Garrett Lee Withers (June 21, 1884 – April 30, 1953) was an American politician and lawyer. As a Democrat, he represented

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

and

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

. Withers was born on a farm in Webster County, Kentucky. He was admitted to the bar in 1908 and was a practicing attorney in Webster County from 1911 to 1953. He was elected clerk of Webster County Circuit Court and served from 1910 to 1912, and later as a master commissioner from 1913 to 1917. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for state treasurer on Alben Barkley's slate in 1923. Earle C. Clements interview, 1974, https://nunncenter.net/ohms-spokedb/render.php?cachefile=2008oh138_clem044_ohm.xml He was a district member of the Kentucky Highway Commission from 1932 to 1936; as a Referee in Bankruptcy from 1941 to 1945; and as an appointed commissioner for the Kentucky Department of Highways from 1947 to 1949 under Gov. Earle C. Clements. On January 20, 1949, Clements appointed Withers to the

to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Alben W. Barkley to become

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the Executive branch of the United States government, executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks f ...

, with the agreement that he would not seek election to the unexpired term in a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

or the six-year regular term in November 1950. Clements was elected to both terms and succeeded Withers on Nov. 27, 1950. Withers won election to the

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a ...

in 1951 and then won a special election (due to the death of Rep. John A. Whitaker) on August 2, 1952, to the

. He served as a Democrat in the Eighty-second Congress and was reelected to the Eighty-third Congress. He died in the naval hospital at

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., it is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region ...

, on April 30, 1953.

References

Official Congressional Directory: 83d Congress, 1st Session (1953)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Withers, Garrett L. Democratic Party members of the Kentucky House of Representatives 1884 births 1953 deaths People from Webster County, Kentucky Democratic Party United States senators from Kentucky Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky Kentucky lawyers 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century United States senators 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Kentucky General Assembly

See also

References