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{{Short description|American farmer and politician (1896–1985)}}
{{Redirect|Senator Clements}}
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{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Earle Clements
| image               = Earle-Clements.jpg
| office              = [[Party leaders of the United States Senate|Senate Majority Whip]]
| leader              = [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]
| term_start          = January 3, 1955
| term_end            = January 3, 1957
| predecessor         = [[Leverett Saltonstall]]
| successor           = [[Mike Mansfield]]
| office1             = [[Party leaders of the United States Senate|Senate Minority Whip]]
| leader1             = [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]
| term_start1         = January 3, 1953
| term_end1           = January 3, 1955
| predecessor1        = [[Leverett Saltonstall]]
| successor1          = Leverett Saltonstall
| jr/sr2              = United States Senator
| state2              = [[Kentucky]]
| term_start2         = November 27, 1950
| term_end2           = January 3, 1957
| predecessor2        = [[Garrett L. Withers]]
| successor2          = [[Thruston Ballard Morton|Thruston Morton]]
| order3              = 47th [[Governor of Kentucky]]
| lieutenant3         = Lawrence Wetherby
| term_start3         = December 9, 1947
| term_end3           = November 27, 1950
| predecessor3        = [[Simeon Willis]]
| successor3          = [[Lawrence Wetherby]]
| state4              = [[Kentucky]]
| district4           = {{ushr|KY|2|2nd}}
| term_start4         = January 3, 1945
| term_end4           = January 6, 1948
| predecessor4        = [[Beverly M. Vincent]]
| successor4          = [[John A. Whitaker]]
| state_senate5       = Kentucky
| district5           = [[Kentucky's 4th Senate district|4th]]
| term_start5         = January 1, 1942
| term_end5           = January 3, 1945
| predecessor5        = John A. Sugg Jr.
| successor5          = Stanley Hoffman
| birth_name          = Earle Chester Clements
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1896|10|22}}
| birth_place         = [[Morganfield, Kentucky]], U.S.
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1985|3|12|1896|10|22}}
| death_place         = Morganfield, Kentucky, U.S.
| party               = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| spouse              = Sara Blue
| education           = [[University of Kentucky]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])
| allegiance          = {{flag|United States|1912}}
| branch              = {{army|United States}}
| serviceyears        = 1917–1919
| rank                = [[Captain (United States)|Captain]]
| battles             = [[World War I]]
| caption             = Clements in 1947
| resting_place       = Odd Fellows Cemetery, Morganfield, Kentucky, U.S.
}}

'''Earle Chester Clements''' (October 22, 1896 – March 12, 1985) was a Kentucky politician. He represented the [[Commonwealth (U.S. state)|Commonwealth]] of [[Kentucky]] in both the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] and the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] and was its [[List of governors of Kentucky|47th Governor]], serving from 1947 to 1950, after serving in the state Senate. For 25 years, he was the leader of a faction of the state's [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] that stood in opposition to the faction led by two-time governor and senator [[Happy Chandler|A. B. "Happy" Chandler]].

After following his father into the local politics of [[Union County, Kentucky|his home county]], Clements agreed to chair the gubernatorial campaign of [[Thomas Rhea]] in 1935. Already committed to Rhea, he turned down an offer from Happy Chandler to chair his campaign, beginning the rift between the two men. Clements was elected to the [[Kentucky Senate]] in 1941. In 1944, he was elected floor leader of its Democratic majority and successfully campaigned for a larger budget than that proposed by [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] governor [[Simeon Willis]]. His stand against Willis made him popular in the Democratic Party, and he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1944 and 1946.

In 1947, Clements succeeded the term-limited Willis, defeating [[Harry Lee Waterfield]], Chandler's preferred candidate, in the Democratic [[Partisan primary|primary]]. As governor, Clements raised taxes and used the revenue to increase funding for the [[List of Kentucky state parks|state park system]] and construct and maintain more roads. He also achieved advancements in education, including some progress toward [[Desegregation in the United States|desegregation]]. In 1950, Clements was elected to the U.S. Senate. He resigned as governor to take the seat. While in the Senate, he served as [[Assistant party leaders of the United States Senate|Democratic party whip]] under [[Party leaders of the United States Senate|party leader]] [[Lyndon Johnson]] and as executive director of the [[Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee|Senate Democratic Reelection Committee]] from 1957 to 1959. He was defeated by [[Thruston Morton]] in his re-election bid in 1956; a lack of support from Chandler (then serving his second term as governor) contributed to Clements' defeat. At Johnson's insistence, Clements resumed chairing the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee in 1957 and 1959.

