The United States Senate election of 1942 in Massachusetts was held on November 3, 1942.
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
incumbent
Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. was re-elected to a second term in office over Democratic U.S. Representative
Joseph E. Casey.
Republican primary
Candidates
*
Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., incumbent US Senator since 1937
*
Courtenay Crocker, former Boston City Councilor (1909–1910) and State Representative (1910–1914)
Campaign
Crocker, who left the Republican Party in 1920 over the party's opposition to the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
and
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
, returned and announced his candidacy for the
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 pow ...
against Senator Lodge, whose
grandfather
Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually-reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a maximum of four genetic ...
led the 1920 charge against the League and Treaty.
Massachusetts Secretary of State Frederic W. Cook ruled that Crocker was ineligible to run in the Republican primary because he did not register as a Republican at least 30 days before filing his nomination papers. However, Suffolk Superior Court Judge John V. Spalding ordered Cook to place Crocker on the ballot.
Results
After losing the primary, Crocker supported Democratic nominee
Joseph E. Casey in the general election.
Democratic primary
Candidates
*
Joseph E. Casey,
U.S. Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
from
Clinton
*
Daniel H. Coakley
Daniel Henry Coakley (December 10, 1865 – September 18, 1952) was an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician and attorney from Massachusetts. He was a key figure in early 20th century Boston politics, as an ally Distri ...
, former member of the
Massachusetts Executive Council
*
John F. Fitzgerald
John Francis "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald (February 11, 1863 – October 2, 1950) was an American Democratic politician from Boston, Massachusetts. He served as a U.S. Representative and Mayor of Boston. He also made unsuccessful runs for the United ...
, former
U.S. Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
and
Mayor of Boston
The mayor of Boston is the head of the municipal government in Boston, Massachusetts. Boston has a mayor–council government. Boston's mayoral elections are nonpartisan (as are all municipal elections in Boston), and elect a mayor to a four- ...
*
Joseph Lee, former member of the Boston School Committee
Results
General election
Candidates
*
Joseph E. Casey,
U.S. Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
from
Canton (Democratic)
* Horace Hillis, candidate for
Governor in 1936 and
Senate in 1940 (Socialist Labor)
*
Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., incumbent Senator since 1937 (Republican)
* George Lyman Paine, candidate for
Senate in 1940 (Socialist)
* George Thompson, candidate for
Governor in 1936 and
Senate in 1940 (Prohibition)
Campaign
Casey attempted to make an issue of Lodge's pre-war isolationism, although he had voted for the
Lend-Lease Act
Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, ...
in 1941. Lodge countered that his isolationism had been rooted in concerns over the nation's lack of military preparedness.
Lodge, an Army reservist himself, was briefly unable to campaign after he enlisted and was sent to Libya for training. While there, he inadvertently took part in
a major Allied defeat when
Erwin Rommel launched a surprise attack on Lodge's training position in Tobruk. He returned to Massachusetts in July, when President Roosevelt required all members of Congress be relieved from active duty. When Casey attempted to portray his service as a mere "
Cook's tour of the Libyan desert," Lodge angrily refuted him.
Late in the campaign, Lodge drew criticism from U.S. Representative
John W. McCormack
John William McCormack (December 21, 1891 – November 22, 1980) was an American politician from Boston, Massachusetts. An attorney and a Democrat, McCormack served in the United States Army during World War I, and afterwards won terms in both th ...
and Secretary of War
Henry Stimson
Henry Lewis Stimson (September 21, 1867 – October 20, 1950) was an American statesman, lawyer, and Republican Party politician. Over his long career, he emerged as a leading figure in U.S. foreign policy by serving in both Republican and D ...
for citing a letter from Stimson commending his military service in his campaign. Lodge responded that the use of the letter was only made in response to Casey's and McCormack's earlier "slurs on men in the armed forces."
Results
See also
*
United States Senate elections, 1942
The 1942 United States Senate elections were held November 3, 1942, midway through Franklin D. Roosevelt's third term as President.
Background
Although this election took place during World War II, the opposition Republican party made major ga ...
References
1942
1942 Massachusetts elections
{{Massachusetts-election-stub