Rush D. Holt Sr.
| Rush D. Holt Sr. | |
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United States Senator from West Virginia |
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In office June 21, 1935 – January 3, 1941 |
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| Preceded by | Henry D. Hatfield |
| Succeeded by | Harley M. Kilgore |
| Member of the West Virginia House of Delegates | |
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In office 1931–1935 1942–1950 1954–1955 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
Rush Dew Holt June 19, 1905 Weston, West Virginia |
| Died | February 8, 1955 (aged 49) Bethesda, Maryland |
| Political party |
Democratic (until 1949) Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Helen F. Holt |
| Profession | Teacher |
Rush Dew Holt Sr. (June 19, 1905 – February 8, 1955) was an American politician who was a United States Senator from West Virginia (1935–1941) and a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates (1931–1935, 1942–1950, 1954–1955).
Holt was born in Weston, Lewis County, West Virginia, on June 19, 1905. His parents were Chilela (née Dew) and Dr. Matthew Samuel Holt, a small-town physician and horse trader. Matthew Holt was an atheist, who shifted his political support from the Republican Party to William Jennings Bryan in the 1890s, and then to Socialist candidate Eugene Debs; Matthew Holt attended the Socialist Party's 1917 convention, where he participated in condemning American involvement in World War I.
Rush Holt attended the public schools and West Virginia University at Morgantown; he graduated from Salem College in 1924. He became a high school teacher and athletic coach, then an instructor at Salem College.
Holt was elected as a Democrat to the West Virginia House of Delegates, serving from 1931 to 1935. In this office, he was described as "a champion of the common man and a critic of privately owned utility corporations."
In November 1934, at 29, he was elected to the United States Senate, but because a Senator is constitutionally required to be at least 30 years old, he could not take his seat until after his 30th birthday in June 1935. Holt was the youngest person ever popularly elected to the U.S. Senate.
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