Burton Erwin Sweet (December 10, 1867 – January 3, 1957) was a four-term Republican U.S. Representative from Iowa's 3rd congressional district, then a wide but short chain of counties in north-central and northeastern Iowa, in the shape of a monkey wrench.
In 1908, Sweet was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for the seat vacated by Congressman Birdsall. He was defeated by Charles E. Pickett,[2] who won the general election and was re-elected to a second term in 1910.
In 1914, Sweet was elected as a Republican to represent Iowa's 3rd congressional district in the Sixty-fourth Congress, replacing incumbent Democratic Congressman Maurice Connolly (who had run for the U.S. Senate).[3] He was re-elected three consecutive times. In 1922, an opportunity to run for the U.S. Senate arose because Iowa Senator William S. Kenyon resigned before the completion of his term to accept an appointment as federal judge, thus forcing a special election. Instead of running for a fifth term in the House, Sweet ran for Kenyon's former seat. In a six-way Republican primary, Sweet lost to insurgent Smith W. Brookhart.[4] In all, Sweet served in the House from March 4, 1915, to March 3, 1923.
Sweet resumed the practice of law. Two years later, however, Sweet had another opportunity to run for the same Senate seat, and by then Brookhart had lost the support of Iowa Republican Party leaders because of his anti-business, pro-union stances, and this time Sweet was Brookhart's only serious challenger in the Republican Primary. However, Brookhart won the Primary again, defeating Sweet again, this time by over 30,000 votes.[5]
Sweet died in Waverly, Iowa, on January 3, 1957. He was interred in Harlington Cemetery.
References
^"Birdsall Winner,' Waterloo Daily Reporter, 1902-09-25 at p.1.
^"C.E. Pickett is Nominated," Waterloo Daily Courier, 1908-02-03 at p.1.
^"Republicans Elect Entire Ia. Ticket by Big Majority," The Des Moines News, 1914-11-04 at p. 1.
^"Brookhart Given 41.1 Percent on All Primary Ballots," Waterloo Evening Courier, 1922-06-07 at 1.
^"Brookhart wins by 32,000; no choice for governor," Davenport Democrat-Leader, 1924-06-04 at p. 1.