Clements had supported [[Bert T. Combs]] for governor against Chandler in the 1955 primary, and did so again against Waterfield in 1959, brokering a deal for Louisville lawyer [[Wilson Wyatt]] to drop his bid for governor and run for lieutenant governor on an unofficial ticket headed by Combs. Combs defeated Waterfield and rewarded Clements by appointing him state highway commissioner. In 1960, Clements and Combs split over a deal to lease [[dump truck]]s from a [[Louisville, Kentucky|Louisville]] car dealer. State newspapers charged that the deal was payback to the dealer, a Combs supporter. When Combs canceled the deal Clements took it as a public rebuke and soon after resigned to work on the presidential campaign of his friend, Lyndon Johnson. Following his split with Combs, Clements allied himself with the Chandler faction, opposing Wyatt in his bid to unseat Senator Thruston Morton. Clements' influence declined rapidly after the split with Combs, and by the 1963 gubernatorial race, he was unable to deliver his home county for Chandler in the primary against [[Edward T. Breathitt]], who was nominated. When Johnson became president as the result of the assassination of [[John F. Kennedy]] in November 1963, Clements' friendship with him made Clements a logical choice to lobby for the [[Tobacco Institute]], a coalition of cigarette manufacturers, who were increasingly having to play defense in Congress. After two years as a lobbyist for the institute, he was its president from 1966 to 1970, and remained on its payroll as a consultant until he died on March 12, 1985.

==Early life==
Earle C. Clements was born in [[Morganfield, Kentucky]], on October 22, 1896.<ref name=congbio>"Earle C. Clements" in ''Biographical Directory''</ref> He was the youngest of two sons and four daughters born to Aaron Waller and Sallie Anna (Tuley) Clements.<ref name=kygovs185>Syvertsen in ''Kentucky's Governors'', p. 185</ref> His father was a popular [[County Judge/Executive|county judge]] and sheriff in Union County, but Clements at first shunned a political career.<ref name=kygovs185 /> He obtained his early education in the public schools, and graduated from Morganfield High School in 1915.<ref name=congbio /><ref name=powell100>Powell, p. 100</ref> Later in 1915, he enrolled at the [[University of Kentucky]]'s College of Agriculture.<ref name=powell100 /> In 1915 and 1916, he played [[Center (American football)|center]] on the [[Kentucky Wildcats football|football team]], and was named to the "[[College Football All-Southern Team|All-Southern Team]]" in 1916.<ref name=powell100 /> He was also a member of the [[Pi Kappa Alpha]] fraternity.<ref name=pearce47>Pearce, p. 47</ref>

Clements' studies were interrupted by World War I.<ref name=harrison206>Harrison in ''The Kentucky Encyclopedia'', p. 206</ref> On July 9, 1917, he enlisted as a [[Private (rank)|private]] in Company M of the [[Kentucky National Guard]].<ref name=jillson377>Jillson, p. 377</ref> The company was ordered to [[Camp Taylor, Louisville|Camp Taylor]] near [[Louisville, Kentucky]], where they were mustered into the infantry of the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]].<ref name=jillson377 /> Clements first served as a guard at Camp Taylor and later entered the Officers Training School at [[Fort Benjamin Harrison]] near [[Indianapolis]], Indiana.<ref name=jillson377 /> He graduated with the rank of [[first lieutenant]] and remained stateside as a professor of military science.<ref name=kygovs185 /><ref name=jillson377 /> He served for a total of 28 months, attaining the rank of [[Captain (United States)|captain]], and was discharged on September 12, 1919.<ref name=jillson377 />

After the war, Clements worked as a rigger in the oil fields of east Texas.<ref name=kygovs185 /> In 1921, however, his father's health began to fail, and he returned to Kentucky to help him on the farm and served as his deputy sheriff.<ref name=kygovs185 /> As a hobby, he also coached [[American football|football]] at Morganfield High School, with some success.<ref name=harrison206 /> One of his assistant coaches, [[Rodes K. Myers]], would go on to be [[Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky|lieutenant governor]] under [[Keen Johnson]].<ref name=klotter330>Klotter, p. 330</ref> On January 18, 1927, Clements married Sara M. Blue.<ref name=powell100 /><ref name=harrison206 /> Their only child, [[Bess Abell|Elizabeth (Bess) Hughes Clements Abell]], was social secretary to [[Lady Bird Johnson]] in 1961-69 and [[Walter Mondale]] when he was vice president.<ref name=kygovs190>Syvertsen in ''Kentucky's Governors'', p. 190</ref>

==Political career==
In 1925, Clements' father died, and Clements was appointed to serve out the remainder of his term as sheriff.<ref>Union County Advocate, Feb. 26, 1925</ref> Kentucky sheriffs at that time could not seek re-election, and he was elected county clerk in 1925. He served two four-year terms in that office.<ref name=powell100 /> In 1933, he was elected [[County Judge/Executive|county judge]].<ref name=congbio /> During his two terms, which lasted until 1941, he supervised paving of 123 miles of road in the county — more than all the previous county judges combined — despite the financial hardships of the [[Great Depression]].<ref name=kygovs186>Syvertsen in ''Kentucky's Governors'', p. 186</ref>

