Vincent F. Harrington - 1941 Events Complicating 1942 Re-election Chances

1941 Events Complicating 1942 Re-election Chances

Iowa lost one of its nine congressional seats following the 1940 census, requiring the Republican-controlled 1941 Iowa General Assembly to divide the state into eight congressional districts. The old 9th congressional district, minus one county, became the new 8th congressional district. The exception was Monona County, which Harrington had carried in 1940 by a thousand-vote margin. When Monona County was placed in the reconfigured 7th congressional district, it was considered a blow to Harrington's chances for re-election in 1942.

In the months before the United States' entry into World War II, Harrington declined to support President Roosevelt's departures from a policy of strict neutrality. In the fall of 1941, Harrington voted against additional funding for the Lend-Lease program, the repeal of the arms embargo, and the repeal of the ban on arming merchant ships. At the time, his support for strict neutrality and split with Roosevelt, whose popularity in Iowa had declined after 1936, likely matched the views of many of his constituents. However, after the Pearl Harbor attack, congressmen with such a voting record would have difficulty keeping their seats.