The 1926 United States Senate election in Iowa was held on November 2, 1926, alongside a concurrent special election to the same seat.
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 County results Brookhart: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Porter: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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Incumbent Senator Albert B. Cummins ran for re-election to a fourth term in office but was defeated in the Republican primary by former Senator Smith W. Brookhart, who had been removed from office by a vote of the Senate in 1924.
After his primary loss, Senator Cummins died on July 30. Republicans nominated David W. Stewart, a Sioux City attorney and Cummins supporter, to run for the unexpired term ending in March 1927. Stewart was then appointed to the seat by Governor John Hammill and ran unopposed in the special election, which was held concurrently with the regular election.
Background
editSmith W. Brookhart was elected to the Senate in 1922, winning a special election to succeed William S. Kenyon.[1] After joining the Senate, Brookhart's radicalism isolated him from both parties.[2] His indifference to President Calvin Coolidge in the 1924 presidential election also upset conservatives.[3] In 1924, he ran re-election to a full term, and it initially appeared he had narrowly defeated Democratic nominee Daniel Steck despite the defection of many conservative Republicans. However, Steck challenged the result in the U.S. Senate and, during a lengthy process, the Iowa Republican Party sided with Steck. Brookhart was removed from office on April 12, 1926, and replaced with Steck by a vote of 45–41. A dozen Senate Republicans voted with Democrats to unseat Brookhart.[3]
Iowa's other Senator, Albert B. Cummins, was a respected political veteran and took no position in the contested 1924 election, at least in part because he believed Brookhart would challenge him if unseated.[4] Though he was a leading American progressive in his early political career, Cummins's politics had gradually become more conservative following World War I.
Republican primary
editCandidates
edit- Smith W. Brookhart, former United States Senator
- Howard J. Clark
- Albert B. Cummins, incumbent Senator since 1908
- L. E. Eickelberg
- Dan B. Reardon
Campaign
editAs Brookhart was narrowly unseated on April 12, just two months before the primary, he had little time to return to Iowa and mount a campaign.
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Smith W. Brookhart | 208,894 | 50.66% | |
| Republican | Albert B. Cummins (incumbent) | 137,367 | 33.31% | |
| Republican | Howard J. Clark | 54,392 | 13.19% | |
| Republican | Dan B. Reardon | 6,037 | 1.46% | |
| Republican | L.E. Eickelberg | 5,643 | 1.37% | |
| Total votes | 412,333 | 100.00% | ||
Democratic primary
editCandidates
edit- J. R. Files
- George Finch
- James C. Murtaugh
- Claude Porter, former State Senator from Centerville and nominee in 1920
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Claude Porter | 28,077 | 48.85% | |
| Democratic | James C. Murtaugh | 12,881 | 22.41% | |
| Democratic | J. R. Files | 11,922 | 20.74% | |
| Democratic | George Finch | 4,601 | 8.00% | |
| Total votes | 57,481 | 100.00% | ||
Special election
editCandidates
edit- David W. Stewart, Sioux City attorney and interim Senator
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | David W. Stewart (Incumbent) | 336,410 | 100.00% | |
| Total votes | 336,410 | 100.00% | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
General election
editCandidates
edit- Smith W. Brookhart, former Senator (1922–1926) (Republican)
- Claude Porter, former State Senator from Centerville and nominee in 1920 (Democratic)
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Smith W. Brookhart | 323,409 | 56.61% | ||
| Democratic | Claude Porter | 247,869 | 43.39% | ||
| Total votes | 571,278 | 100.00% | |||
See also
editNotes
editReferences
edit- ^ "Brookhart Sworn as Junior Senator," Waterloo Evening Courier, 1922-12-02. p. 3.
- ^ "Again, Brookhart," Time, April 20, 1936.
- ^ a b "Official Count Indicates Steck is Winner," Cedar Rapids Republican, February 4, 1926. p. 4.
- ^ Cummins Asks to be Excused from Voting in the Brookhart Contest, Davenport Democrat and Leader. April 1, 1926, p. 1.
- ^ Iowa Official Register, 1927–28. pp. 348–49.
- ^ Iowa Official Register, 1927–28. pp. 354–55.
- ^ a b Clerk of the United States House of Representatives (1927). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November , 1926" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office.