Scott W. Lucas
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Scott Lucas (1892 - 1968) was a 2-term United States senator from Illinois and Senate Majority Leader from 1948-1950. After graduating from the law school of Illinois Wesleyan University, Lucas entered private practice; he enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War I, later serving as a lieutenant. He served in a variety of governmental posts in Illinois before he was first elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1934, and was elected senator in 1938. He was re-elected in 1944. With support from Harry Truman and liberal Democrats, he was elected party whip in 1946. He was noted for his success in Harry Truman's re-election campaign in 1948, and when Alben Barkley became vice-president and resigned his Senate seat, Lucas became majority leader. However, he was unable to build a consensus as Senate majority leader, and lost re-election in 1950 to Republican Everett Dirksen, who also became an important leader in the Senate. Lucas was one of a series of politically weak Senate leaders who were seen as yes-men for Presidential administrations and denied the support of powerful senior Senators. He was succeeded as Democratic leader by Ernest McFarland, who also lost his reelection bid two years after assuming the leadership. Thanks to McFarland's successor, Lyndon Johnson, the Senate leadership became much more powerful and no leader was defeated for reelection until Tom Daschle in 2004.
External link
- Lucas in the Congressional Biographical Dictionary (http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=L000493)
| Preceded by: William H. Dieterich | Class 3 U.S. Senator from Illinois 1939–1951 | Succeeded by: Everett Dirksen |