Warren G Hooper: who was this guy (and how did he become President?!)

A few months ago I was looking through the USA minister files in Hearts of Iron 2, and I came upon this guy:​

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Warren G. Hooper. I looked into the USA events file, and discovered that if the player (or computer, but it's massively unlikely) chooses Wendell Willkie for 1940 President, he's the Minister of Armament (as a Corrupt Kleptocrat), and if the USA has a Republican president in office in 1944, he can be elected as the Democratic candidate (as a Ruthless Powermonger). Corrupt Kleptocrat and Ruthless Powermonger are not the best traits, so my opinion of the guy was not very good. But I didn't know anything about him, and was curious as to why Paradox chose this guy.

Eventually, I googled him, and was somewhat surprised that the closest he has to a Wikipedia page is in a footnote here:

the case ended when the star witness, Sen. Warren G. Hooper was murdered.

Now I was really curious. I followed the link and found his biography, here:

During a grand jury investigation, admitted to taking bribes and was given immunity from prosecution in return for his testimony against others; however, four days before the hearing, he was shot and killed in his car, alongside highway M-99, near Springport, Jackson County, Mich., January 11, 1945 (age 40 years, 254 days).

Not the best of fates, but at least it explains his game traits.

But I still couldn't figure out why the hell Paradox chose such a minor politician. My guess is he was a joke character: he's massively unlikely to come into office without player intervention, so they chose him as filler. But they still had to come across him somehow. I guess, since the corruption investigation and his murder were (understandably) very big in the news in Michigan, maybe they just thought, let's put this guy in.

But anyway, all this intrigued me into thinking into how he could actually become the Democratic nominee for 1944, and eventually the President. The way I see it, from how the events are set up, there are two paths:
1. Alf M. Landon wins the 1936 election, then is reelected in 1940 (in the game, he runs against Henry Wallace). He then loses in 1944 to Hooper.
2. Wendell Willkie wins in 1940 against Roosevelt, and Hooper is named Secretary of the Treasury. In 1944, he is nominated (somehow - he was a Republican) as the Democratic candidate, and wins against Willkie.

And from there, what would his presidency be like? Considering his past, there'd probably be a major corruption scandal.

Anyway, I was just thinking that it would be an interesting timeline to make; but since I know so little about the 40s, and so little about Hooper, I don't think there's any way I could make it work.

Just wanted to see what anyone else thought.
 
He's a bit young, but how about this:

Scenario: FDR shot and killed, Garner does nothing for the country. Huey Long runs in '36 against Garner and his "Share the Wealth" program wins him the election, but he's chosen a very bland VP. Given Louisiana politics, Long seems like the kind of guy who would be involved in corruption, too. He either drops his VP for '40 and puts Hooper in (and then dies or just has Hooper run in '44) or he selects Hooper to be part of his cabinet and an heir apparent. The bland, moer Socialist-leaning VP is seen as not a good mainstream candidate, so Hooper, with Long pulling the strings, wins in '44.

Granted, I don't know anything about Hooper's actual politics so it may be untenable, but it does sound plausible from what I know. And, anyway, Garner wasn't a big fan of the New Deal, either, so Hooper may be willing to side with Long.
 
I remember reading a magazine article on this guy years ago, but don't ask me which mag. Here's an informative article from Michigan Live about his murder and subsequent investigations:

http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2011/02/peek_through_time_politicians.html

The upshot is that a whole bunch of crooked politicians and the like were convicted in a wide ranging corruption case. Maybe one of the game developers was from Michigan? Anyway, I think it's a nice touch on their part, the way the game classifies him.
 
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A few months ago I was looking through the USA minister files in Hearts of Iron 2, and I came upon this guy: Warren G. Hooper.​



There's an entry for him in The Political Graveyard:

Hooper, Warren Green (1904-1945) — also known as Warren G. Hooper — of Albion, Calhoun County, Mich. Born in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, Calif., May 2, 1904. Republican. Newspaper reporter; member of Michigan state house of representatives from Calhoun County 1st District, 1939-44; member of Michigan state senate 9th District, 1945; died in office 1945. Episcopalian. Member, Freemasons; Knights Templar. During a grand jury investigation, admitted to taking bribes and was given immunity from prosecution in return for his testimony against others; however, four days before the hearing, he was shot and killed in his car, alongside highway M-99, near Springport, Jackson County, Mich., January 11, 1945 (age 40 years, 254 days). Interment at Riverside Cemetery, Albion, Mich.

In 1940 he was a first-term state representative. So any national role for him then is right out. He was only a first-term state senator when he died.

Personally, I think this is a coincidence; the game writers invented a name derived from Warren G. Harding, which happens to coincide with somebody.
 
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