of the midterms in which the president’s party lost seats in the House but gained in the Senate. Furthermore, this was the first election in which senators were popularly elected, and as I have covered before this impacted the makeup of the Senate. The Progressive Party remained a factor in a number of crucial elections which arguably resulted in Democratic wins. This election saw a future president get elected to the Senate in Warren G. Harding in Ohio, as well as the election of the first and only Prohibitionist member of Congress as well as the election of the second Socialist member of Congress. This would also be the first election won by James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr. of New York, whose career was rather unusual in that he had his national start in the Senate, and then later served in the House. He would be a consistent voice for arch-conservatism on domestic issues and his advocacy for military preparedness but would notably differ with his party in his support for FDR’s foreign policy.

Republicans ran in the 1914 election on the platform of the economic policies of the Taft Administration producing prosperity seen at the time, and this saw big gains in their traditional stronghold of New England. In the Midwest, the Republican performance was a bit spottier. They did very well in Illinois and Iowa, but were only able to regain two seats from their complete wipe-out in the 1912 election in Indiana, gained a House seat in Kansas, lost a House and a Senate seat in South Dakota, and lost a Senate seat in Wisconsin. Democrats managed to keep a number of seats or make gains in the West, where Wilson was maintaining or gaining in popularity. An interesting example was in Utah, in which the state’s second district flipped from Republican to Democrat, and this would presage Wilson’s big win there in 1916 as well as Republican Senator George Sutherland’s loss and the loss of the first district. By stark contrast, the state had been one of only two to stick with William Howard Taft in 1912. It should be noted that a significant part of why Republicans made big gains in the House was because the 1912 split in the GOP had produced major gains in the House that year, Democrats having won seats they normally would not win. In Philadelphia, at the time a Republican stronghold in part thanks to its corrupt machine, Democrats had managed to snag two of the city’s Congressional districts, which came back under Republican control in this election. Republicans overall gained 62 seats in the House, a “shellacking” but not enough to win a majority, even though they did win the popular House vote. The Progressive Party loses a net of four seats; they were but a minor contender in national politics although as noted earlier, they ate away at Republican votes in some critical places. The Progressive Party’s influence would come to an end when Theodore Roosevelt decided to back Republican Charles Evans Hughes in the 1916 presidential election.

Republican Gains, House

In Colorado’s 2^nd district, Republican Charles Timberlake defeated Democrat Harry Seldomridge for reelection.

In Connecticut, Republicans had a clean sweep, with Democrats Augustine Lonergan, Bryan F. Mahan, Thomas Reilly, Jeremiah Donovan, and William Kennedy losing reelection to Republicans P. Davis Oakey, Richard Freeman, John Tilson, Ebenezer Hill, and James Glynn respectively.

In Delaware, Republican Thomas W. Miller defeated Democratic incumbent Franklin W. Brockson.

In Illinois, Republicans gained a whopping net of 11 seats. Republican Ira Copley switched to Progressive for his reelection and won. The most notable victor was former Speaker Joe Cannon regaining his seat in the 18^th district over Democrat Frank O’Hair. Progressives Charles Thomson and William Hinebaugh lose reelection to George Foss and Charles Fuller in the 10^th and 12^th districts respectively, while Democrats Louis FitzHenry, Charles Borchers, James Graham, William Baltz, H. Robert Fowler, Robert Hill, and Lawrence Stringer lose reelection to John Sterling, William B. McKinley, Loren Wheeler, William Rodenberg, Thomas Williams, Edward Denison, and Burnett Chiperfield respectively. Republican William Wilson would win an open seat in the 3rd district.

In Indiana, Republicans Merrill Moores and William Wood defeated Democratic incumbents Charles Korbly and John Peterson in the 7^th and 10^th districts respectively.

In Iowa, Republicans Harry Hull, Burton Sweet, and C. William Ramseyer win in the 2^nd, 3^rd, and 6^th districts respectively. They all win open seats.

In Maryland, Republican Sydney Mudd wins an open seat in the 5^th district.

In Massachusetts, Republican George Tinkham wins an open seat in the 11^th district while Republicans William H. Carter and Joseph Walsh defeat incumbents John Mitchell and Thomas Thacher in the 13^th and 16^th districts respectively.

In Michigan, Republicans George Loud and W. Frank James defeat Progressive incumbents Roy Woodruff and William J. MacDonald in the 10^th and 12^th districts respectively.

In Minnesota, Republican Franklin Ellsworth wins an open seat in Minnesota’s 2^nd district.

In Nebraska, Republican C. Frank Reavis defeats Democrat John Maguire for reelection in the 1^st district.

In New Hampshire, Democrat Eugene E. Reed of the 1^st district loses reelection to Republican Cyrus Sulloway and Democrat Raymond B. Stevens of the 2^nd district runs for the Senate (he loses) and is succeeded by Republican Edward Wason.

In New Jersey, Republicans gain five seats. At the start of the 63^rd Congress, William J. Browning of the 1^st district was initially the only Republican, but Dow Drukker won a special election during the Congress. Democrats J. Thompson Baker, Allan B. Walsh, William Tuttle, and Edward Townsend lost reelection to Isaac Bacharach, Elijah Hutchinson, John Capstick, and Frederick Lehlbach respectively. Republican Richard Parker wins an open seat.

