The 1950 Elections in Utah

• Author: Frank H. Jonas
• Date: 01 March 1951
• DOI: 10.1177/106591295100400109
• Published date: 01 March 1951
• Subject Matter: Articles

81

crats

small

majorities,

as

did

the

areas

with

large

farms,

Camas

and

Latah

counties

being

exceptions.

However,

areas

with

a

large

number

of

small

farms

tended

to

vote

Republican.

The

Democratic

party

should

review

the

results

of

the

campaign

care-

fully.

Idaho

has

never

been

particularly

afraid

of

big

government.

Its

farmers,

as

well

as

its

laborers,

though

not

radical,

have

often

voted

for

big

government.

Governor

Robins,

a

Republican,

gave

Idaho

more

big

government

from

Boise

than

Idaho

had

ever

had

before.

He

came

nearer

to

the

pattern

of

the

Fair

Deal

than

had

Idaho

Democrats

when

in

offices.

His

party,

if

not

the

governor,

was

given

a

slight

vote

of

confidence.

The

Democrats

joined

the

Republicans

in

rejecting

the

Fair

Deal

program

of

Truman,

and

have

offered

no

alternative.

Their

&dquo;me

too&dquo;

position

did

not

win.

In

the

long

run;

it

takes

principles

to

make

a

party

great.

THE

1950

ELECTIONS

IN

UTAH

FRANK

H.

JONAS

University

of

Utah

Of

chief

interest

in

the

1950

Utah

elections

was

the

decisive

defeat

of

incumbent

three-termer

Senator

Elbert

Duncan

Thomas.

Thomas,

a

former

college

professor,

lost

to

Republican

businessman

Wallace

F.

Bennett,

former

president

and

chairman

of

the

board

of

the

National

Association

of

Manufacturers,

by

21,229

votes.

Bennett

received

54.2

per

cent

of

the

votes

cast

for

the

office

of

United

States

Senator.

In

this

election

year,

when

the

Democrats

could

claim

a

general

victory

of

their

party

throughout

the

state,

what

factors

contributed

to

Thomas’

defeat?

Among

the

Democratic

victors

in

the

election

was

Reva

Beck

Bosone,

Utah’s

first

woman

in

Congress

and

running

for

a

second

term

in

the

Second

Congressional

District,

who

received

10,748

votes,

or

53.38

per

cent

of

the

157,818

ballots

cast.

Another

was

Walter

K.

Granger,

of

the

First

Congressional

District,

who

won

a

sixth

term

by

a

margin

of

2,293

votes,

or

51.08

per

cent

of

a

total

vote

of

106,029.

Granger’s

strength

lies

in

his

identification

with

agricultural

interests,

and

his

ability

to

reconcile

the

interests

of

rural

areas

and

their

trade

centers

with

the

labor

and

federal

employee

interests

of

Weber

County,

principally

Ogden

[railroad

center

and

second

largest

city

in

the

state],

and

Carbon

County,

principally

outside

of

Price,

county

seat

and

trade

center.

Granger

is

considered

&dquo;liberal&dquo;

[but

livestock

men

like

him

per-

sonally].

The

Utah

State

Farm

Bureau

Federation,

which

openly

and

vigorously

entered

the

campaign

against

Thomas,

paid

less

attention

to

Granger

(whom

perhaps

it

had

more

reason

to

oppose),

since

Granger