Thomas Henry McLemore explained

Thomas Henry McLemore
State House:Oklahoma
District:Beckham County, Oklahoma
Term Start:1914
Term End:1916
Death Date:June 28, 1947
Death Place:Beckham County, USA
Party:Socialist (1914-1918)
Farmer-Labor Party (1924)
Democratic Party (1928-1930, 1934-1938)
Independent (1932)
Resting Place:Fairlawn Cemetery
Elk City, Oklahoma

Thomas Henry McLemore was an American politician who served as a Socialist member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives representing Beckham County between 1914 and 1916. He was one of the first third party candidates elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives alongside fellow Socialist Party Representatives David C. Kirkpatrick, N. D. Pritchett, Charles Henry Ingham, and Sydney W. Hill.

Political career

McLemore was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives as a Socialist in 1914.[1] After McLemore lost re-election in 1916, he was the Socialist nominee for president of the Oklahoma Board of Agriculture in 1918. He later joined the Farmer-Labor Party and was their nominee for a Oklahoma Senate district in 1924, before registering as a Democrat in 1928. After switching to the Democratic Party, he ran for his old legislative seat in 1928, 1930, 1934, and 1938. He also ran an unsuccessful race for Congress in 1932 as an independent.[2]

Later years and death

McLemore later wrote a book on the Great Depression. He died in Beckham County on June 28, 1947, and is buried in Fairlawn Cemetery in Elk City.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Humphreys . George G. . A Century to Remember: A Historical Perspective on the Oklahoma House of Representatives . okhouse.gov . . 18 December 2022.
  2. Creel . Von Russell . Oklahoma Socialism . The Chronicles of Oklahoma . Fall 1992 . 70 . 3 . 295 . 17 February 2023.