1958 United States Senate election in Utah

none March 2026 September 2023 1958 United States Senate election in Utah Utah 1922 presidential no 1952 United States Senate election in Utah 1952 1964 United States Senate election in Utah 1964 November 4, 1958 File:Senator Frank Moss.jpg Frank Moss Democratic Party (United States) 112,827 38.73% Arthur V. Watkins, 1950.jpg Arthur V. Watkins Republican Party (United States) 101,471 34.83% File:J. Bracken Lee (cropped).jpg J. Bracken Lee Independent 77,013 26.44% 1958 United States Senate election in Utah results map by county.svg 230px County resultsMoss: #bdd3ff 30–40% #a5b0ff 40–50% #7996e2 50–60%Watkins: #ffc8cd 30–40% #ffb2b2 40–50% #e27f7f 50–60%Lee: #d3d3d3 40–50% #7e7e7e 60–70% U.S. Senator Arthur V. Watkins Republican Party (United States) Frank Moss Democratic Party (United States) The 1958 United States Senate election in Utah was held on November 4, 1958. Incumbent Senator Arthur V. Watkins was defeated by Salt Lake County Attorney Frank Moss in a three-way race that also included former Governor J. Bracken Lee running as an independent. This was one of a record twelve Senate seats Democrats gained from the Republican Party in 1958. Even in such a strong year for Democrats, Moss's victory in Utah was seen as a major upset.Jonas Frank H. The 1958 Election in Utah The Western Political Quarterly March 1959 12 1 345–354 444062 10.2307/444062 Background Utah at this time was seen as a safely Republican seat. Utah had not elected a Democratic Governor or United States Senator since 1944. The state voted for Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower by 17 points in 1952 and 29 points in 1956. It was one of only three states in the West which had trended towards Eisenhower in 1956, and the Republicans swept all congressional seats and state offices by substantial margins. By June 1958, the state was considered the only "safe Republican" area in the entire nation. In the face of the national Democratic surge, one Republican expert was quoted, "I haven't had any bad reports from [Utah] — recently."McConaughy James L. 16 June 1958 The Republican Disintegration All Over the Country https://books.google.com/books?id=E0oEAAAAMBAJ&q=utah&pg=PP1 Life 12 August 2019 Republican primary Candidates Carvel Mattsson, attorney from RichfieldMalmquist O.M. Watkins, Moss, Peterson Sweep to Primary Election Victories https://newspaperarchive.com/salt-lake-tribune-sep-10-1958-p-1/ 13 August 2019 The Salt Lake Tribune 10 September 1958 Arthur Vivian Watkins, incumbent Senator since 1947 Results Watkins easily won re-nomination by the Republican Party for a third term. Mattison carried only his home county of Sevier along with bordering Piute and Wayne Counties. 1958 Republican U.S. Senate primary97% of precincts reporting Republican Party (United States) Arthur V. Watkins (incumbent) 38,970 67.87% Republican Party (United States) Carvel Mattsson 18,451 32.13% 57,421 97.40% Democratic primary Candidates Frank Moss, Salt Lake County District Attorney Brigham E. Roberts, Salt Lake City attorney and Democratic National Committeeman Results 1958 Democratic U.S. Senate primary97% of precincts reporting Democratic Party (United States) Frank Moss 35,582 59.08% Democratic Party (United States) Brigham E. Roberts 24,641 40.92% 60,223 97.40% General election Candidates J. Bracken Lee, former Governor of Utah (Independent) Frank Moss, Salt Lake County District Attorney (Democratic) Arthur Vivian Watkins, incumbent Senator since 1947 (Republican) Campaign Senator Watkins made several key errors in the months and years preceding his defeat. He supported a strengthening of the Robinson–Patman Act, which angered business interests in the state and led the Utah Association of Petroleum Retailed to back Moss. The metal mining industry, which is a key part of the Utah economy, also grew dissatisfied with Watkins after Congress failed to pass favorable legislation. He also angered some rural voters by failing to take a side in a reclamation project that pitted development interests in Carbon County against those in Sanpete County. Perhaps most importantly, Watkins angered conservative and right-wing voters within his own party by leading the committee which voted for the censure of anti-communist Senator Joseph McCarthy. In the general election, Lee campaigned on the repeal of the federal income tax and a general reduction of taxes. He limited his previous criticisms of the Eisenhower administration and of the United