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| Affiliation | Democratic |
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| Name | Sheridan Downey |
| Address |
Sacramento, California , United States |
| Email | None |
| Website | None |
| Born |
March 11, 1884
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| Died | October 25, 1961
(77 years)
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| Contributor | RP |
| Last Modifed | E Pluribus Unum
Oct 31, 2020 03:40pm |
| Tags |
Caucasian -
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| Info | Sheridan Downey (March 11, 1884 – October 25, 1961) was a lawyer and Democratic U.S. Senator from California.
He was born in Laramie, Wyoming, the son of Evangeline Victoria (Owen) and Stephen Wheeler Downey. He was educated in public schools and graduated from the University of Wyoming in 1907, and from the University of Michigan Law School. He practiced law in Laramie and later in Sacramento, California, where he moved in 1913. In 1934, he was the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of California as Upton Sinclair's running mate, stumping on the End Poverty In California plan (opponents called the ticket "Uppie and Downey"). After Sinclair's defeat, Downey became involved with Dr. Francis Townsend, advocate of the Townsend Plan for government old-age pensions, becoming Dr. Townsend's attorney. In 1936, the two drifted apart, as Townsend became supportive of Union Party presidential nominee William Lemke, and Downey remained a Democrat.
In 1938, Downey ran for the U.S. Senate as a supporter of the proposed "Ham and Eggs" government pension program, defeating incumbent Senator William Gibbs McAdoo in the Democratic primary by more than 135,000 votes and then defeating Republican Philip Bancroft in the general election with 54% of the vote. During the 1938 election, he appeared on the cover of Time. He served two terms, being reelected in 1944 with 52% of the vote over Republican Lieutenant Governor Frederick F. Houser. He did not seek re-election 1950, and was succeeded by Republican Congressman Richard Nixon, who defeated Democratic Congresswoman Helen Gahagan Douglas in an election notorious for the smear campaign waged by Nixon, which earned him the nickname "Tricky Dick." After leaving office, Downey practiced law in Washington, D.C. until his death in San Francisco in 1961. After his death, he donated his body to University of California Medical Center.
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