In New Mexico, Republican Benigno Hernandez defeats Democrat Harvey B. Fergusson for reelection. Hernandez is the first Hispanic American in Congress.

In New York, Republicans gain eleven seats. Democratic incumbents Lathrop Brown, James O’Brien, Jacob Cantor, Benjamin Taylor, George McClellan, Peter Ten Eyck, Charles Talcott, John Clancy, and Robert Gittins lose to Frederick Hicks, Oscar Swift, Isaac Siegel, James Husted, Charles Ward, Rollin Sanford, Homer Snyder, Walter Magee, and S. Wallace Dempsey respectively.

In North Carolina, Republican James J. Britt defeats Democrat James M. Gudger Jr. for reelection in the 10^th district.

In Ohio, Republicans gain ten seats. Most notably, future Speaker Nicholas Longworth regains his seat from Democrat Stanley Bowdle in the 1^st district. Democrats George White, William Francis, and Elsworth Bathrick lose reelection to William Mooney in the 15^th district, Roscoe McCulloch of the 16^th district, and John Cooper of the 19^th district respectively. Republicans Joshua Russell, Nelson Matthews, Charles Kearns, Seward Williams, David Hollingsworth, and Henry Emerson win open seats.

In Pennsylvania, Republicans gain a net of eight seats, with Democrats Michael Donohoe, J. Washington Logue, Robert E. Lee, Franklin Dershem, Andrew Brodbeck, and Wooda Carr losing reelection to Peter Costello, George Darrow, Robert Heaton, Benjamin Focht, C. William Beales, and Robert F. Hopwood. Progressives Henry Temple and Willis Hulings lose reelection to Republicans William M. Brown and Samuel H. Miller.

In Rhode Island, Republican Walter Stiness defeats Democrat Peter Gerry for reelection in the 2^nd district.

Democratic Gains, House

In Iowa, Democrat Thomas Steele defeats Republican George Scott for reelection in the 11^th district.

In Kansas, Republican Victor Murdock steps down to run for the Senate as a Progressive and Democrat William Ayres wins an open seat in the 8^th district.

In Minnesota, Democrat Carl Van Dyke defeats Republican Frederick Stevens for reelection.

In Nebraska, Democrat Ashton Shallenberger defeats Republican Silas Barton for reelection in the 5^th district.

In Oklahoma, Democrat James Davenport wins an open seat in the 1^st district from retiring Republican Bird McGuire.

In Pennsylvania, Democrat Michael Liebel defeats Republican Milton Shreve for reelection. It is a three-way race in which a Progressive candidate gets 23.5% of the vote.

In South Dakota, Democrat Harry Gandy wins the open seat in the 3^rd district.

In Utah, Democrat James Mays wins the open seat in the 2^nd district.

In West Virginia, Democrat Adam Littlepage defeats Republican Samuel B. Avis for reelection in the 3^rd district.

In Washington, Democrat Clarence Dill wins in the 5^th district.

Democratic Gains, Senate

In California, Democrat James Phelan wins the election to succeed retiring Republican George Perkins.

In South Dakota, Republican Coe Crawford loses renomination to Congressman Charles Burke, but Burke loses the election to Democrat Edwin Johnson.

In Wisconsin, Democrat Paul Husting narrowly wins the election to succeed retiring Republican Isaac Stephenson.

Progressive Gains:

In California’s 6^th district, Republican Joseph Knowland retires and is succeeded by John A. Elston.

In Illinois’ 11^th district, Ira C. Copley switches from Republican to Progressive and wins.

In Louisiana’s 3^rd district, Progressive Whitmell P. Martin wins an open seat.

In Minnesota, Progressive Thomas Schall wins an open Republican seat in the 10^th district.

Other Gains:

In California, Prohibitionist Charles Randall defeats Progressive Charles W. Bell for reelection in the 9^th district.

In New York, Socialist Meyer London defeats Democrat Henry Goldfogle for reelection in the 14^th district.

Renomination Losses:

In Alabama’s 6^th district, Democrat Richmond P. Hobson lost renomination to William B. Oliver.

In Florida’s at-Large District, Claude L’Engle, who barely voted, lost to William J. Sears.

In Louisiana, Democrat James W. Elder lost renomination to Riley J. Wilson in the 5^th district.

In Maryland, Democrat Frank Smith lost renomination to Richard A. Johnson in the 5^th district, who loses to Republican Sydney Mudd.

In Missouri’s 12^th district, Democrat Michael Gill loses renomination, and the seat is won by Republican Leonidas C. Dyer.

In New York, Democrats Frank Wilson, Jefferson Levy, and Henry George Jr. lose renomination to Joseph Flynn in the 3^rd district, Michael Farley in the 14^th district, and G. Murray Hulbert in the 21^st district respectively, all who win the election. Democrats Herman Metz and Edwin Underhill lose renomination in the 10^th and 37^th districts respectively, and the victors lose the election to Republicans. Republican Samuel Wallin loses renomination to William Charles in the 30^th district, who wins his election.

In Ohio, Democrat J. Henry Goeke lost renomination in the 4^th district, and the victor lost the seat.

In Oklahoma, Democrat Claude Weaver loses to Joseph B. Thompson.

In Oregon, Republican Walter Lafferty of the 3^rd district ran for reelection as an Independent and lost to Republican Clifton MacArthur.