[[File:Happy Chandler - Harris and Ewing Crop.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A black and white photo of a man in his forties wearing a suit|Happy Chandler led the anti-Clements faction of the Kentucky Democratic Party for decades]]
In 1935, [[Thomas Rhea]] of Russellville, a former state treasurer and highway commissioner, asked Clements to serve as his campaign chairman for the 1935 gubernatorial race.<ref name=kygovs186 /> Clements accepted, and consequently had to refuse a later request from his boyhood friend, [[Happy Chandler|A. B. "Happy" Chandler]], to fill the same position for his campaign.<ref name=kygovs186 /> Chandler won the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] [[Partisan primary|primary]], and for 25 years, Clements and Chandler led opposite factions of the Kentucky Democratic Party.<ref name=harrison206 /> Chandler claimed that Clements bolted the party and supported Republican candidate [[King Swope]] in the general election; Clements denied this, but admitted that he gave Chandler's campaign only minimal support.<ref name=pearce39>Pearce, p. 39</ref>

Clements was elected to the [[Kentucky Senate]] in 1941, representing Union, [[Webster County, Kentucky|Webster]], and [[Henderson County, Kentucky|Henderson]] counties.<ref name=powell100 /> By 1944, he had risen to the post of [[majority leader]] in that body and played a central role in writing the state's budget that year.<ref name=harrison206 /> Due to Clements' efforts, educational appropriations were increased far above what had been called for by Republican Gov. [[Simeon Willis]].<ref name=kygovs186 />

Clements' face-off with Willis made him popular and prominent, and helped him organize a campaign that forced the withdrawal of Rep. [[Beverly M. Vincent|B.M. Vincent]] of Brownsville from the 1944 Democratic primary for the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] representing [[Kentucky's 2nd congressional district|Kentucky's Second District]], making him the party nominee without opposition.<ref name=kygovs186 /> He defeated Republican Otis White of Morgantown and was re-elected in 1946.<ref name=congbio /> A [[New Deal]] Democrat, Clements voted to increase funding to the [[Rural Utilities Service|Rural Electrification Administration]] and advocated for the 1945 [[National School Lunch Act]].<ref name=kygovs186 /> He supported expansion of agricultural research and reorganization of the [[Farm Security Administration]].<ref name=kygovs186 /> He endorsed conservation and wildlife programs and additional funding to federal parks.<ref name=kygovs186 /> He supported civil rights legislation, such as bans on [[lynching]] and [[Poll tax (United States)|poll taxes]] and he did not sign the 1956 [[Southern Manifesto]] despite [[School segregation in the United States|school segregation]] being legally required in Kentucky prior to ''[[Brown v. Board of Education]]'' (1954).<ref name=kygovs186 /><ref>{{cite journal|title=Senate – March 12, 1956|journal=[[Congressional Record]]|volume=102|issue=4|publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|U.S. Government Printing Office]]|pages=4459–4461|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1956-pt4/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1956-pt4-3-1.pdf|access-date=April 12, 2023}}</ref> He opposed the 1947 [[Taft-Hartley Act]] and voted to disband the [[House Un-American Activities Committee]].<ref name=kygovs186 /><ref name=pearce48>Pearce, p. 48</ref> His service on the Select House Committee on Food Shortages gave him the chance to interact closely with [[President of the United States|President]] [[Harry S. Truman]].<ref name=kygovs186 />

===Governor===
Although encouraged to run for a seat in the Senate in 1946, Clements instead made the race for governor in 1947.<ref>Syvertsen in ''Kentucky's Governors'', pp. 186–187</ref> In the Democratic [[Partisan primary|primary]], he faced [[Harry Lee Waterfield]], a former Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives.<ref name=harrison206 /> Not known for his oratory or personality, Clements was a masterful campaign organizer.<ref name=klotter330 /> He secured the support of many Western Kentucky Democrats by allying himself with [[Logan County, Kentucky|Logan County]] [[political boss]] [[Emerson Beauchamp|Emerson "Doc" Beauchamp]], an ally of the recently deceased Rhea.<ref name=klotter330 /> He chose [[Lexington Herald-Leader]] editor Tom Underwood as his campaign manager, strengthening his influence in Central Kentucky.<ref name=klotter330 /> He befriended Judge [[Lawrence Wetherby]] of [[Jefferson County, Kentucky|Jefferson County]], which helped him with the urban vote and [[Carl D. Perkins]] of [[Knott County, Kentucky|Knott County]] which helped him in rural eastern Kentucky.<ref name=klotter330 />

