1938 United States Senate election in Connecticut

Last updated

1938 United States Senate election in Connecticut
Flag of Connecticut.svg
  1932 November 8, 1938 1944  
  John A. Danaher.jpg AugustineLonergan.jpg 3x4.svg
Nominee John A. Danaher Augustine Lonergan Bellani Trombley
Party Republican Democratic Socialist
Alliance Union
Popular vote270,413252,42699,282
Percentage42.89%40.04%15.75%

1938 United States Senate election in Connecticut results map by county.svg
County results
Danaher:     40–50%     50–60%
Lonergan:     40–50%

U.S. senator before election

Augustine Lonergan
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

John A. Danaher
Republican

The 1938 United States Senate election in Connecticut was held on November 8, 1938.

Contents

Incumbent Senator Augustine Lonergan ran for a second term in office but was defeated by Republican John A. Danaher. Socialist candidate Bellani Trombley placed a strong third, possibly aided by the coattails of Jasper McLevy's competitive campaign for Governor and dissatisfaction with Lonergan by organized labor in the state.

Democratic nomination

Candidates

Withdrew

  • Edward G. Dolan, Register of the United States Treasury [2]
  • Archibald McNeil, Bridgeport resident and personal friend of President Roosevelt [2]

Campaign

During the pre-convention campaign, Lonergan faced opposition from within the Roosevelt administration over his long-time opposition to some of Roosevelt's less popular measures, including his plan to pack the Supreme Court. Roosevelt himself identified Lonergan as one of ten incumbent Senators he would like to defeat but admitted that Lonergan (along with three others) was too secure to deny the Democratic nomination. [3] These efforts were halted by Homer Stille Cummings, Roosevelt's U.S. Attorney General and a long-time Connecticut resident. Cummings publicly embraced Lonergan as a supporter of the New Deal. [2]

The first announced challenger to Lonergan was Archibald McNeil, a coal merchant and personal friend of the President, who gained the endorsement of a number of town committees. [2]

Herman P. Kopplemann, the U.S. representative for Hartford, was publicly silent on his intentions. Without entering the race, he received the early endorsement of the Hartford Central Labor Union. [2]

Convention

At the September 14 convention in New London, Lonergan was re-nominated as part of a conservative machine victory. Kopplemann's vote was severely undermined by the convention's unit rule, in which a candidate who received the majority of the vote in a given municipality would receive all of that municipality's delegates. In Hartford, for instance, Kopplemann had the support of twenty out of seventy delegates, but all seventy were required to vote for Lonergan. [1]

1938 Connecticut Democratic Convention [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Augustine Lonergan (incumbent) 953.5 87.92%
Democratic Herman P. Kopplemann 106.59.82%
Democratic Thomas C. McDonough24.52.26%
Total votes1,084.5 100.0%

Following the vote, Kopplemann supporters warned that organized labor might likely defect to the Socialist ticket, ensuring a Republican victory in November. [1]

Lonergan was ultimately endorsed by James A. Farley, the Postmaster General and leading Roosevelt spokesman, two days later. [4]

General election

Candidates

Results

1938 U.S. Senate election in Connecticut [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican John A. Danaher 270,413 42.89% Decrease2.svg3.89
Democratic Augustine Lonergan (incumbent)252,42640.04%Decrease2.svg7.46
Socialist Bellani Trombley99,28215.75%Increase2.svg12.42
Socialist Labor Joseph Mackay6,9311.10%Increase2.svg0.72
LaborPhilip Brainard7660.12%N/A
Communist Michael A. Russo6150.10%Decrease2.svg0.13
Total votes630,433 100.0%
Republican gain from Democratic Swing

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1932 United States presidential election</span> 37th quadrennial U.S. presidential election

The 1932 United States presidential election was the 37th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 1932. The election took place against the backdrop of the Great Depression. The incumbent Republican President Herbert Hoover was defeated in a landslide by Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt, the governor of New York and the vice presidential nominee of the 1920 presidential election. Roosevelt was the first Democrat in 80 years to simultaneously win an outright majority of the electoral college and popular vote, a feat last accomplished by Franklin Pierce in 1852, as well as the first Democrat in 56 years to win a majority of the popular vote, which was last done by Samuel J. Tilden in 1876. Roosevelt was the last sitting governor to be elected president until Bill Clinton in 1992. Hoover became the first incumbent president to lose an election to another term since William Howard Taft in 1912, and the last to do so until Gerald Ford lost 44 years later. The election marked the effective end of the Fourth Party System, which had been dominated by Republicans. It was the first time since 1916 that a Democrat was elected president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1944 United States Senate elections</span>

