1926 (UNITED STATES) HOUSE ELECTIONS
The second half of the Harding Administration was one of contrasts. As the United States slowly recovered from the economic and social chaos of the early-1920s, the public perception of the president himself dimmed. After two overwhelming electoral victories in 1920 and 1924, the growing disenchantment with the American head-of-state came mostly from two sources; his laissez-faire government policy, and his connection to corruption scandals in Washington. The first saw substantial criticism throughout the entirety of his presidency; with the handling of strike waves, his vetoing of military bonuses, and the rejection of farm support bills tarnished his glowing personal popularity. The second was perhaps more defining; after successfully navigating Congressional inquests and investigations into his Cabinet's financial dealings (most prominently Teapot Dome) in his first term, continued pressure brought the scandals back to life in 1925.
Spearheaded by Senator Burton K. Wheeler, further inquests were held in the capital after evidence surfaced tying the President's appointees more definitively to Teapot Dome, with further evidence of a vast conspiracy of kickbacks and bribes. More damningly, the Wheeler Commission (as it came to be known) discovered what appeared to be memorandums which tied Harding himself to a coverup of the first investigation in 1923-24; implying the President was aware of the extent of the corruption and sought to sweep it under the rug. Unsuccessful in these efforts, a complete investigation was launched in 1925-27 to uncover "what the president knew, and when he knew it".
In spite of the now booming economy and advances in middle-class quality of life, the torrential storm that became the Harding Scandals was impossible to ignore. For Republicans, the 1926 midterms were an ominous portent of elections to come, with elections to the House of Representatives being
apropos of the president (and party's) diminished standing. Despite retaining the majority of votes nationwide the GOP fell under the seat majority threshold, ceding the lower house to the resurgent Democrats. A similar tale was woven in the Senate, except the Democrats extra two seats (taking them to 48) was not enough to gain the upper house; the left-wing populist Farmer-Labor Party retaining its one Minnesota seat.
In fact - after the lurid corruption scandals - the 1926 midterms were perhaps most prominently the tale of the rising tide of the left-wing in America. After most members of the 1924 Progressive Party folded back into the mainstream, a substantial number flocked to the FLP and its urban counterpart, the Socialist Party. Both gaining in the election, the Farmer-Laborites were aided substantially by the progressive tide two years earlier, and the growing agricultural debt crisis in the western states. The Socialists too were aided by the leftist campaign of Robert La Follette, as well as the industrial, working-class disenchantment which arose from Teapot Dome and the Harding Administration's aggressive, capitalistic policies. Despite the gains being minor, they nevertheless were prominent; and with the FLP making headway into states like Oklahoma, Idaho, Iowa, and the Dakotas, the left-wing of the United States looked primed to maintain their electoral momentum.
1928 (UNITED STATES) PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Rather than burning through Washington DC as its proponents initially hoped, the Wheeler Commission would ultimately fade away like a snuffed fire. With the alleged perpetrators successfully covering the potential tracks that definitively tied the White House to the executive-branch coverups, Harding and his closest advisors remained untouched. The damage to the President's reputation was done, however; many of his closest advisors and cabinet members would be prosecuted (but not suffer serious punishment) for their crimes, and the smell of corruption lingered about the president to his final days. In addition to Republican scandals involving the Ku Klux Klan, foreign relations bungles (like the Disarmament Debates), and the ever-present mob violence of bootlegging, the Democrats were primed to retake the highest office in the land.