During the primary campaign, two major issues surfaced. Waterfield favored a tax on [[parimutuel betting]], while Clements opposed it.<ref name=klotter330 /> Waterfield supported development of electric power through public utilities, while Clements favored private development (which won him the support of the [[Kentucky Utilities]] company).<ref name=klotter331>Klotter, p. 331</ref> The Clements campaign also attacked Waterfield for being deemed physically unfit for military service.<ref name=klotter331 /> Clements received a late boost when he gained the endorsement of [[John Y. Brown, Sr.]], garnering added support from [[organized labor]].<ref name=klotter331 /> Ultimately, Clements defeated Waterfield by over 30,000 votes.<ref name=harrison206 />

In the general election, Clements faced Republican [[Attorney General of Kentucky|state attorney general]] [[Eldon S. Dummit]].<ref name=harrison206 /> While Clements managed to keep the Democrats united following the primary, Dummit had fractured the Republicans by attacking the administration of Republican Gov. [[Simeon S. Willis]] and his preferred successor during the Republican primary.<ref name=klotter331 /> Dummit mounted a meager challenge by citing Clements' opposition to the Taft-Hartley Act that organized labor opposed, but this was not very effective.<ref name=klotter331 /> Dummit had replaced his campaign manager from the primary election, and when the ousted manager turned against him in the general election, it sounded the death knell for his campaign.<ref name=klotter331 /> Clements won the election by a vote of 387,795 (57%) to 287,756 (42%).<ref name=harrison206 /> He resigned his seat in the U.S. House to accept the governorship.<ref name=congbio />

As governor, Clements enjoyed a three-to-one Democratic majority in [[bicameral legislature|both houses]] of the [[Kentucky General Assembly|state legislature]].<ref name=nhok401>Harrison in ''A New History of Kentucky'', p. 401</ref> As a result of that, much of his proposed legislative agenda was passed.<ref name=klotter331 /> In the 1948 legislative session, the General Assembly attracted new businesses by lowering taxes on stocks and bonds and the [[inheritance tax]], but offset these cuts by approving Clements' proposals to increase taxes on gasoline and distilled spirits.<ref name=klotter331 /> Clements also reversed his campaign stance against a tax on [[parimutuel betting]], reportedly proposing a 3% tax because he feared a higher rate would be proposed if he did not take the initiative.<ref name=klotter332>Klotter, p. 332</ref> With this new revenue, Clements authorized $6&nbsp;million to improve and expand the [[List of Kentucky state parks|state park system]].<ref name=kygovs187>Syvertsen in ''Kentucky's Governors'', p. 187</ref> The improvement program included twelve large parks and several smaller ones, with [[Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park|Kentucky Dam Park]] being the centerpiece.<ref name=kygovs187 /> To oversee the developments, he appointed Paducah Sun Editor [[Henry Ward (Kentucky politician)|Henry Ward]] as commissioner of conservation.<ref name=pearce51 /> Between 1948 and 1950, New York was the only state that spent more than Kentucky on its park system.<ref name=harrison206 /> Clements was one of several people who have been referred to as the "father of Kentucky's state parks".<ref name=pearce51>Pearce, p. 51</ref> Although the park system was started in 1926 by [[Willard Rouse Jillson]], Clements did much to develop them during his administration.<ref name=pearce51 />

Clements authorized significant road building projects. During his administration, the state funded or built 3,800 miles of rural roads and 4,000 miles of primary roads.<ref name=kygovs187 /> Further, he initiated plans for the [[Interstate 65 in Kentucky#Kentucky Turnpike|Kentucky Turnpike]] and the [[Western Kentucky Parkway]].<ref name=kygovs187 /> The state also assumed maintenance of 6,000 miles of county roads under Clements.<ref name=kygovs187 /> During Clements' tenure, only Texas spent more money on developing its roads.<ref name=harrison206 /> Besides improving the roadways themselves, Clements replaced the Kentucky Highway Patrol, which had become a corrupt vehicle of political [[patronage]], with the [[Kentucky State Police]].<ref name=harrison206 /> Clements also used some of the revenue generated from his tax increases to raise the salaries of the state's public school teachers.<ref name=nhok401 /> He approved a 15% increase in funding to the Minimum Foundation Program which provided funding for poor school districts.<ref name=harrison206 />  This was not enough, however, to stave off a 1950 protest march on his office by teachers demanding that he raise another $10&nbsp;million for education.<ref name=kygovs189>Syvertsen in ''Kentucky's Governors'', p. 189</ref> Clements' lieutenant governor and successor, [[Lawrence Wetherby]], was able to meet this demand in 1951 by using increased tax revenue resulting from the [[Korean War]].<ref name=kygovs189 />

