Service in The Legislature and Military
After becoming admitted to the bar in 1893 and beginning to serve as a lawyer in Centerville, Iowa, he was elected in 1895, at age twenty-three, to the Iowa House of Representatives as a "fusion candidate" with Democratic Party and Populist Party support. The youngest member of the House, Porter served two terms (from 1896 to 1900).
In 1898, while a state representative, he served in the U.S. Army with the 51st Iowa Volunteers during the Spanish-American War and early stages of the Philippine–American War. While in the service, he also ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. House in Iowa's 8th congressional district, and for Iowa Secretary of State. In 1899 he married Maude Boutin, and was elected to the Iowa State Senate, where he served from 1900 to 1904. In 1900, 1902, 1904, and 1906, he refused requests to run again for Congress in the 8th district, concluding each time that incumbent Republican Congressman William P. Hepburn could not be defeated.
Read more about this topic: Claude R. Porter
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