1934 United States Senate election in Missouri
November 6, 1934
 
Nominee Harry S. Truman Roscoe C. Patterson
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 787,110 524,954
Percentage 59.5% 39.7%
County Results
Truman:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
     70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Patterson:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
U.S. senator before election

Roscoe C. Patterson
Republican

 Elected U.S. Senator

Harry S. Truman
Democratic

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 candidate, future Vice President and President of the United States Harry Truman.[1]

Democratic primary

Candidates

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 Tom Pendergast 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.[4]

Truman waged a statewide campaign and eventually won the largely three-way Democratic primary on August 7, 1934, by a significant margin, defeating U.S. Representatives John Cochran and Jacob Milligan.[2]

Results

Primary results by county:
  Truman
  •   30–40%
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   >90%
  Cochran
  •   30–40%
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  •   >90%
  Milligan
  •   30–40%
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
1934 Democratic U.S. Senate primary[5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Harry S. Truman 276,850 41.42%
Democratic John J. Cochran 236,257 35.35%
Democratic Jacob L. Milligan 147,631 22.09%
Democratic James L. Cleveland 7,691 1.15%
Total votes 668,429 100

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.[5]

General election

Results

Missouri United States Senate election, 1934[1][6]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Harry S. Truman 787,110 59.55%
Republican Roscoe C. Patterson (incumbent) 524,954 39.71%
Socialist W.C. Meyer 9,010 0.68%
Communist Frank Brown 418 0.03%
Socialist Labor William Wesley Cox 384 0.03%
Total votes 1,321,876 100.00%

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Dubin, Michael J. (1998). United States congressional elections, 1788-1997 : the official results of the elections of the 1st through 105th congresses. Jefferson, NC [u.a.]: McFarland. ISBN 0786402830.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "MO US Senate - D Primary". OurCampaigns. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  3. ↑ "TRUMAN, Harry S., (1884 - 1972)". Biographical Directory of the U.S Congress. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Harry S. Truman, 34th Vice President (1945)". United States Senate. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  5. 1 2 Official Manual of the State of Missouri, 1935–1936. 1936. pp. 410–411. Retrieved October 11, 2022. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  6. ↑ "MO US Senate". OurCampaigns. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
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