Leading national accreditation groups attempted to disaccredit many of Kentucky's public colleges during Clements' administration in order to end longstanding political interference in the higher education system.<ref name=kygovs188>Syvertsen in ''Kentucky's Governors'', p. 188</ref> Clements worked to help these colleges maintain their accreditation and to secure re-accreditation for [[Morehead State University|Morehead State Teachers College]].<ref name=kygovs188 /> In 1948, he weakened Kentucky's Day Law—which enforced segregation of the state's education system—by providing an exception for [[African-American|black]] medical personnel to take post-graduate courses in [[White people|white]] public hospitals.<ref name=nhok385>Harrison in ''A New History of Kentucky'', p. 385</ref> He also supported a 1948 bill that allowed blacks to pursue medical training at the [[University of Louisville]].<ref name=kygovs188 /> His efforts to secure a similar arrangement at the University of Kentucky were not successful, despite the governor's status as [[ex-officio]] chairman of the UK Board of Trustees.<ref name=kygovs188 /> In 1949, the [[United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky|federal district court in Lexington]] granted blacks admission to programs at UK if an equivalent program was not available at [[Kentucky State University|Kentucky State College]], the state's [[Historically black colleges and universities|historically black college]].<ref name=kygovs188 />

Clements also created or reorganized several government agencies. In cooperation with [[Governor of Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania governor]] [[James H. Duff]], he created the Ohio River Sanitation Commission (ORANSCO) to combat pollution in the [[Ohio River]] and its tributaries.<ref name=kygovs188 /> He curbed fraud in the insurance industry by reorganizing the state Insurance Commission and hiring a national prominent expert to rewrite the state's entire insurance code.<ref name=kygovs188 /> To assist the General Assembly in writing more effective and efficient legislation, Clements created the non-partisan [[Legislative Research Commission]], stocked with professionals from various disciplines, to conduct research and serve as legislative staff.<ref name=kygovs187 /> He created the Kentucky Agriculture and Industrial Board (the predecessor of the current Kentucky Department of Commerce), which attracted 250 new industries to the state and created 40,000 new jobs during its first three years.<ref name=kygovs187 /> He also created the Kentucky Building Commission to manage and plan all new state buildings.<ref name=kygovs187 /> Among the commission's first projects were a new $6&nbsp;million Capitol Annex and the construction of a new state fairgrounds in Louisville.<ref name=kygovs187 /> To retain the most qualified government employees, he supported a constitutional amendment that quadrupled the minimum annual salary for state employees from $5,000 to $20,000.<ref name=kygovs188 />

Although a strong governor with many successes, Clements was not able to enact his full legislative agenda. In 1948, his proposal to create a centralized board that governed all Kentucky colleges failed in the General Assembly.<ref name=klotter332 /> In both the 1948 and 1950 legislative sessions, Clements failed to convince the General Assembly to regulate strip mining.<ref name=kygovs189 /> He also failed in his attempts to establish statewide pension and civil service programs, and was unable to enact a [[merit system]] to give civil-service protection to state employees.<ref name=klotter335>Klotter, p. 335</ref> Attempts to fund a veterans' bonus passed the two houses of the General Assembly in different forms and were unable to be reconciled.<ref name=klotter335 />

===Senator===
[[File:AlbenBarkley.jpg|thumb|right|alt=A black and white photo of a man in his fifties wearing a suit|Alben Barkley]]
When [[Alben Barkley]] resigned his Senate seat to assume the office of vice president in 1949, Clements appointed Highway Commissioner [[Garrett L. Withers]] to fill the seat <ref name=powell100 /> until Clements could run for the next six-year term in 1950.<ref name=powell100 /> He won the election over Republican [[Charles I. Dawson]] by a vote of 300,276 (54%) to 256,876 (45%).<ref name=harrison206 /> On November 27, 1950, Withers resigned as senator, Clements resigned as governor, and Lt. Gov. [[Lawrence Wetherby]]  appointed Clements to fill the vacancy to allow him to gain seniority over other senators elected that month.<ref name=harrison206 />

The Democrats lost seats in the Senate in the 1950 election cycle, and [[Party leaders of the United States Senate|party leader]] [[Ernest McFarland]] removed [[Clinton Presba Anderson|Clinton Anderson]] as chairman of the [[Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee|Senate Democratic Reelection Committee]], replacing him with Clements for the 1952 election cycle.<ref name=kolodny83>Kolodny, p. 83</ref> Clements advocated better cooperation between his committee and the [[Democratic National Committee]] in 1952.<ref name=kolodny83 /> However, Republicans won the presidency and both houses of Congress in 1952, and the Democratic National Committee talked openly of disbanding the Reelection Committee.<ref name=kolodny83 /> Clements instead advised that his committee's responsibilities be expanded and that its activities become year-round rather than seasonal.<ref name=kolodny83 />

