Alben W. Barkley - U.S. Representative

U.S. Representative

Prompted by First District Representative Ollie M. James' decision to seek election to the U.S. Senate in 1912, Barkley declared his candidacy for the district's congressional seat in December 1911. Courting the votes of the district's farmers, Barkley advocated lower taxes and increased regulation of railroads by the Interstate Commerce Commission. An early challenger withdrew in March, but later, three formidable candidates entered the race – Trigg County Commonwealth's Attorney Denny Smith, Ballard County Judge Jacob Corbett, and John K. Hendrick, Barkley's former employer. All three were from the more conservative wing of the party, and they attempted to brand Barkley a socialist because of his support for federal funding of highway construction. Hendrick attacked Barkley's youth and relative inexperience, as well as his apparent ambition to seek offices beyond the House of Representatives. Barkley freely admitted his desire to one day hold a seat in the Senate and countered that Hendrick was known as a frequent candidate for a variety of political offices. "When the Pope died some years ago, nobody would tell Hendrick, for fear he would declare for that office," Barkley quipped. Hendrick also charged that Barkley's membership in Woodsmen of the World was solely motivated by its potential political advantages, but he carelessly slipped into attacking the organization itself, angering the approximately 5,000 members of the club living in the First District.

The Democrats' nomination of Woodrow Wilson for president and adoption of a progressive platform at the 1912 Democratic National Convention in June bolstered Barkley's candidacy. He won a convincing 48.2 percent of the vote in the primary and went on to win the general election.