In Pennsylvania, Democrat Robert Difenderfer loses renomination to Harry E. Grim in the 8^th district, who loses the election. Democrat John Rothermel loses renomination to Arthur Dewalt, who wins the election in the 13^th district.

In Washington, Progressive James W. Bryan loses renomination to Austin E. Griffith, who loses the election in the 1^st district.

This election resulted in a Democratic House majority of 230-196 and 7 third party members, which would place Republicans in a good position in 1916, but they fell short in enough places so that a coalition of Democrats and third party members would retain a majority in the succeeding Congress. The Senate had a 56-39 Democratic majority, which was a bit of a tougher hurdle for Republicans to come back from.

References

1914 United States House of Representatives elections. Wikipedia.

Retrieved from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1914_United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections

1914 United States Senate elections. Wikipedia.

Retrieved from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1914_United_States_Senate_elections

For people who make it into positions of great power, having a mentor is vital. The man I am writing about today, Winthrop Murray Crane (1853-1920), was not only a politician of great significance in his own right, but he also mentored a president. Born to family in the paper mill business, the Crane Paper Company, Crane went to work for his father upon completing school at 17, and worked his way up through the company, serving in multiple roles so he could fully understand the business. In 1872, Crane had his first major success in obtaining a wrapping paper contract for the Winchester Repeating Arms Company and seven years later he followed up by securing an exclusive contract for the Crane Paper Company to provide paper for the currency of the U.S. government, a role it still has today. After Crane’s father’s death in 1887 he took the reins of the business and managed to significantly increase his family’s wealth through wise investments.

In 1892, Crane entered politics when he served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention, and would take part in subsequent conventions. He was notably not big on public speaking and disliked the process of campaigning. Indeed, Crane never made a speech in his years campaigning for office (can you guess who he mentored?). His reticence did not hurt him in Massachusetts, and in 1897, he was elected lieutenant governor, followed up by his election in 1899 as governor, serving from 1900 to 1903. As governor, Crane practiced fiscal conservatism, succeeded in getting an asylum constructed, and mediated a strike by the Teamster’s Union. His success in resolving that strike got him national recognition, including from President Theodore Roosevelt, who brought him on to be among the negotiators to successfully mediate the national Anthracite Coal Strike in 1902. Crane also advised Roosevelt to publicly state that he would not seek a third term when running for reelection (Bent). Although Roosevelt asked him to be Secretary of the Treasury, he declined.  Crane was described thusly by author Carolyn W. Johnson, “This Governor of Massachusetts, deep in public service, was by temperament a private man. In public reticent and unwilling to speak, he conversed constantly in closed meetings, in quiet conferences, and on the telephone….he never said more than he had to, and he said it once…His program was not one of sweeping changes, but one of small steps toward his goals: curtailed expenditures, reduced indebtedness, and increased legislative self-discipline…His administration was unspectacular and widely praised; he had not been expected, or elected to introduce grand reforms…He was the classic man-behind-the-scenes. Avoiding limelight and applause, he was a man who ‘knew,’ a collector of information, an acute observer who had many sources…With an easy private approach to individuals, he won their confidence; with sound perceptions, he gained their respect. His colleagues knew that he could keep a secret. He was honest, not extravagantly frank, and eminently sensible, with a deep knowledge of men and a wide grasp of affairs” (24, 29, 39). Crane chose not to run again for governor, but public office would again call to him.

In 1904, Senator George Frisbie Hoar, a longtime institution in Massachusetts and on Capitol Hill, died after several months of illness. Crane was appointed his successor by Governor John L. Bates, and the legislature elected him to a full term in 1907. In the Senate, he was known as a capable behind-the-scenes leader of the conservative wing of the GOP. This was attested to by his colleague, Chauncey Depew of New York, who wrote that he “never made a speech. I do not remember that he made a motion. Yet he was the most influential member of that body” (Abrams, 38). Crane also would often advise people not to act in certain situations. As he would tell people, “Do nothing” (Abrams, 39). Even though he was one of the Senate’s most conservative members in his day, he was known for his skills in persuasion and in bridging differences between the conservative and progressive wings of the party. Crane also could be direct in a way that his colleagues hesitated to be. For instance, after numerous Republicans had tried all sorts of indirect ways to divine how a fellow senator was going to vote on a crucial bill, Crane told his colleagues to “wait a minute”, strolled over to the senator and conversed with him briefly, then walked back and telling his fellow Republicans that “he’ll vote for the bill”, and when asked how he found out, he simply stated, “I asked him” (The Buffalo News). He was also inherently a high-tariff man, in line with traditional Republican economic philosophy, and voted for the Payne-Aldrich Tariff. However, Crane was also willing to vote for President Taft’s push for reciprocal trade relations with Canada, something that wouldn’t come to pass until the Reagan Administration. Crane was opposed to many reform proposals of his day, including publicizing campaign contributions, direct election of senators, and abolishing the electoral college. He could also engage in some behind-the-scenes maneuvering, possibly including Democratic Governor William L. Douglas not running for reelection. According to politician Charles Hamlin, Republicans had uncovered that Douglas had obtained by fraud an honorable discharge during the War of the Rebellion, and that Crane and Senator Lodge agreed to keep this a secret if he did not run again (Abrams, 120). Active at the Republican National Convention, Crane feared that William Howard Taft would be not be a sufficiently strong candidate, but he would fully back his reelection effort in 1912. By this point, Crane had declined to be a candidate for reelection and was succeeded by the also strongly conservative John W. Weeks. Crane’s DW-Nominate score stands at a 0.669, making him the second most conservative senator by that scale in all the time he was in office.