In 1953, Clements was appointed [[Assistant party leaders of the United States Senate|Democratic party whip]], serving under party leader [[Lyndon B. Johnson]].<ref name=harrison206 /> In addition, he retained his chairmanship of the Senate Democratic Reelection Committee for the 1954 election cycle.<ref name=kolodny83 /> He and Democratic National Committee chair [[Stephen A. Mitchell (Democratic activist)|Stephen Mitchell]] agreed that the two committees should conduct separate fund-raising operations in order to maximize donations for Democratic candidates.<ref name=kolodny84>Kolodny, p. 84</ref> Democrats regained control of the Senate in 1954, and Clements instituted the practice of having his committee provide transition services for freshman senators.<ref name=kolodny85>Kolodny, p. 85</ref> That practice continues today.<ref name=kolodny85 />

Clements remained active in state politics, leading a faction of the Democratic Party that opposed Happy Chandler, who had been less involved in politics when he was baseball commissioner from 1946 to 1951. When Chandler announced in 1955 that he would seek a second term,<ref name=nhok403>Harrison in ''A New History of Kentucky'', p. 403</ref> the Clements faction scrambled to find a candidate.<ref name=nhok403 /> The most likely choice was Wetherby's lieutenant governor, [[Emerson Beauchamp|Emerson "Doc" Beauchamp]], but his uninspiring persona and ties to [[political boss|boss]]-dominated [[Logan County, Kentucky|Logan County]] made him unacceptable to Clements.<ref name=nhok403 /> Instead, Clements threw his support to [[Bert T. Combs]], a [[Kentucky Court of Appeals|Court of Appeals]] judge nominated by Wetherby.<ref name=nhok403 /> Since Combs had little in the way of a political record to run against, Chandler focused his campaign attacks on factional leaders Clements and Wetherby, who he nicknamed "Clementine and Wetherbine".<ref name=nhok403 /> These attacks, combined with a poorly run campaign by Combs, allowed Chandler to win the Democratic primary by a margin of 18,000 votes.<ref name=nhok403 /> He went on to win the general election and a second gubernatorial term.<ref name=nhok403 />

=== 1956 re-election bid ===
Clements began his campaign for re-election in 1956 by defeating Joe Bates, the candidate favored by Chandler, in the Democratic primary.<ref name=pearce72>Pearce, p. 72</ref> On April 30, 1956, Barkley died of a heart attack, opening up the other seat.<ref name=nhok403 /> With filing for the Democratic primary already over, the Democratic State Central Committee was charged with selecting a candidate.<ref name=nhok403 /> They chose Wetherby. <ref name=nhok403 /> Journalist John Ed Pearce later recorded that Clements had favored Chandler's choice, Frankfort lawyer Joseph Leary, over Wetherby.<ref name=pearce73>Pearce, p. 73</ref> Clements thought Leary, one of the few political figures who remained on good terms with Clements and Chandler, didn't have a very good chance of winning, but his selection would keep Chandler from throwing his support to the Republican candidates.<ref name=pearce73 />

Republican president [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] convinced Ambassador to India [[John Sherman Cooper]], who had served two short Senate terms and was immensely popular in Kentucky, to be the Republican candidate for the seat of Barkley, who had defeated Cooper in 1954.<ref name=nhok404>Harrison in ''A New History of Kentucky'', p. 404</ref> In the Republican primary, voters chose [[Thruston Ballard Morton|Thruston B. Morton]] to challenge Clements.<ref name=nhok405>Harrison in ''A New History of Kentucky'', p. 405</ref> With two of his factional enemies as candidates for the Senate, Chandler bolted the party and supported the Republican candidates.<ref name=nhok404 /> Further complicating Clements' campaign was the fact that [[Party leaders of the United States Senate|Senate majority leader]] Lyndon Johnson suffered a heart attack in 1955, and Clements had to spend much of his time covering for Johnson.<ref name=nhok404 /> He devoted much time to Wetherby's campaign, since Democrats believed Clements would be re-elected easily while Wetherby faced much stiffer odds.<ref name=nhok404 /> And Clements had drawn opposition from doctors by voting, at Johnson's behest, to create a disability program in Social Security, an idea they saw as the start of "socialized medicine." These factors, combined with the landslide of support for Eisenhower, the Republican presidential candidate, contributed to the defeat of both Wetherby and Clements.<ref name=nhok405 /> Cooper defeated Wetherby by 65,365 votes, while Clements lost to Morton by a margin of 6,981 votes out of more than 1 million that were cast in the election.<ref name=nhok405 /> It was Clements' first defeat for elected office in a career that spanned thirty years.<ref name=nhok405 /> Johnson biographer Robert Caro blamed Clements' loss on the Social Security vote.<ref>Caro, pp. 680-82.</ref>

