Daniel F. Steck
| Daniel Frederic Steck | |
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United States Senator from Iowa |
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In office April 12, 1926 – March 3, 1931 |
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| Preceded by | Smith W. Brookhart |
| Succeeded by | Lester J. Dickinson |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
December 16, 1881 Ottumwa, Iowa |
| Died | December 31, 1950 (aged 69) Ottumwa, Iowa |
| Political party | Democratic |
Daniel Frederic Steck (December 16, 1881 – December 31, 1950), was the only Iowa Democrat in the United States Senate between the American Civil War and the Great Depression. He was sworn in as Senator only after an extraordinary election challenge, in which his apparent defeat at the polls by a Progressive Party ally running as a Republican was reversed by a Republican-controlled U.S. Senate over seventeen months later.
Steck was born in Ottumwa, Iowa, in Wapello County. He attended Ottumwa schools. He graduated from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1906, was admitted to the bar the same year, and commenced private practice in Ottumwa. He served as Wapello County Attorney for four years. During the First World War, he served in France as a captain of the Company C outpost signal company of the Iowa National Guard's Third Infantry, then resumed the practice of law in Ottumwa.
He was married to Lucile Oehler of Iowa City, Iowa. They had no children.
Upon the formation of the American Legion by World War I veterans in 1919, Steck was elected to several leadership roles, including a term as commander of the Iowa chapter, and positions on national Legion committees. At the Legion's 1923 National Convention, Steck led efforts to condemn the Ku Klux Klan, which was approaching the height of its national influence. The Convention adopted a resolution that did not mention the Klan by name but that condemned organizations fostering racial, religious, or class strife.
In 1924, Steck won the Democratic nomination to run against incumbent Senator Smith W. Brookhart, who had been elected just two years earlier in a special election. Brookhart had run as a Republican and won the Republican nomination, but angered many within his party by crusading against business interests, demanding the withdrawal of Charles Dawes, President Coolidge's running mate, and by endorsing Progressive Party presidential candidate Robert M. La Follette Sr.. By the middle of October 1924, the editorial pages of all but one of the state's major Republican daily newspapers had encouraged Republicans to vote for Steck over Brookhart. The day after the election, newspapers reported that Steck had won. However, two days after the election, late returns from rural districts appeared to give Brookhart a tiny lead. Because Steck appeared to have lost the race for by a small margin, with Brookhart getting 447,594 votes to Steck's 446,840, Brookhart initially retained his seat, and was sworn in on March 4, 1925.
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