Nations, though he continued to criticize foreign aid and federal spending in general. For his own part, Watkins campaigned on the issue of seniority. He claimed that if re-elected, he would be appointed to the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee. Lee responded by reminding Watkins that his predecessor, Senator Abe Murdock, was on this committee during his first and only term. Moss noted that seniority, even on a powerful committee, would mean little so long as Watkins's Republican Party remained the minority in the Senate. Moss gained support by contrasting himself to the much older Watkins and Lee in a series of public appearances. At one such event late in the campaign at the University of Utah, Lee said that all politicians were corrupt. Given Lee's own long career in politics and many electoral campaigns, the crowd laughed. As Lee's campaign began to decline and Moss's surged, a number of high-profile national Democratic leaders came to Utah to campaign. They included Senators Lyndon Baines Johnson, George Smathers, and Warren Magnuson. The Moss campaign brought in AFL-CIO lobbyist Esther Peterson and local communications executive George C. Hatch to provide strategic advice and communications expertise. In the final weeks of the race, the Moss campaign ran a double-pronged strategy: boosting Lee's appeal to Republican voters while drawing away his Democratic supporters. They first hosted a "Let's Sack Brack" rally featuring newly elected Senator Edmund Muskie and Congressman John E. Moss of California. As Lee gained attention as the outsider candidate, he began to attack both parties equally as a single "machine." Watkins turned his attention to Lee and intensified his attacks. In the final weeks of the campaign, the Democrats carried out an intensive phone-banking operation, calling potential Lee supporters to claim that Moss was the only candidate who could unseat Watkins. Watkins polled ahead for most of the campaign, but in the final weeks polls were published showing both Moss and Lee in the lead. Ultimately, his victory was credited to the presence of Lee in the race, which split Republican voters, and his own campaign's youthful energy. Results General election resultsUT US Senate https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=27659 OurCampaigns 12 August 2019 Democratic Party (United States) Frank Moss 112,827 38.73% 7.01 Republican Party (United States) Arthur V. Watkins (incumbent) 101,471 34.83% 19.43 Independent politician J. Bracken Lee 77,013 26.44% N/A 291,311 100.00% N/A Democratic Party (United States) Republican Party (United States) Results by county Countyhttps://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=27659 Our Campaigns - UT US Senate Race - Nov 04, 1958 www.ourcampaigns.com 11 March 2023Frank MossDemocraticArthur V. WatkinsRepublicanJ. Bracken LeeIndependentMarginTotal votes cast # % # % # % # %Beaver88243.11%50124.49%66332.40%21910.71%2,046Box Elder2,66735.85%3,00840.43%1,76523.72%-341-4.58%7,440Cache4,04333.78%5,23443.73%2,69322.50%-1,191-9.95%11,970Carbon4,42157.05%84910.95%2,48032.00%1,94125.05%7,750Daggett11945.95%8231.66%5822.39%3714.29%259Davis5,79836.19%6,66141.58%3,56122.23%-863-5.39%16,020Duchesne73330.40%1,05243.63%62625.96%-319-13.23%2,411Emery99140.02%67527.26%81032.71%1817.31%2,476Garfield27720.94%63648.07%41030.99%-226-17.08%1,323Grand28617.51%29217.88%1,05564.61%-763-46.73%1,633Iron1,35130.18%1,71838.38%1,40731.43%-311-6.95%4,476Juab1,11546.17%74730.93%55322.90%36815.24%2,415Kane15415.29%58658.19%26726.51%-319-31.68%1,007Millard1,08531.25%1,21935.11%1,16833.64%-51-1.47%3,472Morgan47038.12%53643.47%22718.41%-66-5.35%1,233Piute17426.28%28142.45%20731.27%-74-11.18%662Rich21129.14%27137.43%24233.43%-29-4.00%724Salt Lake47,75037.78%39,86331.54%38,76730.67%78876.24%126,380San Juan61434.32%70839.58%46726.10%-94-5.26%1,789Sanpete1,83935.04%2,06639.36%1,34425.60%-227-4.32%5,249Sevier1,05425.07%1,46734.89%1,68440.05%-217-5.16%4,205Summit91635.08%92835.54%76729.38%-12-0.46%2,611Tooele2,36445.24%1,56729.99%1,29424.77%79715.25%5,225Uintah85724.62%1,86153.46%76321.92%-1,004-28.84%3,481Utah13,79740.69%13,66040.28%6,45219.03%1370.41%33,909Wasatch99442.86%81235.02%51322.12%1827.84%2,319Washington93126.04%1,88352.67%76121.29%-952-26.63%3,575Wayne27235.42%28937.63%20726.95%-17-2.21%768Weber16,66248.32%12,01934.85%5,80216.83%464313.47%34,483Totals112,82738.73%101,47134.83%77,01326.44%11,3563.90%291,311 See also 1958 United States Senate elections References 1958 Utah United States Senate