RARE 1955 Campaign Pin | ROSS BASS U.S. Senate | Rare Off-Year Election Button

Description: This is an uncommon campaign pin from an off year election cycle in TN. Ross Bass ran for his seat when his predecessor resigned in 1955. Giles County was shuffled in redistricting and in 1954, the Congressman from the Sixth District was James “Pat’ Sutton. Sutton, too, had come home from the war with a distinguished record and was only thirty-three when he had challenged incumbent Congressman Wirth Courtney in 1948. Sutton had a flamboyant personality and proved to be a compelling speaker. Although a Democrat, he was much more conservative than Congressman Courtney, who was an old-time New Deal Democrat. The primary contest was one of the closest in Tennessee history; Sutton defeated Congressman Courtney by only fifty-eight votes.Pat Sutton was highly ambitious and he challenged Senator Estes Kefauver in 1954. Sutton’s campaign was well financed, receiving considerable funds from oil rich Texans who loathed Kefauver’s liberalism. Sutton campaigned all across Tennessee via helicopter, which was quite a novelty at the time.Sutton’s retirement from Congress gave Ross Bass the opportunity to become a candidate to succeed him. Facing two serious opponents in the Democratic primary, Bass ultimately beat his nearest competitor by just over three thousand votes. Bass worked hard at being a Congressman, which paid off as he was immediately challenged for reelection by his predecessor, Pat Sutton in the 1956 primary. Sutton had been beaten badly by Senator Kefauver in 1954 and Pat Sutton wanted to return to Congress.Ross Bass proved not to be as vulnerable as former Congressman Sutton had hoped; Sutton carried only his home county of Lawrence and that only very narrowly. Bass beat Sutton and one other challenger, rolling up almost 70% of the vote. Ross Bass was never again to be seriously challenged for his seat in Congress.

Price: 9.99 USD

Location: Lexington, Kentucky

End Time: 2024-10-17T13:59:13.000Z

Shipping Cost: 1.29 USD