The Wheeler for Senate Club was formed to re-nominate U.S. Senator Burton K. Wheeler in the 1946 Montana Democratic primary. R. Bailey Stortz, a member of Wheeler's Washington, D.C. staff, became secretary-treasurer for the club, and Sam E. Winn was president. The club was headquartered in Helena, Montana. Wheeler, who had first been elected by Montanans in 1922, and who was one of the most powerful senators in Washington D.C. in the 1930s, was defeated in the 1946 primary by Leif Erickson. Erickson was subsequently defeated in the general election by Republican candidate Zales Ecton.
The collection contains materials produced and collected by the Wheeler for Senate Club. Materials they collected were about and by the Senator and include his voting record, speeches, and newspaper clippings; they used these to establish the case for his re-election. Materials produced by the Club include correspondence, campaign materials, and financial records.
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and The University of Montana-Missoula.
Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes. Copyright not transferred to The University of Montana.
[Name of document or photograph number], Wheeler for Senate Club Records, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana-Missoula.
Date and source of acqusition unknown.
The original processors arranged and described the collection as the R. Bailey Stortz Papers, LC 109, and produced a finding aid. In 2004, the collection was re-named the Wheeler for Senate Club Records, re-numbered Mss 109, and the finding aid was revised and encoded.
Burton K.Wheeler's papers are held by Merrill G. Burlingame Special Collections, Montana State University Libraries.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.