David Worth Clark

D. Worth Clark
David Worth Clark
United States Senator from Idaho
In office January 3, 1939 – January 3, 1945
Preceded by	James P. Pope
Succeeded by	Glen H. Taylor
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Idaho's 2nd district
In office January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1939
Preceded by	Thomas Coffin
Succeeded by	Henry Dworshak
Born	April 2, 1902(1902-04-02) Idaho Falls, Idaho
Died	June 19, 1955 (aged 53) Los Angeles, California
Resting place	Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California
Nationality	United States
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Virgil Irwin Clark (m. 1926–1955, his death)
Children	3 daughters
Residence	Pocatello
Alma mater	Univ. of Notre Dame, A.B. 1922 Harvard Law School, 1925
Profession	Attorney
Religion	Catholic

David Worth Clark aka D. Worth Clark (April 2, 1902 – June 19, 1955) was a isolationist Democratic congressman and United States Senator from Idaho. On June 20, 1941 Senator Clark spoke before 20,000-strong audience at the Hollywood Bowl speaking against American entry in the war in Europe. The event was sponsored by the America First Committee with Charles Lindbergh as feature speaker.

Early years

According to the Idaho State Historical Society, Clark attended public schools in Idaho Falls and graduated from Idaho Falls High School. He attended Columbia University in Portland, Oregon, and the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1922. Clark graduated from Harvard Law School in 1925 and was admitted to the bar that year. He commenced practice in Idaho at Pocatello, and was the state's assistant attorney general from 1933 to 1935.

Clark was a member of a prominent Idaho political family; his uncles Barzilla W. Clark and Chase A. Clark both served as governor of Idaho. His cousin Bethine, Chase Clark's daughter, married future U.S. Senator Frank Church in 1947.

Congress

House

D. Worth Clark was elected to the U.S. House from the 2nd district of Idaho in 1934. The seat had been vacant for several months, since the untimely death of Thomas Coffin in June. Clark was re-elected in 1936, defeating his successor, newspaper publisher Henry Dworshak of Burley.

U.S. House elections (Idaho's 2nd district): Results 1934–1936

Year		Democrat	Votes	Pct		Republican	Votes	Pct
1934		Template:Party shading/Democratic |D. Worth Clark	Template:Party shading/Democratic align="right" |57,547	Template:Party shading/Democratic |60.7%		Template:Party shading/Republican |Heber Q. Hale	Template:Party shading/Republican align="right" |37,200	Template:Party shading/Republican |39.3%
1936		Template:Party shading/Democratic |D. Worth Clark (inc.)	Template:Party shading/Democratic align="right" |67,238	Template:Party shading/Democratic |60.5%		Template:Party shading/Republican |Henry Dworshak	Template:Party shading/Republican align="right" |43,834	Template:Party shading/Republican |39.5%

Source:

Senate

In 1938, Clark ran for the United States Senate. He defeated the incumbent, James Pope of Boise, in the Democratic primary in August, a setback for New Deal supporters. Clark defeated Republican Donald Callahan of Wallace in the general election. Clark himself was defeated for renomination in the 1944 Democratic primary by Glen H. Taylor of Pocatello. Clark ran to recover his Senate seat in 1950 and defeated Taylor in the primary, as Taylor became the third consecutive incumbent of that Senate seat to lose in the Democratic primary. In the general election in November, Clark lost to Republican Herman Welker of Payette, as all four congressional seats (two House, two Senate) went to Republicans. Welker aligned himself in the Senate with the infamous Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin and lost his re-election bid in 1956 to 32 year-old Frank Church of Boise, who served four terms.

U.S. Senate elections in Idaho (Class III): Results 1938, 1950

Year		Democrat	Votes	Pct		Republican	Votes	Pct		3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct
1938		Template:Party shading/Democratic |D. Worth Clark	Template:Party shading/Democratic align="right" |99,801	Template:Party shading/Democratic |54.7%		Template:Party shading/Republican |Donald Callahan	Template:Party shading/Republican align="right" |81,939	Template:Party shading/Republican |44.9%		Template:Party shading/Independent |V.A. Verbei	Template:Party shading/Independent |Progressive	Template:Party shading/Independent align="right" |845	Template:Party shading/Independent align="right" |0.46%
1950		Template:Party shading/Democratic |D. Worth Clark	Template:Party shading/Democratic align="right" |77,180	Template:Party shading/Democratic |38.3%		Template:Party shading/Republican |Herman Welker	Template:Party shading/Republican align="right" |124,237	Template:Party shading/Republican |61.7%

Source:

After Congress

After losing to Welker, Clark resumed the practice of law in Boise and Washington, D.C.. He moved to Los Angeles in 1954 and held financial interests in radio stations in Van Nuys, San Francisco, and Honolulu, and a bank in Las Vegas. While watching television with his wife and youngest daughter, Clark died of a heart attack at his southern California home at age 53 on June 19, 1955, and was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

External links

• Template:CongBio
• Idaho State Historical Society entry (PDF - requires reader)
• Boise State University Library – D. Worth Clark (1902–1955) – papers, 1935–1950
• Template:Find a Grave

United States House of Representatives
Party political offices
Preceded by James P. Pope	Democratic Party nominee, U.S. Senator (Class 3) from Idaho 1938 (won)	Succeeded by Glen H. Taylor
Preceded by Glen H. Taylor	Democratic Party nominee, U.S. Senator (Class 3) from Idaho 1950 (lost)	Succeeded by Frank Church
United States Senate

Part of this article consists of modified text from Wikipedia, and the article is therefore licensed under GFDL.