Amidst a wide crowd of potential contenders, a number arose to the forefront prior to the Democratic National Convention that election year. Most prominently stood Al Smith (Governor of New York), Cordell Hull (Representative from Tennessee), and Burton K. Wheeler (Senator from Montana). Whilst the urbane, moderate Smith took an early lead going into the convention, opposition from nativist elements (such as the still prominent KKK) over his Catholicism prevented him from seizing the required 2/3 majority. Hull too unable to seize the opportunity (his Southern heritage being deemed undesirable to a national electorate), and as the dozens of ballots were cast, he would himself as a potential compromise in same vein as John W. Davis in 1924. Wheeler - a late entrant - attempted to use the national goodwill he had garnered from his investigations into the Harding Scandals to launch a unified progressive campaign for the White House. Despite his credentials however, conservative and moderate opposition, as well as lingering resentment over his bolting four year earlier, led to another stalemate in Democrats balloting, and growing fears of yet another 'Klanbake'.
In stepped William Gibbs McAdoo. Being unsure whether to campaign after his failures of 1924 and his loose ties to Teapot Dome, the son-in-law to the late-President Wilson was only reluctantly persuaded to declare his candidacy after balloting began. A 'progressive' in the mold of William Jennings Bryan/Woodrow Wilson, McAdoo appeared primed to retake the Western states away from the Republicans, and his status as a moderate on the issues of race and prohibition would allow the Democrats to regain the urban, ethnic vote in the North and Midwest. Despite initial trepidation over his earlier 'implied complicity' in the President's scandals, it was Burton K. Wheeler himself who concluded in 1925 that the former-Secretary of the Treasury was not a party to the Republican corruption. As a result, many Democrats swallowed their misgivings and nominated the 'heir of Wilson' as party nominee on the 33rd ballot. Arkansas Senator Joseph T. Robinson was named vice presidential candidate.
The Republicans had a far easier time working out their candidate. Despite early fleeting attempts by moderates (like Frank Lowden) and stalwart conservatives (like James E. Watson) to seize the nomination, the inter-party vote came down to two clear choices; Vice President Calvin Coolidge, and Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover. Both had their strengths and weaknesses; Coolidge was perceived as the more prominent, clear, conservative successor to the embattled Harding, but was damaged by his ties to the corrupt members of Cabinet. Hoover, a more moderate figure, stood a chance to retain the West and campaign off his personal popularity; but too was damaged by Teapot Dome and opposition by party hardliners. Ultimately, a compromise was made very early into the convention; Coolidge would be named nominee, with Hoover as his running-mate.
With the stage set, McAdoo launched a whirlwind tour of several state, taking advantage of the public's antipathy to 'Republican misconduct and autocracy'. On the agenda was a referendum on prohibition, government intervention in favor of farmers and (White) workers, elimination of waste and corruption, and a lowered tariff to facilitate trade. Despite suspicion over his progressive credentials, many who were of the La Follette camp in 1924 favored McAdoo in 1928; and of the left-wing parties, only the Socialist Party would campaign on their own platform.
Calvin Coolidge himself remained in Washington to oversee a 'front porch campaign' funded by industrialist-supporters, with Herbert Hoover being tasked with much of the public advocacy. This policy, whilst not as a successful as McAdoo's so-called 'national tour', allowed the Republicans to be identified more with the well-liked Commerce Secretary than the silent, stained Vice President. Additionally, the booming American economy of the late-20s did much to overcome the disparity between the Democrats and Republicans; with the seeming abundance of the industrial United States smoothing the disasters of the Harding Administration. By October, it appeared that the election - hitherto seen as a 'whitewash' by the Democrats - would come down to the wire.
"
It's a
ll over except for the election!" proclaimed the Columbus Commercial Dispatch, as Ohio (the tipping-point state) took three days to return a final result - it would ultimately go to McAdoo by 0.27%. With that result, the resurgent 'Party of Jackson' would come out victorious, but just barely. The campaign to rip away the Western farming states made-up the difference with Coolidge in the end; and despite clear gains in the Midwest and urban Northeast, the only state that flipped in that region was the all-important Ohio. President-elect McAdoo would inherit the seemingly unstoppable economic prosperity that almost won the Republican's re-election; and in 1929 the nation was looking forward to a renewed time of peace. It was a new era, with a new president and party; where the social chaos, scandals, and conflicts of the past would fade into history.
