The Evening Star (July 3, 1946)
Rankin defeats two opponents to win 12th term in House
Holds lead of 3,000 votes over nearest rival in contest
TUPELO, Mississippi (AP) – John E. Rankin, the gray-haired 64-year-old representative of Mississippi’s 1st congressional district, appeared early today to have won the contest for his 12th term in the lower house.
The slight, fiery-tempered champion of “white supremacy” held a lead of more than 3,000 votes over his nearest opponent when election officials in the 10-county district suspended the count until later in the day.
In 192 precincts out of 222, Rep. Rankin polled 13,242 votes, while 37-year-old Claude F. Clayton, a World War II veteran and former circuit judge, received 10,080 and Charles G. Hamilton, a minister, had 1,563.
Rep. Rankin, whose attack on an Associated Press photographer in front of a polling place yesterday marked the only violence in the state’s Democratic primary, trailed in his home county of Lee and was behind in only two other counties.
Mr. Clayton conceded the victory to Rep. Rankin late last night.
Rep. Rankin, who is chairman of the House Veterans Committee and a member of the Committee on Un-American Affairs, urged “law-abiding Negroes” to remain away from the polls during his campaign, which was conducted from Washington.
With his wife and daughter, Rep. Rankin returned to Tupelo over the weekend for some last-minute handshaking and visiting which was interrupted by his run-in with Allen Snipes, a photographer from Memphis.
Rep. Rankin objected to photographs being taken of himself and his wife and assaulted Mr. Snipes in a successful effort to obtain and destroy the photographic film. Mr. Snipes was unhurt in the altercation but lost a shirt, which was replaced by a sympathetic merchant.
Few if any Negroes voted in Rep. Rankin’s district. None was qualified to cast ballots in the representative’s home county.