1934 United States Senate election in Missouri

The 1934 United States Senate election in Missouri was held on November 6, 1934. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Roscoe Patterson, first elected in 1928, sought reelection to a second term. He was defeated by the Democratic nominee, future President of the United States Harry Truman.[1]

United States Senate election in Missouri, 1934

November 6, 1934

Nominee Harry S. Truman Roscoe C. Patterson Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 787,110 524,954 Percentage 59.55% 39.71%

County results

U.S. senator before election Roscoe C. Patterson Republican Elected U.S. Senator Harry S. Truman Democratic

Candidates

Democratic

• Harry S. Truman, presiding judge of the Jackson County Court[2]
• John J. Cochran, U.S. Representative since 1926[3]
• Jacob L. Milligan, U.S. Representative since 1920[3]
• James Longstreet Cleveland[3]

Republican

• Roscoe C. Patterson, incumbent U.S. Senator since 1929[4]

Campaign

Harry Truman, having served as a judge, expressed an interest in running for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1934, but political boss Tom Pendergast had already selected another candidate for that race. After four other potential candidates had declined to run, Pendergast ultimately approached Truman to discuss a possible run for the United States Senate, to Truman's surprise. Truman, with backing from Pendergast, entered the Senate race. Truman said he would not, if elected, dictate to anyone, to the dismay of anti-Pendergast U.S. Senator Bennett Champ Clark.[5]

Truman waged a statewide campaign and eventually won the largely three-way Democratic primary on August 7, 1934, by a significant margin, defeating U.S. Representatives John Cochran and Jacob Milligan.[3] After winning the Democratic nomination, Truman defeated Republican opponent and incumbent U.S. Senator Roscoe Patterson by a landslide margin of about 20% of the vote.[6][7]

Results

Missouri United States Senate election, 1934[1][6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Harry S. Truman	787,110	59.55
	Republican	Roscoe C. Patterson (incumbent)	524,954	39.71
	Socialist	W.C. Meyer	9,010	0.68
	Communist	Frank Brown	418	0.03
	Socialist Labor	William Wesley Cox	384	0.03
Total votes			1,321,876	100

See also

• 1934 United States Senate elections
• List of United States Senators from Missouri

References

1. Dubin, Michael J. (1998). United States congressional elections, 1788-1997 : the official results of the elections of the 1st through 105th congresses. Jefferson, NC [u.a.]: McFarland. ISBN 0786402830.
2. "TRUMAN, Harry S., (1884 - 1972)". Biographical Directory of the U.S Congress. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
3. "MO US Senate - D Primary". OurCampaigns. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
4. "PATTERSON, Roscoe Conklin, (1876 - 1954)". Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
5. "Harry S. Truman, 34th Vice President (1945)". United States Senate. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
6. "MO US Senate". OurCampaigns. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
7. "Life Before the Presidency". American President: A Reference Resource. University of Virginia. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2012.