Vito Marcantonio - Congressional Career

Congressional Career

Marcantonio was first elected to the United States House of Representatives from New York in 1934 as a Republican. He served in the House from 1935 until 1937, after being defeated for reelection in 1936. In either 1937 or 1938 Marcantonio became a member of the American Labor Party. He was elected to the House again from New York in 1938, and served this time for six terms, from 1939 to 1951 being reelected in the elections of 1940, 1942, 1944, 1946, and 1948. In 1949 he ran for mayor of New York City on the American Labor Party ticket, but was defeated. In 1950 he was defeated by Democrat James Donovan, after a particularly vociferous campaign against him because of his refusal to vote for American participation in the Korean War. Donovan had the broad-based popular support of the Democratic, Republican, and Liberal Parties in that election. The passage of the Wilson Pakula Act in 1947 also played some part in his defeat. The law prevented candidates from running in the primaries of parties with which they were not affiliated. It was widely perceived as being directed against Marcantonio.