==Later life==
Clements never again sought an elected office after his defeat, though he remained active in state politics and continued to lead the anti-Chandler faction of his party.<ref name=nhok405 /> From 1957 to 1959, at the insistence of Lyndon Johnson, he served as executive director of the [[Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee|United States Senate Democratic Campaign Committee]] and helped engineer a gain of 15 seats by Democrats in 1958.<ref name=kygovs189 /> He considered running for governor again in 1959, but ultimately decided against it.<ref name=pearce78>Pearce, p. 78</ref> Without Clements in the race, the anti-Chandler faction was unable to unite behind either former candidate Bert T. Combs or former Louisville mayor [[Wilson Wyatt]].<ref name=nhok407>Harrison in ''A New History of Kentucky'', p. 407</ref> Clements united the faction behind Combs, making [[Wilson Wyatt]] their candidate for lieutenant governor and promising him support for later races.<ref name=nhok407 /> Combs defeated the Chandler candidate, [[Harry Lee Waterfield]], in the Democratic primary and went on to win the general election.<ref name=nhok407 />

In 1960, Combs appointed Clements as state highway commissioner.<ref name=congbio /> Some state newspapers charged that Clements had demanded this post at the head of the state's largest executive department in exchange for supporting Combs, a charge Combs denied.<ref name=pearce107>Pearce, p. 107</ref> Others wondered if Clements took the post in order to organize the state political machinery for his friend Johnson, who was planning to run for president.<ref name=pearce107 /> Still others believed that, from his powerful post, Clements would be the real governor and Combs only a puppet.<ref name=pearce107 /> In March 1960, news broke that the highway department was about to lease 34 used [[dump truck]]s at a very favorable price from Louisville [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] dealer Thurston Cooke, who had served as finance chairman for Combs' gubernatorial campaign.<ref name=nhok408>Harrison in ''A New History of Kentucky'', p. 408</ref><ref>Pearce, pp. 133, 135</ref> Some charged that this amounted to a political payoff by Clements.<ref>Harrison in ''A New History of Kentucky'', pp. 408–409</ref> Combs, already under fire for appointing Clements, canceled the lease bid on April 19.<ref name=pearce137>Pearce, p. 137</ref> Clements was offended by this action and considered it a public rebuke.<ref name=nhok409>Harrison in ''A New History of Kentucky'', p. 409</ref> The incident caused a rift between Combs and Clements that never fully healed, although Clements did not resign immediately.<ref name=pearce137 />

In August 1960, Clements met with Combs and told him he wanted to resign to work for Johnson's vice-presidential campaign.<ref name=pearce150>Pearce, p. 150</ref> Combs called a press conference and announced that Clements' resignation would be effective September 1 and that he would be replaced by Henry Ward.<ref name=pearce150 /> The resignation was the end of the Clements faction of the state Democratic Party.<ref name=pearce151>Pearce, p. 151</ref> His split with Combs was so severe that he allied with his longtime foe, Happy Chandler, against what became the Combs faction.<ref name=pearce152>Pearce, p. 152</ref> In the 1962 senatorial race, Clements opposed Wyatt's challenge to Morton.<ref name=nhok409 /> Morton won, ending Wyatt's political career.<ref name=nhok409 /> Chandler again sought the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 1963. Clements appeared on stage with Chandler at a rally where Chandler claimed that Combs had arranged the truck deal to discredit Clements.<ref name=pearce214>Pearce, p. 214</ref> Chandler hoped to damage Combs' reputation and, by extension, that of his hand-picked successor [[Edward T. Breathitt]].<ref name=pearce214 /> His strategy was unsuccessful; Breathitt won the primary and went on to win the general election. Clements' waning influence was evidenced by the fact that Breathitt carried Clements' home county of Union 2,528 to 1,913.<ref name=pearce215>Pearce, p. 215</ref>

From 1961 to 1963, Clements was a consultant for the American [[United States Merchant Marine|Merchant Marine]] Institute, a coalition of U.S. shipping companies.<ref name=congbio /> In early 1964 he became a lobbyist for several cigarette manufacturers and their [[Tobacco Institute]].<ref>"Former Senator Earle C. Clements Named Tobacco Institute President"</ref> After helping the companies head off more regulation by agreeing to a warning on cigarette packages, he became president of the Institute in 1966 and was instrumental in forging a 1969 agreement in which the companies agreed to stop television advertising in return for a stronger warning label instead of the additional regulation being demanded by health advocates. <ref>Michael Pertschuk, "The Giant Killers," W.W. Norton & Co., 1986</ref> He stepped down as president in 1970 but remained a consultant to the institute until his death. In a 1978 interview, he maintained that a connection with smoking and cancer had not been proven. <ref>The Courier-Journal, March 11, 1978</ref> In 1981, he retired to his hometown of Morganfield.<ref name=harrison206 /> After several years of illness, he died on March 12, 1985, and was buried at the Odd Fellows Cemetery in Morganfield.<ref name=congbio /><ref name=kygovs190 /> In 1980, the Breckinridge [[Job Corps]] Center in Morganfield was renamed the Earle C. Clements Job Corps Center.<ref>"About Us", Earle C. Clements Job Corps Center</ref>

