By Ray Hill Senator Estes Kefauver won a resounding reelection victory in 1960 after facing a bitter primary contest with Judge Andrew “Tip” Taylor. It was to be his last campaign. Kefauver never relied on the usual gift of the Southern politician, oratory. A...
The Greatest Campaigner of Them All: Senator Estes Kefauver, Part Thirteen
By Ray Hill Estes Kefauver had been in the United States Senate for twelve years in 1960. He had quickly risen to national prominence, making two serious bids for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1952 and 1956. Kefauver had crushed a determined opposition...
The Greatest Campaigner of Them All: Senator Estes Kefauver, Part Twelve
By Ray Hill Tennessee’s Senator Estes Kefauver had once again bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1956. Unlike 1952, Kefauver had encountered stiff competition from various other candidates. Former Illinois governor and 1952 Democratic presidential...
The Greatest Campaigner of Them All: Senator Estes Kefauver, Part Eleven
By Ray Hill Senator Estes Kefauver had demolished his opposition inside the 1954 Democratic primary and he had been reelected to a second term that fall easily. Almost immediately following his reelection, Senator Kefauver began considering another run for the...
The Greatest Campaigner of Them All: Senator Estes Kefauver, Part Ten
By Ray Hill Senator Estes Kefauver had made a spirited bid for the 1952 Democratic presidential nomination, only to lose to a candidate who had never entered the first primary and remained coy until the last minute. Kefauver was profoundly disappointed but that did...
The Greatest Campaigner of Them All: Senator Estes Kefauver, Part Nine
By Ray Hill Tennessee’s Estes Kefauver had won more primaries and votes than any other contender for the 1952 Democratic presidential nomination, yet he journeyed to Chicago uncertain of the outcome. One thing was certainly clear: he was bitterly opposed by President...
The Greatest Campaigner of Them All: Senator Estes Kefauver, Part Eight
By Ray Hill The publicity generated by the Kefauver Committee investigating crime had elevated Tennessee’s Senator Estes Kefauver into the limelight. It was one of the first Congressional hearings to be broadcast live over television and some twenty or...
The Greatest Campaigner of Them All: Senator Estes Kefauver, Part Seven
By Ray Hill Aside from the dislike he endured from his senior colleague, K. D. McKellar, Estes Kefauver’s first few years in the United States Senate were reasonably pleasant. Kefauver, like McKellar, tended to constituent service and attending committee...
The Greatest Campaigner of Them All: Senator Estes Kefauver, Part Six
Estes Kefauver had quite nearly managed the impossible by getting himself elected to the United States Senate in 1948. Kefauver took advantage of E. H. Crump’s mistake in refusing to back Senator Tom Stewart for reelection. The state of the national Democratic Party...
The Greatest Campaigner of Them All: Senator Estes Kefauver, Part Five
By Ray Hill Congressman Estes Kefauver had seriously contemplated challenging Senator Kenneth D. McKellar in 1946. After exploring the possibility of running against McKellar, Kefauver decided the seventy-seven year old incumbent was still too strong to beat. ...
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Edward Hull Crump: The Boss, Part VII
By Ray Hill Despite...
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The U.S. Senate In The Age of McKellar: 1917 – 1953
By Ray Hill Kenneth...
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The Senator’s Secretary: D. W. McKellar
By Ray Hill...
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A Feudin’ Son of Tennessee: Kenneth McKellar Chapter 1
By Ray Hill It will...
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A Feudin’ Son of Tennessee: Kenneth McKellar Chapter 2
By Ray Hill Kenneth McKellar...
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A Feudin’ Son of Tennessee: Kenneth McKellar, Chapter 3
By Ray Hill Even as a...