Mentoring a President

Crane took some interest in the career of a young state legislator who he saw as possessing great potential, this being none other than Calvin Coolidge. Although Coolidge was naturally a quiet person around strangers, Crane told him that this was the right path, advising that silence “avoids creating a situation where one would otherwise not exist” (Tacoma). Thus, Coolidge’s silence was both natural and political strategy. Coolidge noted about his mentor, “his influence was very great, but that it was of an intangible nature” (Abrams, 38). Both Crane and Coolidge were similar politically, as Coolidge was also a backer of high tariffs and both men were opposed to inflationary currency.

Crane’s Last Cause: The Versailles Treaty

Although Murray Crane had a long history of being a strong partisan, he nonetheless saw the establishment of the League of Nations and the US’s participation in it as vital. His position would be that of a mild reservationist, being for including some modest Republican reservations to the treaty before enacting it. This placed him at odds with his old colleague, Henry Cabot Lodge, who was for strong reservations to the treaty, and it is debatable whether Lodge would have really accepted a treaty in any form. Crane advocated for the adoption of a plank for the Republican Party to endorse the creation of the League of Nations with “proper reservations”, which was interpreted by journalist Mark Sullivan (1920) of the Des Moines Register to be as strong as Wilson’s as “proper” was a word that had a lot of room for interpretation (1). By this time, Crane’s health was fragile, and the hot summer of New England pushed him over the edge. On July 31, 1920, he collapsed in Northampton, Massachusetts prior to an event notifying Coolidge of his nomination for vice president, having been in the hot sun throughout the day. Although Crane recovered enough to be taken home, he found himself having several more collapses when he tried to work in subsequent days. As he himself said about the situation, “something gave out” (The Franklin Repository). The last two months of Crane’s life would be of increasing lethargy, and despite his family seeking the help of specialists he died on October 2^nd of brain inflammation at his family home.

References

Abrams, R. (1964). Conservatism in a progressive era: Massachusetts politics 1900-1912. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Bent, S. (1926, March 28). Murray Crane Was a Master of Politics. The New York Times.

Retrieved from

Crane, Whispering Giant of G.O.P., Dies. (1920, October 3). The Commercial Appeal, 1

Retrieved from

https://www.newspapers.com/image/768138336/

Crane, Winthrop Murray. Voteview.

Retrieved from

https://voteview.com/person/2147/winthrop-murray-crane

Ex-Sen. Crane Died Following Heart Attack. (1920, October 2). The Franklin Repository, 2.

Retrieved from

https://www.newspapers.com/image/853770856/

Johnson, C.W. (1967). Winthrop Murray Crane: a study in Republican leadership, 1892-1920. Northampton, MA: Smith College.

Memorial to Crane Unveiled at Dalton. (1925, October 3). The New York Times.

Murray Crane. (1920, October 4). The Buffalo News, 8.

Retrieved from

https://www.newspapers.com/image/846060620/

On Great Examples. (2013, April). The Importance of the Obvious.

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https://salientcal.com/2013/04/

Shlaes, A. (2013, May 12). Amity Shlaes: Irony of a Coolidge coin. Orange County Register.

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Amity Shlaes: Irony of a Coolidge coin

Sullivan, M. (1920, June 10). Sullivan Declares Crane’s League Plank As Strong As Wilson’s. The Des Moines Register.

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https://www.newspapers.com/image/129056493/

Tacoma, T. (2019, July 4). Calvin Coolidge’s Birthday Is The Perfect Time To Dispel Popular Myths About Him. The Federalist.

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https://thefederalist.com/2019/07/04/calvin-coolidges-birthday-perfect-time-dispel-popular-myths/

Winthrop Murray Crane Papers. Massachusetts History.

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Although by 1916, Woodrow Wilson is a solid figure in the progressive era, particularly given his support of legislation aimed at the working man, such as the Adamson Act for maximum hours for railroad workers, this is still the era in which Republicans are dominating the presidency so he will have a tough fight. Although Republicans didn’t win majorities in the 1914 midterm, they did well nonetheless and established that they remained a force to be reckoned with. Wilson keeps his vice president, former Indiana Governor Thomas R. Marshall, while the Republicans select Justice Charles Evans Hughes, this being the one time that a party has nominated a justice of the Supreme Court and that a justice has resigned to run for president. Unlike Salmon P. Chase in the 1860s and 1870s, Hughes had not seen the Supreme Court as a steppingstone to the presidency. The candidate for vice president was again Indiana’s Charles W. Fairbanks, who had served as Theodore Roosevelt’s vice president and was known as a conservative stalwart. Although there were thoughts that the Progressive Party would run a candidate, Theodore Roosevelt was fully behind Hughes and refused to accept the party’s nomination for president, thus the Progressive Party was effectively hobbled, and although many Progressives went along with Roosevelt there were several prominent ones who went with Wilson. Wilson campaigned on having kept the United States out of war and for the measures he had gotten into law for working class Americans, while Hughes criticized Wilson’s intervention in Mexico, called for military preparedness, and voiced opposition to the Adamson Act.

