1958 United States Senate election in Utah

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1958 United States Senate election in Utah
Flag of Utah (1922-2011).svg
←  1952 November 4, 1958 1964  →
  Senator Frank Moss.jpg Arthur V. Watkins, 1950.jpg J. Bracken Lee (cropped).jpg
Nominee Frank Moss Arthur V. Watkins J. Bracken Lee
Party Democratic Republican Independent
Popular vote112,827101,47177,013
Percentage38.73%34.83%26.44%
1958 United States Senate election in Utah results map by county.svg
County results
Moss:     30–40%     40–50%     50–60%
Watkins:     30–40%     40–50%     50–60%
Lee:     40–50%     60–70%
U.S. senator before election

Arthur V. Watkins
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Frank Moss
Democratic

The 1958 United States Senate election in Utah was held on November 4, 1958.

Contents

Incumbent Senator Arthur V. Watkins was defeated by Salt Lake County Attorney Frank Moss in a three-way race that also included former Governor J. Bracken Lee running as an independent. This was one of a record twelve Senate seats Democrats gained from the Republican Party in 1958. Even in such a strong year for Democrats, Moss's victory in Utah was seen as a major upset. [1]

Background

Utah at this time was seen as a safely Republican seat. Utah had not elected a Democratic Governor or United States Senator since 1944. The state voted for Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower by 17 points in 1952 and 29 points in 1956. It was one of only three states in the West which had trended towards Eisenhower in 1956, and the Republicans swept all congressional seats and state offices by substantial margins. The state had also not elected a Democratic Governor or United States Senator since 1944. [1]

By June 1958, the state was considered the only "safe Republican" area in the entire nation. In the face of the national Democratic surge, one Republican expert was quoted, "I haven't had any bad reports from [Utah] — recently." [2]

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Watkins easily won re-nomination by the Republican Party for a third term. Mattison carried only his home county of Sevier along with bordering Piute and Wayne Counties.

1958 Republican U.S. Senate primary
97% of precincts reporting [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Arthur V. Watkins (incumbent) 38,970 67.87%
Republican Carvel Mattison18,45132.13%
Total votes57,421 97.40%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

1958 Democratic U.S. Senate primary
97% of precincts reporting [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Frank Moss 35,582 59.08%
Democratic Brigham E. Roberts24,64140.92%
Total votes60,223 97.40%

General election

Candidates

Campaign

Senator Watkins made several key errors in the months and years preceding his defeat. He supported a strengthening of the Robinson–Patman Act, which angered business interests in the state and led the Utah Association of Petroleum Retailed to back Moss. The metal mining industry, which is a key part of the Utah economy, also grew dissatisfied with Watkins after Congress failed to pass favorable legislation. He also angered some rural voters by failing to take a side in a reclamation project that pitted development interests in Carbon County against those in Sanpete County. [1]

Perhaps most importantly, Watkins angered conservative and right-wing voters within his own party by leading the committee which voted for the censure of anti-communist Senator Joseph McCarthy. [1]

In the general election, Lee campaigned on the repeal of the federal income tax and a general reduction of taxes. He limited his previous criticisms of the Eisenhower administration and of the United Nations, though he continued to criticize foreign aid and federal spending in general. For his own part, Watkins campaigned on the issue of seniority. He claimed that if re-elected, he would be appointed to the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee. Lee responded by reminding Watkins that his predecessor, Senator Abe Murdock, was on this committee during his first and only term. Moss noted that seniority, even on a powerful committee, would mean little so long as Watkins's Republican Party remained the minority in the Senate. [1]

Moss gained support by contrasting himself to the much older Watkins and Lee in a series of public appearances. At one such event late in the campaign at the University of Utah, Lee said that all politicians were corrupt. Given Lee's own long career in politics and many electoral campaigns, the crowd laughed. As Lee's campaign began to decline and Moss's surged, a number of high-profile national Democratic leaders came to Utah to campaign. They included Senators Lyndon Baines Johnson, George Smathers, and Warren Magnuson. The Moss campaign brought in AFL-CIO lobbyist Esther Peterson and local communications executive George C. Hatch to provide strategic advice and communications expertise. [1]

