of national banks, and universal suffrage, denounced Hallowell as a pampered scion of wealth, a Prince whose feet were "encased in fine silk hosiery." Hallowell fired back that having silk socks was better than having none at all. With the help of populist campaigner Mary Elizabeth Lease, Simpson won a new nickname, "Sockless Jerry," and an 8,000-vote margin of victory in the race. In Congress, Simpson was a forceful advocate for populist causes and became nationally known as the party's congressional leader. In 1892, he was re-elected by a slim 2,000-vote majority, running slightly behind James Weaver, the party's presidential nominee, who had also managed to seize the Democratic ballot line in Kansas. By 1894, however, the party's fortunes had already started to wane, and he was turned out of office in favor of Republican Chester I. Long in a close race. Undaunted, Simpson returned in 1896, running hard against Long and upsetting him to win back his House seat. It didn't last, however, and Long defeated him once again in the election of 1898. Deciding that he had lost his taste for farming, Simpson moved to New Mexico and took up real estate. A few years later, he suffered a debilitating brain aneurysm. Realizing that he probably didn't have much time left, he boarded a train back to Kansas. He died in a Wichita hospital on October 23, 1905. He is interred in Maple Grove Cemetery, Wichita. References External links Jeremiah "Sockless Jerry" Simpson, Kansas Memory "Jerry Simpson: The people's voice", Central States Speech Journal, Volume 14, Issue 2, 1963 "Jerry Simpson: Populist Without Principle", Karel Denis Bicha, The Journal of American History, Vol. 54, No. 2 (Sep., 1967), pp. 291–306 1842 births 1905 deaths People from Prince Edward Island People from Oneida County, New York Pre-Confederation Canadian emigrants to the United States Kansas Greenbacks Kansas Populists People's Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kansas People from Medicine Lodge, Kansas Union Army soldiers 19th-century American politicians Members of the United States House of Representatives from Kansas