Campaign
Dwight Morrow, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, father of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, and one of the richest men in the state, was the front-runner for the nomination. Morrow took little part in the early campaign. Shortly after announcing his candidacy in the spring, he left to participate in the London Naval Conference. [3]
Upon his entry, Morrow's chief opponent was former U.S. Senator Joseph S. Frelinghuysen Sr., who had announced his candidacy even before Edge's appointment and resignation. [1] Frelinghuysen stressed his campaign as a challenge to the establishment, identifying Morrow as an ally of the "Baird-Larson-Kean" group which controlled all of New Jersey's statewide offices, which Frelinghuysen termed "machine domination." [4] Frelinghuysen additionally suggested Baird's appointment had been orchestrated by the machine to allow Morrow to avoid controversial votes, such as on the Smoot-Hawley Tariff, which Frelinghuysen supported. [3] State party chairman E. Bertram Mott responded that the state committee took no official side in the primary, though "a great majority ... [were] in favor of Mr. Morrow for the nomination." [5]
One of Morrow's few public statements during the campaign came in his opening speech on May 16, which called for a repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Opponents of prohibition, including Governor Larson and Democratic candidate Alexander S. Simpson, praised his statement, while critics compared him unfavorably to Al Smith. Outside of the state, his comments were taken as evidence that prohibition was failing. [6] His chief critic on the issue was Representative Franklin W. Fort, who entered the race late as a candidate of the Anti-Saloon League. Conceding that Prohibition would be repealed some time in the future, Fort focused his attacks on Morrow's alliance with Atlantic City boss Nucky Johnson, who Fort argued would prevent Morrow from supporting any enforcement of the Volstead Act in the intervening years. [3]
Frelinghuysen attempted to reframe the contest as a debate over foreign policy, criticizing Morrow's role negotiating the London Naval Treaty, which he argued left the United States needing billions in naval spending, [5] and accusing Morrow of failing to oppose the League of Nations and World Court. [3] As the race came to a close, Frelinghuysen attacked both Morrow and Fort for evading key issues. [7]
