1918 United States Senate election in Michigan
The 1918 United States Senate election in Michigan took place on November 5, 1918 to elect the Class 1 U.S. Senator from the State of Michigan, concurrently with a gubernatorial election, as well as other elections to the U.S. House of Representatives.
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| Turnout | 15.60% | ||||||||||||||||
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 County Results Newberry: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Ford: 40-50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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Former Secretary of the Navy, the Republican Truman Handy Newberry, was elected to succeed outgoing incumbent U.S. Senator William Alden Smith. Newberry defeated the Democratic automobile industrialist Henry Ford, who had failed in acquiring the Republican nomination from Newberry during the initial primaries.
The race was highly controversial, mostly because of Ford's presence in the race and Newberry hammering Ford for his pacifism during World War I, his antisemitism, and for helping his son, Edsel, avoid the draft.[1] Newberry narrowly won the election but was forced to resign from the Senate because of accusations of election fraud.
Democratic primary
Nominee
- Henry Ford, industrialist
General election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Truman Handy Newberry | 220,054 | 50.19% | ||
| Democratic | Henry Ford | 212,487 | 48.47% | ||
| Socialist | Edward O. Foss | 4,763 | 1.09% | ||
| Prohibition | William J. Faull | 1,133 | 0.26% | ||
| Total votes | 438,437 | 100% | N/A | ||
| Republican hold | |||||
Aftermath
Ford felt "cheated" by the final result and employed at least 40 private investigators to investigate. They compiled their report and sent it to the U.S. Department of Justice, which assigned a special prosecutor who had relations with a lawyer employed by Firestone, which also helmed the private investigation that Ford had initiated.[3] The special prosecutor charged Newberry of violating the Federal Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which barred candidates for the Senate from spending more than $10,000 during their campaign. Newberry, having spent at least $100,000 during the Republican primary, would be tried and convicted in 1921.[4]
However, Newberry would successfully appeal his conviction to the Supreme Court, who ruled in a 5-4 decision that the FCPA was unconstitutional in Newberry v. United States. Newberry was allowed to retain his seat, though faced a condemnation by the Senate for his excess spending. Newberry ultimately resigned in 1922 and was succeeded by James J. Couzens, a former employee of the Ford Motor Company.
References
- Glass, Andrew (January 12, 2018). "Senator 'condemned' for excessive campaign spending, Jan. 12, 1922". Politico. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
- "1918 Michigan general election results". Our Campaigns. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
- Felten, Eric (November 27, 2018). "History Lesson: Henry Ford Was the World's Biggest Sore Loser". Washington Examiner. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
- Glass, Andrew (November 18, 2014). "Sen. Truman Newberry resigns, Nov. 18, 1922". Politico. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
Further reading
- Baker, Paula (2012). Curbing Campaign Cash: Henry Ford, Truman Newberry, and the Politics of Progressive Reform. University Press of Kansas. ISBN 978-0700-618-637.