In 1934 , following the death of Speaker of the House Henry Thomas Rainey , Lucas was elected to the House of Representatives from Illinois 's 20th congressional district . He established himself as a strong supporter of Franklin D. Roosevelt 's New Deal , working to pass the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act of 1936 and the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 . However , Lucas disagreed with Roosevelt over the president 's court-packing plan , which Lucas denounced as " useless , selfish , and futile . " In 1938 , after William Dieterich declined to run for re-election , Lucas was elected to the U.S. Senate over Republican Richard J. Lyons , with a 51 % &ndash; 48 % victory . He was re-elected in 1944 . Lucas was a favorite son candidate and among twelve nominated at the 1944 Democratic National Convention to serve as Franklin D. Roosevelt 's running mate in the presidential election that year . With support from Harry Truman , he was elected party whip in 1946 . Lucas , a moderate , drew support from both conservative and liberal wings of the party . He took over the Midwest campaign for Truman and was credited with assisting Truman 's 1948 re-election and bringing nine Democrats into the Senate . When Alben Barkley became vice-president and resigned his seat , Lucas became majority leader . However , he was unable to build a consensus as Senate Majority Leader with the onset of the anticommunist era , and lost in 1950 , to Republican Everett Dirksen . Lucas had become a target of Republican wrath with loss of political power in the Senate and the White House . His 1950 reelection campaign featured the active intervention into Illinois politics of Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy , who traveled the state with Dirksen saying that Senator Lucas was " soft on communism . " Dirksen would go on to easily defeat Lucas with a 54 % to 46 % victory . Privately , in later years , Dirksen attributed his victory to Lucas 's focus on not his state but his responsibilities as Senate Majority Leader , and Dirksen was free to campaign locally , often debating Lucas 's Illinois Democratic Party proxies and calling attention to Lucas 's prolonged absence from the state
1944 Democratic National Convention
1944 Democratic National Convention
Scott W. Lucas