COPELAND'S SUGGESTION OF AL SMITH AS DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE IN '28 MEETS 'SNAG' IN SENATE
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On February 7, 1926, The Evening Star reports "a presidential boom for Governor Al Smith of New York was launched" in the United States Senate late yesterday afternoon.
Senator Royal S. Copeland* (D-New York) "pictured" Senator James W. Wadsworth (R-New York) as the GOP nominee for President in 1928 and Governor Smith as bearing "the banner of democracy."
The Star says the offering immediately "hit a snag."
Senator Thaddeus H. Caraway (D-Arkansas) responded that Senator Copeland should "allow the Democrats to name their own candidate" while Senator J. Thomas Heflin (D-Alabama) suggested Copeland should consider running as a presidential candidate himself.
JFK+50 NOTE
While Al Smith did end up being the Democratic Party's standard bearer in 1928, the Republicans nominated Herbert Hoover as their presidential candidate. Al Smith would be the first Roman Catholic candidate for POTUS (JFK the 1st to be elected) but was defeated by Hoover in a landslide.
*Royal Samuel Copeland (1868-1938) was born in Dexter, Michigan and graduated in medicine at the University of Michigan. RSC served as Republican mayor of Ann Arbor 1901-1903 & Democratic US Senator of New York 1923-1938.
SOURCE
"Copeland Launches Boom for Al Smith, But It Runs Into Snag at Outset," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., February 7, 1926, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
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