Randall S. "Front Porch" Harmon (July 19, 1903 – August 18, 1982) was a

U.S. Representative 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 ...

from

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. Harmon was born in

North Vernon, Indiana North Vernon is a city in Jennings County, Indiana, Jennings County, Indiana, United States. The population was 6,608 as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. History North Vernon was originally called Tripton, and is sometimes referre ...

and he graduated from North Vernon High School. Harmon also took extension courses in law and tool engineering. He was employed as a tool engineer with Delco Battery Operations in

Muncie, Indiana Muncie ( ) is a city in Delaware County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It is located in East Central Indiana about northeast of Indianapolis. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 65,195, down from 70,085 in the 2010 c ...

from 1933 to 1959. Harmon ran for Congress seven times from 1944 to 1956, running from 1944 to 1952 as a Republican and in 1954 and 1956 as a Democrat. He failed to win a Congressional primary once during this time. Due to the Democratic party's landslide victory in the 1958 Congressional elections, Harmon was elected to Congress, defeating incumbent Ralph Harvey. During his term in office, Harmon attracted controversy by putting his wife on the Congressional payroll and declaring his front porch a Congressional district office. Harmon also explored the possibility of running for President in 1960, but he refused to spend money on such a candidacy, and never proceeded to run. Harmon won his primary with 30% of the vote in a field of nine candidates.Our Campaigns
/ref> In the general election, he campaigned with a replica of a front porch on a truck, Harmon lost his bid for re-election in 1960 to Ralph Harvey. After leaving office, Harmon campaigned for Congress in 1962. He then attempted to run for Congress in 1964, but he filed for Congress and the Delaware County Council, and the state ruled that he could run for neither office. Harmon then ran for Congress eight more times from 1968 to 1982, failing to get out of the primary once, before dying in August 1982.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Harmon, Randall S. 1903 births 1982 deaths Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Indiana People from North Vernon, Indiana 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives