1934 United States Senate election in Missouri

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]

1934 United States Senate election in Missouri

← 1928 November 6, 1934 1940 →

Nominee Harry S. Truman Roscoe C. Patterson Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 787,110 524,954 Percentage 59.55% 39.71%

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

Democratic primary

Candidates

• James Longstreet Cleveland^[2]
• John J. Cochran, U.S. Representative from St. Louis^[2]
• Jacob L. Milligan, U.S. Representative from Richmond^[2]
• Harry S. Truman, presiding judge of the Jackson County Court^[3]

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,^{[clarification needed]} 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

• 1934 United States Senate elections
• List of United States senators from Missouri