Hughes campaigned considerably more to the conservative side of the GOP than the progressive side, and this approach may have been the difference between victory and loss in California. Hughes campaigned with party conservatives in California and thought he could pass on meeting with progressive Governor Hiram Johnson, who opted not to give an endorsement, and afterwards very narrowly lost the state. Indeed, Wilson’s performance west of the Mississippi was strong; of those states only Oregon and South Dakota voted for Hughes. This plus the Solid South won Wilson a second term. Hughes performed strongly in the Northeast with Wilson only pulling off New Hampshire and won 7 of the 11 Midwestern states.  Although by the popular vote, Wilson had won by three points, if Hughes had won California he would have won the electoral vote and it would thus become the fourth time in the nation’s history that the candidate who got the highest popular vote didn’t win the election (that would have to wait until Bush v. Gore!). This would also be the last election in which North Dakota and South Dakota voted differently (seriously guys they’re not the same!). This election did prove something important; Democrats could win an election on Wilson himself given the lack of the Republican split.

The Senate

Democrats lose a net of two Senate seats in this election. Republicans gain some seats but lose others, and this leaves Democrats with a still comfortable 54-42 majority.

Republican Gains

In Indiana, Majority Leader John W. Kern lost reelection to Republican Harry S. New, part of the Republican sweep of the state.

In Maine, Charles F. Johnson lost reelection to Republican Frederick Hale, the son of Eugene Hale, the man he had defeated in 1910. The state had reverted back to its traditionally Republican politics.

In Maryland, Republican Joseph I. France defeated Democratic Congressman David J. Lewis, the latter who would later play a key role in crafting Social Security.

In New Jersey, James E. Martine, a Democrat who had been a bit of a thorn in the side of President Wilson, lost reelection by 16 points to Republican Joseph Frelinghuysen. Indeed, New Jersey was a bit of a disappointment for Wilson.

In New York, Republican William M. Calder defeats Democrat William F. McCombs for the open Senate seat.

Democratic Gains

In Delaware, Republican Henry du Pont lost reelection to Democrat Josiah Wolcott despite Wilson losing the state.

In New Mexico, Republican Thomas B. Catron lost renomination to the younger Frank A. Hubbell, who lost the election to Democrat Andrieus A. Jones.

In Rhode Island, Republican Henry F. Lippitt lost reelection to Democrat Peter G. Gerry, the first time a Democrat has been elected to the Senate since before the Republican Party’s existence. It is also the first time that Rhode Island had a vote of the people for their senator. Gerry ran considerably ahead of Wilson, who lost the state.

In Utah, Republican George Sutherland lost reelection to Democrat William H. King by 17 points. Wilson ran two points ahead of King. President Warren G. Harding would place Sutherland on the Supreme Court. Wilson had won the state, in contrast to it being one of President Taft’s two victories in 1912.

In West Virginia, Democrat William Chilton lost reelection to Republican Congressman Howard Sutherland. Wilson had lost the state.

In Wyoming, Republican Senator Clarence Clark lost reelection to Democrat John B. Kendrick by 6 points. Wilson had won the state.

Lost Renominations

In Minnesota, Progressive Republican Moses Clapp lost renomination to the more establishment-friendly Frank B. Kellogg, who won the election.

In Tennessee, Democrat Luke Lea lost renomination to Congressman Kenneth McKellar. McKellar was the junior partner of the powerful Crump machine in Memphis, and he would have a long career, being involved in secretly securing funding for the atomic bomb project and staying in office until 1953. The man who would defeat him in his primary in 1952? Albert Gore Sr.

House

The House provided a rather interesting situation, as Republicans overall made gains and they actually won one more seat than the Democrats. However, there were more than two parties in the House. Socialist Meyer London of New York, Progressives John Elston of California, Whitmell Martin of Louisiana and Melville Kelly of Pennsylvania, and the Prohibitionist Charles Randall of California caucused with the Democrats, giving them the majority.

Democratic Gains

In California, Democrats gain one seat in the 1^st district as Clarence F. Lea succeeds the retiring Independent William Kent.

In Connecticut’s 1^st district, future Senator Augustine Lonergan unseats Republican incumbent P. Davis Oakey.

In Delaware, Democrat Albert Polk very narrowly edges out incumbent Thomas W. Miller. Miller would later become one of the corrupt officials in the Harding Administration.

In New Mexico, Republican Benigno Hernandez loses reelection to Democrat William B. Walton.

In New York, Democrat Daniel C. Oliver defeated Republican incumbent William S. Bennet in the 23^rd’ district. In the 28^th district, Democrat George Lunn succeeded retiring Republican William Charles in the 30^th district. Lunn had previously been the Socialist mayor of Schenectady and had been persuaded to switch to run for Congress.

In North Carolina’s 10^th district, Republican James J. Britt loses reelection to Democrat Zebulon Weaver. The election is challenged, and Britt does win the challenge, but only serves the last two days of the term as Weaver indisputably wins the 1918 election.

In Ohio, Republican representatives J. Edward Russell, Edwin Ricketts, Seward Williams, and William C. Mooney are defeated for reelection by Benjamin Welty, Horatio Claypool, Elsworth Bathrick, and George White in the 4^th, 11^th, 14^th, and 15^th districts respectively.

