It also created a relationship between Truman and Roosevelt's aide Harry Hopkins and assured Truman's avid support for the New Deal.[79]

U.S. Senator from Missouri
Drawer from the Senate desk used by Truman
After serving as a county judge, Truman wanted to run for governor or Congress,[80][81] but Pendergast rejected these ideas. Truman then thought he might serve out his career in some well-paying county sinecure;[81] circumstances changed when Pendergast reluctantly backed him as the machine's choice in the 1934 Democratic primary election for the U.S. Senate from Missouri, after Pendergast's first four choices had declined to run.[82] In the primary, Truman defeated Congressmen John J. Cochran and Jacob L. Milligan with the solid support of Jackson County, which was crucial to his candidacy. Also critical were the contacts he had made statewide in his capacity as a county official, member of the Freemasons,[c] military reservist,[d] and member of the American Legion.[e][86] In the general election, Truman defeated incumbent Republican Roscoe C. Patterson by nearly 20 percentage points in a continuing wave of pro-New Deal Democrats elected during  the Great Depression.