The 1944 United States Senate elections coincided with the re-election of Franklin D. Roosevelt to his fourth term as president. The 32 seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections, and three special elections were held to fill vacancies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1938 United States Senate elections</span>

The 1938 United States Senate elections occurred in the middle of Franklin D. Roosevelt's second term. The 32 seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections, and special elections were held to fill vacancies. The Republicans gained eight seats from the Democrats, though this occurred after multiple Democratic gains since the 1932 election, leading to the Democrats retaining a commanding lead over the Republicans with more than two-thirds of the legislative chamber.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Augustine Lonergan</span> American politician (1874–1947)

Augustine John Lonergan was a U.S. Senator and Representative from Connecticut. He was a member of the Democratic Party. He served as a senator from 1933 to 1939.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John A. Danaher</span> American lawyer and politician (1899–1990)

John Anthony Danaher was a United States senator from Connecticut, and a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1958 New York state election</span> Election

The 1958 New York state election was held on November 4, 1958, to elect the governor, the lieutenant governor, the state comptroller, the attorney general, a judge of the New York Court of Appeals and a U.S. Senator, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1942 New York state election</span> Election

The 1942 New York state election was held on November 3, 1942, to elect the governor, the lieutenant governor, the state comptroller, the attorney general and two U.S. Representatives At-large, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1932 New York state election</span> Election

The 1932 New York state election was held on November 8, 1932, to elect the governor, the lieutenant governor, the state comptroller, the attorney general, the chief judge, a U.S. Senator and two U.S. Representatives-at-large, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1937 New York state election</span>

The 1937 New York state election was held on November 2, 1937, to elect a judge of the New York Court of Appeals, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly. Besides, delegates for the New York State Constitutional Convention, to be held in 1938, were elected, and an amendment to the State Constitution which proposed the increase of the term in office of the members of the New York State Assembly to two years, and of the statewide elected state officers to four years, was accepted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1944 New York state election</span>

The 1944 New York state election was held on November 7, 1944, to elect a judge of the New York Court of Appeals and a U.S. senator, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Connecticut</span>

The 2012 U.S. House of Representatives elections in Connecticut were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, to elect the five congressional representatives from the state, one from each of the state's five congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election, a U.S. Senate election, and state legislature races.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1932 United States Senate election in Connecticut</span>

The 1932 United States Senate election in Connecticut was held on November 8, 1932.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1956 United States Senate election in Connecticut</span>

The 1956 United States Senate election in Connecticut was held on November 6, 1956.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1920 United States Senate election in Connecticut</span>

The 1920 United States Senate election in Connecticut was held on November 2, 1920.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 United States Senate election in Connecticut</span>

The 2016 United States Senate election in Connecticut was held November 8, 2016, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Connecticut, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1940 Democratic Party presidential primaries</span> Selection of the Democratic Party nominee

From March 12 to June 27, 1940, voters of the Democratic Party elected delegates to the 1940 Democratic National Convention through a series of primaries, caucuses, and conventions. Incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt was selected as the party's presidential nominee despite not formally declaring a campaign for a third term. Supporters effectively drafted Roosevelt, who was non-committal about seeking re-election, amid rising concerns over war in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1916 United States Senate election in Connecticut</span> Election of U.S

The 1916 United States Senate election in Connecticut was held on November 7, 1916. Incumbent Republican Senator George P. McLean was re-elected to a second term in office over Democratic State Attorney Homer Stille Cummings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1928 United States Senate election in Connecticut</span>

The 1928 United States Senate election in Connecticut was held on November 6, 1928. Incumbent Republican Senator George P. McLean was not a candidate for re-election. In his place, Republican State Senator Frederic C. Walcott won the seat against former U.S. Representative Augustine Lonergan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1944 United States Senate election in Connecticut</span>

The 1944 United States Senate election in Connecticut was held on November 7, 1944.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mayoral elections in Hartford, Connecticut</span> Elections for mayor in Hartford, Connecticut

Elections are currently held every four years to elect the mayor of Hartford, Connecticut.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Moscow, Warren (September 15, 1938). "LONERGAN, CROSS ARE RENOMINATED; Ticket Voted at Convention of Connecticut Democrats Is Deemed Conservative" . Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Byrnes, Robert D. (July 24, 1938). "CUMMINGS MOVE MAY AID LONERGAN". The New York Times . p. 54. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  3. Edward Smith, Jean (2007). FDR . Random House. p. 410. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
  4. "FARLEY HAILS LONERGAN". The New York Times . September 17, 1938. p. 6. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  5. Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives (1939). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 8, 1938" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office.