In the final weeks of the race, the Moss campaign ran a double-pronged strategy: boosting Lee's appeal to Republican voters while drawing away his Democratic supporters. They first hosted a "Let's Sack Brack" rally featuring newly elected Senator Edmund Muskie and Congressman John E. Moss of California. As Lee gained attention as the outsider candidate, he began to attack both parties equally as a single "machine." Watkins turned his attention to Lee and intensified his attacks. In the final weeks of the campaign, the Democrats carried out an intensive phone-banking operation, calling potential Lee supporters to claim that Moss was the only candidate who could unseat Watkins. [1]

Watkins polled ahead for most of the campaign, but in the final weeks polls were published showing both Moss and Lee in the lead. Ultimately, his victory was credited to the presence of Lee in the race, which split Republican voters, and his own campaign's youthful energy. [1]

Results

General election results [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic Frank Moss 112,827 38.73% Decrease2.svg7.01
Republican Arthur V. Watkins (incumbent)101,47134.83%Decrease2.svg19.43
Independent J. Bracken Lee 77,01326.44%N/A
Total votes291,311 100.00% N/A
Democratic gain from Republican

Results by county

County [5] Frank Moss
Democratic		Arthur V. Watkins
Republican		J. Bracken Lee
Independent		MarginTotal votes cast
# %# %# %# %
Beaver 88243.11%50124.49%66332.40%21910.71%2,046
Box Elder 2,66735.85%3,00840.43%1,76523.72%-341-4.58%7,440
Cache 4,04333.78%5,23443.73%2,69322.50%-1,191-9.95%11,970
Carbon 4,42157.05%84910.95%2,48032.00%1,94125.05%7,750
Daggett 11945.95%8231.66%5822.39%3714.29%259
Davis 5,79836.19%6,66141.58%3,56122.23%-863-5.39%16,020
Duchesne 73330.40%1,05243.63%62625.96%-319-13.23%2,411
Emery 99140.02%67527.26%81032.71%1817.31%2,476
Garfield 27720.94%63648.07%41030.99%-226-17.08%1,323
Grand 28617.51%29217.88%1,05564.61%-763-46.73%1,633
Iron 1,35130.18%1,71838.38%1,40731.43%-311-6.95%4,476
Juab 1,11546.17%74730.93%55322.90%36815.24%2,415
Kane 15415.29%58658.19%26726.51%-319-31.68%1,007
Millard 1,08531.25%1,21935.11%1,16833.64%-51-1.47%3,472
Morgan 47038.12%53643.47%22718.41%-66-5.35%1,233
Piute 17426.28%28142.45%20731.27%-74-11.18%662
Rich 21129.14%27137.43%24233.43%-29-4.00%724
Salt Lake 47,75037.78%39,86331.54%38,76730.67%78876.24%126,380
San Juan 61434.32%70839.58%46726.10%-94-5.26%1,789
Sanpete 1,83935.04%2,06639.36%1,34425.60%-227-4.32%5,249
Sevier 1,05425.07%1,46734.89%1,68440.05%-217-5.16%4,205
Summit 91635.08%92835.54%76729.38%-12-0.46%2,611
Tooele 2,36445.24%1,56729.99%1,29424.77%79715.25%5,225
Uintah 85724.62%1,86153.46%76321.92%-1,004-28.84%3,481
Utah 13,79740.69%13,66040.28%6,45219.03%1370.41%33,909
Wasatch 99442.86%81235.02%51322.12%1827.84%2,319
Washington 93126.04%1,88352.67%76121.29%-952-26.63%3,575
Wayne 27235.42%28937.63%20726.95%-17-2.21%768
Weber 16,66248.32%12,01934.85%5,80216.83%464313.47%34,483
Totals112,82738.73%101,47134.83%77,01326.44%11,3563.90%291,311

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Jonas, Frank H. (March 1959). "The 1958 Election in Utah". The Western Political Quarterly. 12 (1): 345–354. doi:10.2307/444062. JSTOR   444062.
  2. ↑ McConaughy, James L. (June 16, 1958). "The Republican Disintegration All Over the Country". Life. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 Malmquist, O.M. (September 10, 1958). "Watkins, Moss, Peterson Sweep to Primary Election Victories". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  4. ↑ "UT US Senate". OurCampaigns. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Our Campaigns - UT US Senate Race - Nov 04, 1958". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
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