Earle Clements

Earle Chester Clements (October 22, 1896 – March 12, 1985) was an American farmer and politician. He represented the Commonwealth of Kentucky in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate and was its 47th Governor, serving from 1947 to 1950. For three decades, he was the leader of a faction of the state's Democratic Party that stood in opposition to the faction led by two-time governor and senator A. B. "Happy" Chandler.

After following his father into the local politics of his home county, Clements agreed to chair the gubernatorial campaign of Thomas Rhea in 1935. Already committed to Rhea, he turned down an offer from Happy Chandler to chair his campaign, beginning the rift between the two men. Clements went on to the Kentucky Senate in 1941. In 1944, he was selected as Democratic floor leader of the senate and successfully campaigned for a larger budget than that proposed by Republican governor Simeon Willis. His stand against Willis made him popular in the Democratic Party, and he went on to serve two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1944 to 1948.

In 1947, Clements succeeded Willis as governor, defeating Harry Lee Waterfield, Chandler's preferred candidate, in the Democratic primary. As governor, Clements raised taxes and used the revenue to increase funding for the state park system and construct and maintain more roads. He also achieved advancements in education, including some progress toward desegregation. In 1950, Clements was elected to the U.S. Senate. He resigned as governor to accept his Senate seat. While in the Senate, he served as Democratic party whip under party leader Lyndon Johnson and as executive director of the Senate Democratic Reelection Committee from 1957 to 1959. He was defeated by Thruston Morton in his re-election bid in 1956; a lack of support from Chandler (then serving his second term as governor) contributed to Clements' defeat. At Johnson's insistence, Clements resumed chairing the Senate Democratic Reelection Committee in 1957 and 1959.

Clements had supported Bert T. Combs for governor against Chandler in 1955, and did so again against Harry Lee Waterfield in 1959. Combs defeated Waterfield and rewarded Clements by appointing him state highway commissioner. In 1961, Clements and Combs split over a proposed deal to lease dump trucks from a Louisville car dealer. State newspapers charged that the deal was payback to the dealer, a Combs supporter. When Combs canceled the deal Clements took it as a public rebuke and soon after resigned to work on the presidential campaign of his friend, Lyndon Johnson. Following his split with Combs, Clements allied himself with the Chandler faction, opposing Combs' lieutenant governor, Wilson Wyatt in his bid to unseat Senator Thruston Morton. Clements' influence declined rapidly after the split with Combs, and by the 1963 gubernatorial race, he was unable to deliver his home county for Chandler in the primary against Edward T. Breathitt. Clements died in his hometown of Morganfield, Kentucky on March 12, 1985.

Early life

Earle C. Clements was born in Morganfield, Kentucky on October 22, 1896."Earle C. Clements" in ''Biographical Directory'' He was the youngest of two sons and four daughters born to Aaron Waller and Sallie Anna (Tuley) Clements.Syvertsen in ''Kentucky's Governors, p. 185 His father was a popular county judge and sheriff in Union County, but Clements at first shunned a political career. He obtained his early education in the public schools, and graduated from Morganfield High School in 1915.Powell, p. 100 Later in 1915, he enrolled at the University of Kentucky's College of Agriculture. In 1915 and 1916, he played center on the football team, and was named to the " All-Southern Team" in 1916. He was also a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.Pearce, p. 47

Clements' studies were interrupted by World War I.Harrison in ''The Kentucky Encyclopedia'', p. 206 On July 9, 1917, he enlisted as a private in Company M of the Kentucky National Guard.Jillson, p. 377 The company was ordered to Camp Taylor near Louisville, Kentucky where they were mustered into the infantry of the U.S. Army. Clements first served as a guard at Camp Taylor and later entered the Officers Training School at Fort Benjamin Harrison near Indianapolis, Indiana. He graduated with the rank of first lieutenant and remained stateside as a professor of military science. He served for a total of 28 months, attaining the rank of captain, and was discharged on September 12, 1919.

After the war, Clements worked as a rigger in the oil fields of east Texas. In 1921, however, his father's health began to fail, and he returned to Kentucky to help him on the farm and served as his deputy sheriff. As a hobby, he also coached football at his high school ''alma mater''. One of his assistant coaches, Rodes K. Myers, would go on to be lieutenant governor under Keen Johnson.Klotter, p. 330 On January 18, 1927, Clements married Sara M. Blue. Their only child, Elizabeth (Bess) Hughes Clements Abell, became social secretary to Lady Bird Johnson and Walter Mondale.Syvertsen in ''Kentucky's Governors'', p. 190

Political career

In 1922, Clements' father died, and Clements was appointed to serve out the remainder of his term. He was subsequently elected to the office; his term ended in 1925. In 1926, he was elected county clerk. He served two terms in that office, with his tenure ending January 1, 1934. Later in 1934, he was elected county judge. During his two terms, which lasted until 1941, he ordered the paving of 123 miles of road in the county—more than all the previous county judges combined—despite the financial hardships of the Great Depression.Syvertsen in ''Kentucky's Governors'', p. 186

In 1935, Thomas Rhea asked Clements to serve as his campaign chairman for the 1935 gubernatorial race. Clements accepted, and consequently had to refuse a later request from his boyhood friend, A. B. "Happy" Chandler, to fill the same position for his campaign. Chandler won the Democratic primary, and for decades following, Clements and Chandler led opposite factions of the Kentucky Democratic Party. Chandler claimed that Clements bolted the party and supported Republican candidate King Swope in the general election; Clements denied this, but admitted that he gave Chandler's campaign only minimal support.Pearce, p. 39

Clements was elected to the Kentucky Senate in 1941, representing Un