In Pennsylvania, retiring Republican C. William Beales is succeeded by Democrat Andrew Brodbeck in the 20^th district while Republicans Robert Hopwood and Andrew Barchfeld are defeated for reelection by Democrats Bruce F. Sterling and Guy Campbell in the 21^st and 32^nd districts.

In Utah, Republican Joseph Howell of the 1^st district retires and Democrat Milton Welling succeeds him.

Republican Gains

In California, Republican Henry Z. Osborne wins the election to succeed Progressive William P. Stephens in the 10^th district.

In Illinois’ 7^th, 14^th, 16^th, and one of the at-Large districts, Democrats Frank Buchanan, Clyde Tavenner, Claude Stone, and William E. Williams lose to Republicans Niels Juul, William Graham, Clifford Ireland, and William E. Mason respectively.

In Indiana’s 2^nd, 5^th, 6^th, 8^th, 9^th, 11^th, and 12^th districts Democrats lose seats. In the 2^nd, 5^th, 6^th, 11^th, and 12th William Cullop, Ralph Moss, Finly Gray, George Rauch, and Cyrus Cline lose to Republicans Oscar Bland, future secretary to Calvin Coolidge Everett Sanders, Daniel W. Comstock, Milton Kraus, and Louis Fairfield. In the 8^th and 9^th incumbents John Adair and Martin Morrison retire and are succeeded by Republicans Albert Vestal and Fred Purnell.

In Iowa, the only Democratic incumbent, Thomas J. Steele of the 11^th district, loses to Republican George Scott.

In Kansas, Democrat Joseph Taggart of the 2^nd district loses reelection to Republican Edward C. Little.

In Maine, Democrat Daniel McGillicuddy of the 2^nd district loses reelection to Republican Wallace White. White would sponsor the first major radio regulation legislation in 1926 and he would serve as Senate Majority Leader from 1947 to 1949.

In Maryland, Republican Frederick Zihlman succeeds Democrat David J. Lewis, who lost the Senate election.

In Michigan’s 2^nd district, Republican Mark Bacon defeats Democrat Samuel Beakes. However, Beakes successfully contests the election and the House seats him in the middle of the session.

In one of Montana’s at-Large districts, Republican Jeanette Rankin succeeds Democrat Tom Stout. She is the first woman to ever be elected to Congress and she would gain a deserved reputation as anti-war.

In New Jersey’s 6^th district, Republican John Ramsey succeeds retiring Democrat Archibald Hart.

In New York’s 14^th, 18^th, 24^th, and 42^nd districts, Democratic incumbents Woodson Oglesby, and Daniel Driscoll lose reelection to Fiorello La Guardia, George Francis, Benjamin Fairchild, and William F. Waldow. Interestingly, of these three districts, the first four were in New York City, a bit of a subversion of expectations I would say! La Guardia would become one of New York City’s most famous and many historians argue, the best of their mayors.

In Ohio’s 2^nd district, Republican Victor Heintz succeeds retiring Democrat Alfred G. Allen.

In Oklahoma’s 1^st district, Republican Thomas Chandler defeats Democrat James Davenport for reelection. Tulsa is in this district and it is a strong swing district; until the 1932 election it would repeatedly change parties.

In Pennsylvania’s 12^th and 19^th districts, Republicans Thomas Templeton and John Rose defeat Democrats John Casey and Warren Bailey respectively. In the 25^th district, Republican Henry Clark succeeded retiring Democrat Michael Liebel.

In West Virginia, Republican Stuart F. Reed gained the open seat of the 3^rd district.

In Wisconsin’s 2^nd, 6^th, and 9^th districts, Republicans Edward Voigt, James H. Davidson, and David Classon would defeat Democratic incumbents Michael Burke, Michael Reilly, and Thomas Konop, making the state’s House delegation all-Republican.

Other Gains

In Massachusetts, 9th district Republican Ernest W. Roberts lost reelection to Independent Alvan T. Fuller, who would later be a controversial Massachusetts governor over his handling of the Sacco and Vanzetti case.

In Pennsylvania, Progressive Melville Kelly defeated Republican incumbent William Coleman in the 30^th district.

Lost Renominations

In Florida’s 3^rd’ district, Democrat Walter Kehoe prevails over Emmett Wilson.

In Georgia’s 12^th district, Democrat William Larsen defeats Dudley M. Hughes.

In one of Idaho’s two at-Large seats, Republican Robert McCracken is defeated for renomination by Burton French.

In Michigan’s 10^th district, Republican George Loud is defeated for renomination by Gilbert Currie.

In Minnesota’s 5^th district, conservative incumbent George R. Smith loses renomination to Progressive Republican Ernest Lundeen.

In New York’s 39^th district, Republican Henry Danforth loses renomination to Archie Sanders.

In Pennsylvania’s 22th district, Republican incumbent Abraham Keister would lose renomination to Edward Robbins. Robbins would be one of three members of Congress who would die from the influenza pandemic. Republican S. Taylor North would also lose renomination in the 27th district to Nathan Strong.

In South Carolina’s 3^rd district, Democrat Wyatt Aiken lost renomination to Frederick Dominick.

