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
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
candidate, future
Vice President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is o ...
and
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...
Harry Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Frankli ...
.
Democratic primary
Candidates
*James Longstreet Cleveland
[
*]John J. Cochran
John Joseph Cochran (August 11, 1880 – March 6, 1947) was a U.S. Representative from Missouri.
Cochran was born in Webster Groves, Missouri; his father and maternal grandparents were Irish immigrants. He attended the public schools in Webster ...
, U.S. Representative from St. LouisJacob L. Milligan
Jacob Le Roy Milligan (March 9, 1889 – March 9, 1951) was a United States Representative from Missouri.
Biography
Born in Richmond, Missouri, Milligan attended the public schools and the law department of the University of Missouri 1910-1914. ...
, U.S. Representative from Richmond[
* Harry S. Truman, presiding judge of the Jackson County Court
]
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
In politics, a boss is a person who controls a faction or local branch of a political party. They do not necessarily hold public office themselves; most historical bosses did not, at least during the times of their greatest influence. Numerous off ...
Tom Pendergast
Thomas Joseph Pendergast (July 22, 1872 – January 26, 1945), also known as T. J. Pendergast, was an American political boss who controlled Kansas City and Jackson County, Missouri, from 1925 to 1939.
Pendergast only briefly held elected ...
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.[
]
Results
Nearly half of Truman's vote (137,529) came from Jackson County alone, where he received 92.8%. Likewise, Cochran received over half of his overall vote (121,048) from St. Louis and St. Louis County, where he led with 90.5% and 77.9%, respectively.[
]
General election
Results
See also
*1934 United States Senate elections
The 1934 United States Senate elections were held in the middle of Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt's first term. During the Great Depression, voters strongly backed Roosevelt's New Deal and his allies in the Senate, with Democrats pic ...
*List of United States senators from Missouri
Missouri was admitted to the Union on August 10, 1821. Its current U.S. senators are Republicans Roy Blunt (Class 3, serving since 2011) and Josh Hawley (Class 1, serving since 2019). Francis Cockrell was Missouri's longest-serving senator (1 ...
References
{{Harry S. Truman
1934
Events
January–February
* January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established.
* January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a max ...
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and ...
Harry S. Truman