1954 United States Senate election in Arkansas
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 County results McClellan: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% McMath: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Arkansas |
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The 1954 United States Senate election in Arkansas took place on November 2, 1954. Incumbent U.S. Senator John L. McClellan was re-elected to a third term in office, after defeating a primary challenge from former Governor of Arkansas Sid McMath.
Because the Republican Party (or any other party) did not field a candidate in the general election, McClellan's primary victory was tantamount to election.
Background
[edit]In 1952, incumbent Governor of Arkansas Sid McMath was defeated in a hotly contested Democratic primary by judge Francis Cherry, who went on to win the election in the landslide fashion typical of Southern Democrats at the time. McMath, a young political liberal, blamed his defeat on his own refusal to acquiesce to "power interests" in the state, specifically his plan for a farmer-owned Ozark steam generating plant.[1] McMath claimed that representatives of the "power interests" had offered him political support if he would drop his support for the plan, but he declined.[1]
McMath had been identified as an aspirant to the Senate as early as his 1949 inauguration as Governor.[2] He announced a campaign against Senator John L. McClellan in early 1954; McClellan, who openly supported Cherry in 1952,[3] had not faced a serious political challenge since he won the seat in 1942.[2]
Democratic primary
[edit]Candidates
[edit]- Paul Chambers, Democratic National Committeeman[1][4]
- Leonard Ellis[5]
- John L. McClellan, incumbent Senator
- Sid McMath, former Governor of Arkansas from 1949 to 1953
Campaign
[edit]McMath began the campaign for the nomination aggressively, while McClellan made every effort to ignore his opposition and emphasize his own record as Senator,[1] including the provision of various public works and the preservation of federal installations within Arkansas.[5] Two other candidates entered the race without directly challenging McClellan. Paul Chambers, a Democratic National Committeeman, engaged in a "questio-thon," conducting interviews on various local radio stations. Leonard Ellis ran no active campaign.[5]
The campaign shaped up as personally as well as ideologically bitter; McMath attacked McClellan for his age and ideological conservatism, charging that the Senator favored "the corporations over the people" and was in the thrall of "Texas oil millionaires."[2] He doubled down on these accusations by calling McClellan "an errand boy for the big interests." McMath himself was identified as "a thoroughgoing Fair Dealer;" he had campaigned for President Truman throughout the South in 1948 (despite Dixiecrat opposition) and received Truman's endorsement in his failed 1952 re-election campaign.[2] In particular, he criticized two key votes McClellan had cast: one to grant title to oil tidelands to individual coastal states (thus depriving Arkansas of access) and one to provide Germany funds to repay its pre-World War II bonds.[5]
McMath challenged McClellan to a series of joint debates in mid-April, but McClellan initially declined to respond.[2]
Upon eventually entering the fray in July,[5] McClellan said that McMath's 1952 defeat had ended his career in politics, telling voters that McMath should have "crawl[ed] into a political hole" after being repudiated by 100,000 votes.[1] McClellan also criticized McMath's record as Governor, blaming him for a $4,500,000 net increase in utility rates.[1] Governor Cherry, who faced broad opposition for his second term, initially vowed to stay out of the contest but campaigned with McClellan in the final stages.[3][4]
McMath, who relied on support from the state's organized labor movement, faced a setback late in the campaign when several former labor leaders criticized him for "playing labor for a sucker" in a newspaper advertisement.[4]
Results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | John L. McClellan (inc.) | 164,905 | 50.35% | |
| Democratic | Sid McMath | 127,941 | 39.06% | |
| Democratic | Paul Chambers | 31,286 | 9.55% | |
| Democratic | Leonard Ellis | 3,391 | 1.04% | |
| Total votes | 327,523 | 100.00% | ||
General election
[edit]Results
[edit]McClellan was unopposed in the general election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | John L. McClellan (inc.) | 291,058 | 100.00% | |
| Total votes | 291,058 | 100.00% | ||
See also
[edit]1954 United States Senate elections
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f "Charges Flare in Senatorial Campaign". Hope Star. Associated Press. July 26, 1954. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Hatch, Leon (April 19, 1954). "Long, Hot Political Summer in Store for State with Senate Battle at Top". Hope Star. Associated Press. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
- ^ a b "Gov. Cherry Won't Stump for Tax Plan". Blytheville Courier News. January 4, 1954. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
- ^ a b c "Candidates in Final Appeal for Support". Hope Star. July 26, 1954. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e "Sen. McClellan Ready to Return Opponents' Fire on Some Issues". Blytheville Courier News. Associated Press. July 20, 1954. p. 1. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
- ^ Arkansas Secretary of State Mark Martin (2018). "Historical Report of the Secretary of State" (PDF). p. 357.
- ^ Clerk of the United States House of Representatives (1955). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 8', 1954" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office.