Sheridan Downey (March 11, 1884 – October 25, 1961) was an American lawyer and a Democratic U.S. Senator from California from 1939 to 1950. Early life He was born in Laramie, the seat of Albany County in western Wyoming, the son of the former Evangeline Victoria Owen and Stephen Wheeler Downey. He was educated in public schools of Laramie, and attended the University of Wyoming. Downey attended the University of Michigan Law School, and attained admission to the bar in 1907. In 1914, the school awarded Downey his LL.B. degree as of the graduating class of 1907. He practiced law in Laramie, and in 1908 he was elected district attorney of Albany County as a Republican. In 1910 he married Helen Symons; they had five children. In 1912, Downey split Wyoming's Republican vote by heading the state's "Bull Moose" revolt in support of Theodore Roosevelt, thus leading to a Democratic victory statewide. Politics In 1913, Downey moved to Sacramento, California, and continued to practice law with his brother, Stephen Wheeler Downey, Jr. During his first few years in California, he devoted most of his time and energy to his law practice and various real estate interests. In 1924 he supported Robert La Follette, Sr.'s Progressive party campaign for the presidency, and in 1932 he became a Democrat and campaigned for the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt. In October 1933, Downey announced that he was running for governor of California. After a series of meetings with the writer Upton Sinclair, who also had designs on the governorship, Downey agreed to run for Lieutenant Governor of California while Sinclair ran for governor. Their political platform was the End Poverty in California (EPIC) plan. Opponents called the ticket "Uppie and Downey". EPIC began as a mass movement, calling for an economic revolution to lift California out of the depression. The EPIC platform called for state support for the creation of jobs, a massive program of public works, and an extensive system of state-sponsored pensions and radical changes in the tax structure. Before long, more than 2,000 grassroots EPIC clubs sprouted throughout the state, and the most popular EPIC anthem, "Campaign Chorus for Downey and Sinclair," was made into a phonograph record by Titan Records for mass distribution. It featured the speaking voice of Downey, announcer Jerry Wilford, and the singing of three men calling themselves the "Epic Trio." While EPIC was defeated by