Abstract
In 1950, Senator Claude D. Pepper and Representative George A. Smathers faced off in the Florida Democratic Primary for U.S. Senate in a battle that is deemed as one of the dirtiest campaigns in U.S. History, and for the first time in Florida history, resulted in the defeat of the incumbent. White Floridians supported and upheld the Southern traditions of Jim Crow racial discrimination and segregation. Meanwhile, the United States was adjusting to its role as a world power in the postwar era, attempting to introduce civil rights reform, and began formulating policies and strategies to deal with the perceived threats posed by the Soviet Union where both sides were capable of conducting war with nuclear weapons. This paper examines the background of each candidate, their upbringing, circumstances, environment, education, and life experiences as to how these influences contributed to the formation of each candidate's character and political philosophy. Further, how their character and political philosophies, combined, with the important issues and events of the postwar and early Cold War era (1945-1950), to influence their decision making and the conduct of their individual campaigns during the primary, thus contributing to Smathers's victory and Pepper's defeat in 1950.