Republican Frank Merriam in November 1934. Downey, who had been subjected to less vitriol than Sinclair during the campaign, remained a viable political force in the state. Downey actually garnered 123,000 votes more than his running mate. Downey gained a statewide reputation as a champion of progressive politics. After Sinclair's defeat, Downey became an attorney involved with Dr. Francis Townsend, the main advocate of the Townsend Plan for government old-age pensions. Townsend's $200-a-month pension plan had won a large following in California, particularly among retirees. Downeys support lead to him writing Why I Believe in the Townsend Plan (1936). In 1936, the two drifted apart, as Townsend supported Union Party presidential nominee William Lemke of North Dakota, and Downey remained a Democrat committed to Franklin Delano Roosevelt. U.S. Senate In 1938 Downey was elected to the United States Senate where he served until his resignation in November 1950. He ran as a supporter of the proposed "Ham and Eggs" government pension program and defeated incumbent Senator William Gibbs McAdoo in the Democratic primary by more than 135,000 votes. Despite the strong backing McAdoo received from the White House and a personal campaign appearance by President Franklin Roosevelt to endorse McAdoo, Downey won the primary and went on to win the general election, defeating Republican Philip Bancroft 54%-46%. On October 24, 1938, Downey appeared on the cover of Time magazine. Though he had been considered a staunch liberal, Downey as a senator became a conservative Democrat who won the support of California's major oil interests. He supported the efforts of oil companies and agribusiness to procure state, rather than federal, control of California's oil resources. He also worked to exempt the California Central Valley from the Reclamation Act of 1902 to assist corporate farms. In the Senate, Downey also introduced a series of pension bills, and in 1941, he was named chairman of a special Senate committee on old-age insurance. He took an early stand supporting a military draft but opposed the Roosevelt administration's plans to requisition industries in time of war. During World War II, he called for the creation of a committee to investigate the status of blacks and other minorities in the armed forces and advocated a postwar United Nations, international control of atomic energy, increased veterans' benefits, and federal pay raises. At the end of the war, he opposed continuation of the military draft. During his years