Jerry Lon Litton (May 12, 1937 – August 3, 1976) was an American politician from

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

who served as a member of the

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 ...

representing

Missouri's 6th congressional district Missouri's 6th congressional district takes in a large swath of land in northern Missouri, stretching across nearly the entire width of the state from Kansas to Illinois. Its largest voting population is centered in the northern portion of the ...

from 1973 until his death in 1976. A member of the Democratic Party, he ran for

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 ...

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

. Litton won the

Democratic primary This is a list of Democratic Party presidential primaries. 1912 This was the first time that candidates were chosen through primaries. New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson ran to become the nominee, and faced the opposition of Speaker of the Un ...

; however, he died in a

plane crash An aviation accident is an event during aircraft operation that results serious injury, death, or significant destruction. An aviation incident is any operating event that compromises safety but does not escalate into an aviation accident. Pre ...

while heading to his victory party.

Early life

Litton was born near Lock Springs,

Daviess County, Missouri Daviess County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,430. Its county seat is Gallatin. The county was organized December 29, 1836, from Ray County and named for Major Joseph Hamilton ...

, in a house without electricity. He was national secretary of the

Future Farmers of America The National FFA Organization or FFA is an American nonprofit career and technical student organization, which offers middle and high school classes that promote and support agricultural education. Future Farmers of Virginia (FFV) was founded in ...

(1956–1957), and graduated from the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

in 1961 with a B.S. in Journalism. He was president of the University of Missouri Young Democrats and chair of the National Youth for

Stuart Symington William Stuart Symington III ( ; June 26, 1901 – December 14, 1988) was an American businessman and Democratic politician from Missouri. He served as the first secretary of the Air Force from 1947 to 1950 and was a United States senator from ...

during Symington's unsuccessful 1960 run for

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

. Litton served as President of the Theta chapter of the

Alpha Gamma Rho Alpha Gamma Rho (; commonly known as AGR or The Rho) is an American social and professional agriculture-focused fraternity. It was established at Ohio State University in 1904. History Alpha Gamma Rho considers the Morrill Act of 1862 to be the ...

fraternity. He made his fortune raising cattle at the Litton

Charolais Cattle The Charolais () or Charolaise () is a French breed of taurine beef cattle. It originates in, and is named for, the Charolais area surrounding Charolles, in the Saône-et-Loire department, in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of eastern Fr ...

Ranch in

Chillicothe, Missouri Chillicothe is a city in the state of Missouri and the county seat of Livingston County, Missouri, Livingston County, Missouri, United States. The population was 9,107 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. The name "Chillicothe" is Shaw ...

. This ranch was maintained as a beautiful showplace where he entertained both the well-connected and constituents. Litton made a point to bring schoolchildren and low-level local leaders to his home. Before he began his political career, he was active in promoting youth involvement in leadership in agriculture and rural communities. His family (including his parents, Mildred and Charley Litton) was very prominent in the Charolais cattle business.

U.S. Representative

Litton was elected to the

U.S. House The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the 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 Article One of th ...

as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

in 1972. He was considered a rising star in the Democratic Party, and his television show ''Dialogue with Litton'' was broadcast statewide. Among the guests were

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

, former Vice President

Hubert Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American politician who served from 1965 to 1969 as the 38th vice president of the United States. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Minnesota from 19 ...

, Secretary of Agriculture

Earl Butz Earl Lauer "Rusty" Butz (July 3, 1909 – February 2, 2008) was a United States government official who served as the secretary of agriculture under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. His policies favored large-scale corporate farming ...

, Congressman

Tip O'Neill Thomas Phillip "Tip" O'Neill Jr. (December 9, 1912 – January 5, 1994) was an American Democratic Party politician from Massachusetts who served as the 47th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1987, the third-l ...

, and House Speaker

Carl Albert Carl Bert Albert (May 10, 1908 – February 4, 2000) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 46th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1971 to 1977 and represented Oklahoma's 3rd congressional district as a ...

. Green bumper stickers (like those used in his prior Congressional campaigns) circulated in the state, saying "Litton for President". Jimmy Carter said that he thought Litton would be president one day.

1976 U.S. Senate election

In 1976, after only two terms in the House of Representatives, Litton entered into what amounted to a three-way Democratic Party primary race for the U.S. Senate seat of retiring Senator

. The other major contestants were Symington's son James W. Symington and former Missouri Governor

Warren Hearnes Warren Eastman Hearnes (July 24, 1923 – August 16, 2009) was an American politician who served as the 46th governor of Missouri from 1965 to 1973. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first officeholder eligible to serve two consecuti ...

. Final election results showed Congressman Litton winning with 45.39%, former Governor Warren Hearnes second at 26.38%, and Congressman James Symington finishing third with 25.16% of the statewide vote. Seven other candidates, including

Kansas City, Missouri Mayor The mayor of Kansas City, Missouri is the highest official in the Kansas City, Missouri Municipal Government. Since the 1920s, the city has had a council-manager government in which a city manager runs most of the day-to-day operations o ...

Charles Wheeler, split the remaining 4 percent of the vote.

Death

Litton won the primary but died on August 3, 1976, along with his entire family (wife Sharon and their two children, Linda and Scott), pilot Paul Rupp Jr., and the pilot's son, Paul Rupp III, as they departed the airport for a victory party in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

. Their plane, a Beechcraft Model 58 Baron, crashed on take-off from the Chillicothe airport shortly after 9 p.m. on election night. The investigation into the crash determined the twin-engine plane broke a crankshaft in the left engine. The plane was about above the airport's only hard-surfaced runway when the engine failed. The plane veered to the left and crashed rapidly into a soybean field, where it exploded on impact, burning all victims beyond recognition. The

NTSB The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and inc ...

reported that the pilot did not retract the wheels when the engine cut off and that this contributed to the sudden loss of control. The report said the plane had been airborne for only 19 seconds before striking the ground. The plane was owned by Rupp Automotive, which was the car parts store owned by Rupp.planecrashinfo.com Famous People Who Died in Aviation Accidents: 1970s
/ref> The State Democratic Committee held a vote on a new nominee on August 21, and Hearnes defeated Missouri State Treasurer

Jim Spainhower James Spainhower (August 3, 1928 – December 12, 2018) was an American Democratic politician from Missouri. He served four terms in the Missouri House of Representatives from 1963 to 1970 and two terms as the State Treasurer of Missouri from ...

, garnering 63.3% of the vote. Hearnes lost the general election to

Missouri Attorney General The Office of the Missouri Attorney General was created in 1806 when Missouri was part of the Louisiana Territory. Missouri's first Constitution in 1820 provided for an appointed attorney general, but since the 1865 Constitution, the Attorney Ge ...

John Danforth John Claggett Danforth (born September 5, 1936) is an American politician, attorney, diplomat, and Episcopal priest who served as the Attorney General of Missouri from 1969 to 1976 and as a United States Senator from 1976 to 1995. A member of the ...

, who garnered 56.93% of the vote. A museum of Litton memorabilia was opened in the Jerry L. Litton Visitor Center near the dam at Smithville Lake in

Smithville, Missouri Smithville is a city in Clay and Platte counties in the U.S. state of Missouri and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area, along the Little Platte River. The population was 10,406 at the 2020 United States census. Smithville is also known ...

.Jerry L. Litton Visitor Center
(archived fro

October 2002)

References

External links