Political career
Kerr's growing wealth and business ties made him a power in state Democratic politics during the 1930s. He worked to raise funds for both Governors E.W. Marland and Leon C. Phillips.[4] In 1940, he was elected as Democratic national committeeman for Oklahoma.[4] Two years later he ran for the Democratic nomination for governor, campaigning as a supporter both of the New Deal and of a vigorous American role in World War II. Oklahoma's Democrats were divided over US President Franklin Roosevelt's policies, leading to a bitter campaign. Kerr narrowly won the primary and went on to win by a small margin in the general election. He was the first native-born governor.[4]
Kerr's four-year term as governor served as a turning point for Oklahoma's politics and economy. For the first time in the state's history, executive-legislative relations remained cordial, largely due to Kerr's patient leadership.[5][6] When not cultivating legislators, the governor prepared his state to weather postwar economic storms. Kerr traveled more than 400,000 miles to sell Oklahoma's products and potential throughout the nation. Not coincidentally, Kerr's boosterism also promoted his own political fortunes. In 1944 he was chosen to deliver the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention, where he played a back-room role in the selection of Harry S. Truman as vice president. During World War II, despite the tendency of Oklahomans to keep the federal government at arm's length, Kerr promoted ties to the government, knowing how important the jobs and activity were to create prosperity.[7] Oklahoma became home to many wartime industries and was a training site for military personnel. After the war, he called for increased spending to allow for post-war development of the state.[4] Kerr traveled around the country to promote Oklahoma at his own expense.
Kerr was among 12 nominated at the 1944 Democratic National Convention to serve as Roosevelt's running mate in the presidential election that year.[8] He used his success as governor to catapult himself into the U.S. Senate in 1948.[4] Although Kerr had national ambitions, he always put what he considered to be the interests of his state first. Unlike many of his peers he generally neglected headline-grabbing issues, including anticommunism, foreign affairs, and civil rights (although Kerr did not sign the 1956 Southern Manifesto and voted in favor of the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and the 24th Amendment to the US Constitution),[9][10] in favor of more mundane topics such as oil policies and public works. He believed Oklahomans would benefit most, and support him strongly, if he concentrated on concrete economic matters.
In a closely-contested race, Kerr became the first Oklahoma governor elected to the Senate. He had Presidential aspirations briefly in 1952, but he failed to win the Democratic nomination. Instead he devoted his energies to building his Senate career.
Kerr's activism on natural gas regulation quickly won him a reputation among his colleagues for being a staunch defender of his region and its special interests, including his own petroleum company. His personality reinforced these first impressions. Kerr's colleagues widely considered him a brilliant debater who overwhelmed his opponents with his passion and his mastery of policy detail.
Following the 1952 disappointment, Kerr abandoned all hopes of becoming a presidential candidate and threw himself completely into his legislative work. He built alliances with the powerful southern and western Democrats who dominated the Senate, including Richard Russell of Georgia and Lyndon Johnson of Texas. On these friends he relied heavily. He also relied on careful committee preparation to pursue regional economic development.
The Arkansas River Navigation System (better known as the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System) became Kerr's defining goal through his three terms in the Senate. This $1.2 billion federal project, centered in northeastern Oklahoma, fostered more than $3 billion in commercial and industrial development in the Arkansas River basin during the two years after its completion in 1971. A once stagnant portion of Oklahoma quickly emerged as a regional economic hub.
Kerr served, in addition, on several key Senate committees, most notably the Finance and Public Works committees. He chaired the United States Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences from 1961 to his death, and delivered a keynote speech at the June 1962 dedication of Space Park in California.[11]
As a petroleum executive, Kerr championed petroleum and natural gas interests and advocated for the conservation of natural resources. His father had told him, "To raise a family, you have to have three things – land, wood and water."[12]
The legislative acumen that Kerr displayed, combined with changes in congressional leadership, had the effect of increasing his importance to John F. Kennedy as an ally for programs on Capitol Hill. On issues of common interest, such as space and taxes, Kerr co-operated with Kennedy to guarantee mutual success; but on areas of disagreement, including Medicare, Kerr stymied the president. In January 1963, the Wall Street Journal summarized the relationship with only some exaggeration: "Mr. Kennedy asked; Mr. Kerr decided."
Death
In December 1962, Kerr was hospitalized in Washington for a respiratory illness, and was also found to have coronary artery disease; he died there from a heart attack on January 1, 1963, at the age of 66.[13] Shortly after he died, an article written by an Associated Press reporter agreed with the title of The Saturday Evening Post tribute. Both called Kerr "The Uncrowned King of the Senate."[14] He was first buried at Rosehill Cemetery in Oklahoma City, but his body was later moved to the Kerr homestead in Ada, Oklahoma.[1]
