The Pittsburgh Press (July 30, 1944)
Nation watches Missouri vote as big names gather
Five other primaries scheduled next week while GOP governors meet
Washington (UP) – (July 29)
The political eyes of the nation shifted tonight to Missouri in anticipation of next week’s concentration there of three of the leading figures in the 1944 presidential campaign, coincident with a hotly-contested primary on Tuesday.
The spotlight centered on the meeting of Thomas E. Dewey and John W. Bricker, Republican presidential and vice-presidential nominees, with 24 other Republican governors in St. Louis on Aug. 2 and 3.
Other attention was focused on the race between Senator Bennett Champ Clark and Attorney General Roy D. McKittrick for the Democratic senatorial nomination in the Missouri primary on Aug. 1 and the presence of Senator Harry S. Truman, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, at his Independence, Missouri, home.
Shunted into the background by such a concentration of leaders and competition was the fact that five other state primaries, involving races of three other Senate veterans for renomination, are also scheduled next week.
Senator Clyde M. Reed (R-KS) and Senator Robert F. Wagner (D-NY) confronted no trouble for renomination in their respective party primaries Tuesday. Virginia, which has no Senate contest this year, also has primaries scheduled for Tuesday.
Senator Alben W. Barkley (D-KY), Democratic Leader, was generally conceded an easy victory over two opponents in the Kentucky Democratic primary on Aug. 5. The Tennessee primary, Aug. 3, is centered on local issues.
The Dewey-Bricker conference with other Republican Governors was called by the GOP presidential nominee to discuss cooperation between state and federal government. There is no question, however, but that Governor Dewey will use the opportunity to discuss with the governors possible issues for him to raise in the fall campaign.