In Texas, Oscar Callaway, John Stephens, William Smith, and James Davis of the 12^th, 13th, 16^th, and At-Large districts lost renomination to James Wilson, J. Marvin Jones, Thomas Blanton, and Daniel Garrett respectively. Jones would sponsor the Agricultural Adjustment Act during the Roosevelt Administration and would be a champion of overall New Deal farm policy. Blanton would, as mentioned in a previous post, be a controversial figure and was even considered for expulsion from Congress for putting foul language in the Congressional Record.

President Wilson and the next Congress would have to contend with World War I and all the difficulties that arose from it, including taking control of railroads, the Espionage and Sedition Acts, and the influenza pandemic.  

References

1916 United States House of Representatives elections. Wikipedia.

Retrieved from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1916_United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections

1916 United States presidential election. Wikipedia.

Retrieved from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1916_United_States_presidential_election

1916 United States Senate elections. Wikipedia.

Retrieved from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1916_United_States_Senate_elections

Vice President John Nance Garner and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the winners.

Every once in a while if things go badly for the GOP, some columnist will predict the end of the party. It turns out that Republicans are highly resilient, a lesson that should have been learned by the 1936 election, in which after they were at their lowest level of power since their foundation. The most obvious demolishing was FDR over Alf Landon. Landon, who ran on the slogan of “Life, Liberty, and Landon” and really had no issues to campaign on to effect save for critiquing government inefficiency and calling for less spending. FDR and his New Deal were so popular that he won over 60% of the vote and even defeated him in his home state of Kansas, winning every state except Maine and Vermont. Vermont at the time was the most Republican state in the nation and Maine had been strongly Republican save for a brief Democratic surge in the early 1910s. Many people had bad memories of the Hoover presidency and the Republicans were just not presenting an alternative that appealed to many at the time. As Virginia Senator Carter Glass quipped after the result, “It is well nigh impossible to beat a five billion dollar campaign fund”, referencing work relief spending (Hill). What’s more, money was short. What they could achieve was largely thanks to money provided from wealthy American Liberty League members. RNC chairman John D.M. Hamilton attested to this when after the election he said, “Without Liberty League money, we wouldn’t have had a national headquarters” (Pietrusza).

Democratic Gains:

In California, Republicans lost three seats. The 4^th district’s (San Francisco) Florence Kahn was defeated by Progressive Franck Havenner, Sam Collins of the 19^th district was defeated by Democrat Harry Sheppard, and the Democrats gained the open 20^th district with Edouard Izac.

In Connecticut, down went both of the state’s House Republicans, William Higgins of the 2^nd district to Democrat William Fitzgerald and Republican Schuyler Merritt of the 4^th district to Democrat Alfred Phillips. However, the octogenarian Merritt had chosen not to campaign as he wasn’t that interested in reelection.

In Delaware, Republican Senator Daniel Hastings, definitely the most staunchly anti-New Deal of the senators, lost reelection to Democrat James Hughes. Republican freshman John G. Stewart also lost reelection to Democrat William F. Allen. Delaware’s sole seat would swing between the parties throughout the Roosevelt presidency.

In Michigan, Democrats picked up a seat, as Republican James Couzens, who had endorsed FDR for his reelection, had lost renomination in 1936 and then died. Democratic Congressman Prentiss Brown was elected. Republicans also incurred losses in the 6^th and 13^th districts, with Republicans William W. Blackney and Clarence G. McLeod losing reelection to Democrats Andrew Transue and George O’Brien. Blackney and McLeod would return in 1938.

In Minnesota, the Farmer-Labor Party’s Dewey Johnson picked up the open 5^th district from the GOP, and Republican William Pittenger lost reelection in the 8^th district to the Farmer-Labor Party’s John Bernard. Pittenger would return in 1938.

In New Hampshire, Democrat Alphonse Roy lost an election to the 1^st district, which was open, to Republican Arthur B. Jenks, but this election was contested and the Democratic majority House voted to seat Roy towards the end of the 75^th Congress. Jenks would win in 1938.

In New Jersey, Republican Senator William Barbour would lose reelection to Democrat William Smathers. However, Barbour would return in the 1938 election. House Republicans Isaac Bacharach of the 2^nd district, Peter Cavicchia of the 11^th district, and Frederick Lehlbach of the 12^th district lost reelection to Democrats Elmer H. Wene, Edward O’Neill, and Frank Towey respectively.

In New York, Vito Marcantonio of the 20^th district lost reelection to Democrat James Lanzetta. However, Marcantonio would make a comeback in 1938 as a member of the American Labor Party.

In Ohio, Republican representation in the House was reduced to two, as Republicans John Hollister of the 1^st district, William Hess of the 2^nd district, Leroy Marshall of the 7^th district, John Cooper of the 19^th district, and Chester Bolton of the 22^nd district lost reelection to Democrats Joseph Dixon, Herbert Bigelow, Arthur Aleshire, Michael Kirwan, and Anthony Fleger respectively. Hess and Bolton would return in the 1938 election.

In Oregon, Portland’s Republican Congressman William Ekwall of the 3^rd district would lose reelection to Democrat Nan Honeyman.