==See also==
* {{portal-inline|Kentucky}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
*{{cite web |title=About Us |url=http://earlecclements.jobcorps.gov/about.aspx |publisher=Earle C. Clements Job Corps Center |date=April 1, 2009 |access-date=October 6, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091111195701/http://earlecclements.jobcorps.gov/about.aspx |archive-date=November 11, 2009  }}
{{CongBio|C000506}}
*{{cite press release |title=Former Senator Earle C. Clements Named Tobacco Institute President |publisher=Brown & Williamson |date=February 23, 1966 |format=PDF |url=http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/ctl21c00/pdf |access-date=October 5, 2009}}
*{{cite book |last=Caro |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Caro |title=[[Master of the Senate]] |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |location=New York City |year=2002 |isbn=0-394-52836-0}}
*{{cite book |last=Harrison |first=Lowell H. |author-link=Lowell H. Harrison |chapter=Clements, Earle Chester |editor=Kleber, John E. |others=Associate editors: [[Thomas D. Clark]], Lowell H. Harrison, and [[James C. Klotter]] |title=The Kentucky Encyclopedia |year=1992 |publisher=The University Press of Kentucky |location=Lexington, Kentucky |isbn=0-8131-1772-0}}
*{{cite book |last=Harrison |first=Lowell H. |author-link=Lowell H. Harrison |author2=James C. Klotter |author2-link=James C. Klotter |title=A New History of Kentucky |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |year=1997 |isbn=0-8131-2008-X |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=63GqvIN3l3wC |access-date=June 26, 2009}}
*{{cite journal |last=Jillson |first=Willard Rouse |author-link=Willard Rouse Jillson |title=Governor Earle C. Clements |journal=The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society |volume=46 |date=January 1948}}
*{{cite web |title=Kentucky Governor Earle Chester Clements |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_kentucky/col2-content/main-content-list/title_clements_earle.html |publisher=National Governors Association |access-date=April 3, 2012 |archive-date=May 21, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120521122414/http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_kentucky/col2-content/main-content-list/title_clements_earle.html |url-status=dead }}
*{{cite book |author-link=James C. Klotter |last=Klotter |first=James C. |title=Kentucky: Portraits in Paradox, 1900–1950 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |year=1996 |isbn=0-916968-24-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o58mJavC4msC |access-date=June 26, 2009}}
*{{cite book |last=Kolodny |first=Robin |title=Pursuing Majorities: Congressional Campaign Committees in American Politics |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-8061-3070-5}}
*{{cite book |last=Pearce |first=John Ed |title=Divide and Dissent: Kentucky Politics 1930–1963 |publisher=The University Press of Kentucky |location=Lexington, Kentucky |year=1987 |isbn=0-8131-1613-9}}
*{{cite book |last=Powell |first=Robert A. |title=Kentucky Governors |publisher=Bluegrass Printing Company |location=Danville, Kentucky |year=1976 |oclc=2690774}}
*{{cite book |last=Syvertsen |first=Thomas H. |chapter=Earle Chester Clements |title=Kentucky's Governors |editor=Lowell Hayes Harrison |publisher=The University Press of Kentucky |location=Lexington, Kentucky |year=2004 |isbn=0-8131-2326-7}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite journal |last=Luhr |first=Gary |author2=Thomas H. Syvertsen |title=The Governor Who Broke New Ground |journal=Rural Kentuckian |volume=37 |date=May 1983 |pages=8–12}}

==External links==
*{{webarchive |url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20011126065022/http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/johnson/archives.hom/oralhistory.hom/clements-e/clements.asp |title=Oral History Interviews with Earle Clements, from the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library |date=November 26, 2001}}

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{{Governors of Kentucky}}
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[[Category:1896 births]]
[[Category:1985 deaths]]
[[Category:American lobbyists]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky]]
[[Category:Democratic Party governors of Kentucky]]
[[Category:Democratic Party United States senators from Kentucky]]
[[Category:Kentucky sheriffs]]
[[Category:Democratic Party Kentucky state senators]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Kentucky]]
[[Category:People from Morganfield, Kentucky]]
[[Category:University of Kentucky alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century United States senators]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the Kentucky General Assembly]]
[[Category:Chairs of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee]]