Republican Senator From Arizona? Not In 1946!

A brief biography of Ward Stanley Powers who aspired to be a United States Senator from Arizona:

My great-uncle, Ward S. Powers, was born 31 May 1893 in Battle Creek, Michigan, the son of William & Addie (More) Powers. Ward was the grandson of John & Mary Agnes (Kennedy) Powers and James & Cynthia (Richmond) More. William and Addie met and married in Lapeer County, Michigan, where Addie was born and raised. The family moved to Battle Creek where most of the children were born and then back to Lapeer County before relocating to Flint, Michigan.

In World War I, Ward S. Powers was a 2^nd Lieutenant, Company C, 303 Engineers, 78^th Division of the United States Army. After the war he married Rose Love, daughter of James & Sallie (McKnight) Love in Lake County, Indiana.

In the 1930 census, Ward and Rose and their four children, Mary June, James, Phyllis and Yvonne were living in Lake County, Indiana, where Ward was a Deputy Marshall with the U.S. Government.

In 1946 Ward S. Powers ran as a Republican for the U.S. Senate seat in Arizona against the incumbent Ernest McFarland. The results were as follows:

ARIZONA

For United States Senator

Ernest W. McFarland, Democrat 80,415

Ward S. Powers, Republican 35, 022

Morris Graham, Communist 802

Senator McFarland became the Senate Leader and had the dubious honor of being the last Leader to lose an election when Barry Goldwater beat him in 1952 (McFarland relinquished that distinction when Tom Daschle was so “honored” in 2004). McFarland was a versatile politician though; he also served as Governor of Arizona and as a justice of the Arizona Supreme Court.

Ward Powers and his family moved to the Washington, D. C. area where Ward died 26 October 1953. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery (Section 7 Site 9008-14).

Family Photo

When I asked my aunt what it was like to have an uncle in a race for a United States Senate seat, she said that it didn't have any discernable impact on her life as a 15 year old teenager living in Michigan. I wonder if things would be different in a 2008 election?