In Pennsylvania, a significant development occurred in Philadelphia: with the loss of all its Republican representatives, the city of brotherly love became represented entirely by Democrats! Republicans Harry Ransley of the 1^st, William H. Wilson of the 2^nd district, Clare G. Fenerty of the 3^rd district, and George Darrow of the 7^th district lost reelection to Democrats Leon Sacks, James McGranery, Michael Bradley, and Ira W. Drew respectively. Only Darrow would return in the 1938 election. Also losing in Pennsylvania were Charles Turpin of the 12^th district and Isaac Doutrich of the 19^th district to Democrats J. Harold Flannery and Guy J. Swope respectively.

In Rhode Island, Republican Senator Jesse Metcalf lost reelection to Democrat Theodore Green as did the 1^st district’s Republican Charles Risk to Democrat Aime J. Forand. Risk would return in the 1938 election, but after 1940 no Republican would win a Senate seat from Rhode Island until 1976, and no Republican would get a House seat until 1980.

In Wyoming, Republican Senator Robert Carey lost reelection to Democrat Harry Schwartz. It was just as well, as he died only two months later.

Republican Gains

Not all was bad for Republicans in this election, although the wins they had far from made up for their big losses.

In Iowa, Republican Cassius C. Dowell, who had lost reelection in 1934, came back in winning the open 6^th district.

In Kansas, Republican Edward H. Rees won the open 4^th district.

In Maine, Republican James C. Oliver defeated Democrat Simon Hamlin for reelection in the 1^st district, while Republican Clyde H. Smith won the open 2^nd district. Yep, the Republicans did well in Maine!

In Massachusetts, Republicans scored their only Senate seat pickup: Republican Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. defeated Democrat James M. Curley. Roosevelt had come to despise Curley and his corrupt machine ways and refused to lift a finger for him. Republicans also picked up the open 2^nd district with Charles R. Clason and Republican Robert Luce came back in the 9^th district after his defeat by Democrat Richard Russell in 1934.  

In New York, Democrat Fred Sisson of the 33^rd district lost reelection to Republican Fred Douglas.

In Ohio, Democrat William Fiesinger of the 13th district lost renomination, and Republican Dudley White won the seat.

 In Pennsylvania, Democrats Charles Dietrich of the 15^th district and Denis J. Driscoll of the 20^th district lost reelection to Republicans Albert Rutherford and Benjamin Jarrett respectively.

In South Dakota, Democrat Theodore Werner of the 2^nd district was defeated for reelection by Republican Francis Case.

Renomination Losses

In Alabama’s 9th district, George Huddleston, who had served since 1915 and had become a critic of the New Deal, lost renomination to staunch New Deal liberal Luther Patrick. Since Alabama was a one-party state at the time, this was tantamount to election victory.

Multiple Democrats in Louisiana lost renomination, including Numa Montet in the 3rd district to Robert Mouton, Riley Wilson of the 5th district to Newt Mills, and Jared Y. Sanders Jr. in the 6th district to John K. Griffith.

In Michigan, Republican Verner Main of the 3rd district lost renomination to Paul Shafer, who won the seat.

In Missouri, Democrat James Claiborne of the 12th district, one of the least loyal Democrats, lost renomination to Charles Anderson, who won the seat.

In New York, Democrat Richard Tonry of the 8th district lost renomination to Donald O’Toole, who won the seat.

In Ohio, Democrat Warren Duffey of the 9th district lost renomination to John F. Hunter, who won the seat.

In Oklahoma, Democrat Percy Gassaway of the 4th district lost renomination to Lyle Boren, who won the seat.

In Pennsylvania, multiple Democrats lost renomination. Democrat William Richardson of the 14th district went down to Guy Moser, who won the seat. William Berlin of the 28th district also lost renomination to Robert G. Allen as did J. Twing Brooks of the 30th district to Peter De Muth. In Pennsylvania’s 32nd district, Theodore L. Moritz opted to run for reelection as a Progressive after losing renomination, but lost to Democratic nominee Herman P. Eberharter. In the prior two cases, the winners would turn out to be considerably more conservative than their predecessors.

In Texas, the voters of the 17th district finally had enough of Democrat Thomas Blanton being a lightning rod of controversy and dumped him for Clyde Garrett, who won the election.

In Virginia, Democrat Colgate Darden of the 2nd district, who had voted against Social Security, lost renomination to Norman Hamilton, but he would return in the 1938 election.

This election had significance not only as a public endorsement of the New Deal overall, but also as a signal to the Supreme Court that the laws they were striking down were part of what the public supported. After this election, Roosevelt would be able to replace retiring justices, changing the ideological landscape of the court in the direction of broad interpretation of the Commerce Clause. The New Deal programs would continue and the federal minimum wage under the Fair Labor Standards Act among other measures would be enacted.

References

1936 United States House of Representatives elections. Wikipedia.

Retrieved from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1936_United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections

1936 United States presidential election. Wikipedia.

Retrieved from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1936_United_States_presidential_election

1936 United States Senate elections. Wikipedia.

Retrieved from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1936_United_States_Senate_elections

Adler, B.S. (1951, February 25). Then and Now; Alf Landon, the G.O.P.’s hope (deferred) in 1936, is today a busy, contented man. The New York Times.

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Hill, R. (2013, January 27). Carter Glass of Virginia. The Knoxville Focus.

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http://knoxfocus.com/archives/carter-glass-of-virginia/

Pietrusza, D. (1978, January 1). New Deal Nemesis. Reason Magazine.

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https://reason.com/1978/01/01/new-deal-nemesis/