John McCuish

John Berridge McCuish (born June 22, 1906 in Leadville , Colorado , † March 12, 1962 in Newton , Kansas ) was an American politician . He served as the 34th governor of the state of Kansas for a few days in 1957 .

Early years and political career

McCuish attended the Kemper Military School in Missouri and Washburn University , where he graduated in 1925. He decided to pursue a career in journalism. In the course of time he became the owner and editor of several newspapers, including the "Harvey County News", which he owned for 25 years. During the Second World War he served in the US Army and then worked for the American Red Cross in Germany.

McCuish was a member of the Republican Party . In both 1936 and 1948 he attended the Republican National Conventions as a delegate . In 1948 he was the Republican Treasurer of Kansas. Between 1939 and 1943 he was chairman of the state tax committee. In 1954 he was appointed lieutenant governor (Lieutenant Governor) elected by Kansas. So he was Deputy Governor Fred Hall .

1956 gubernatorial election

In the Republican primaries for the 1956 gubernatorial election, Governor Fred Hall was defeated by Warren Shaw. But this lost the actual election of that year against the Democrat George Docking . At the time, Kansas Chief Justice Bill Smith was seriously ill and was considering resigning. Smith was a supporter and friend of Governor Hall and worried that the newly elected Governor Docking might appoint a Democrat as the new Chief Justice after his resignation. Now Governor Hall and his deputy McCuish devised a plan to prevent this. Following the plan, Smith resigned from the Chief Justice on December 31, 1956. He was followed on January 3, 1957 by Governor Hall with his resignation, which took place just eleven days before the end of his term of office. Under the Constitution, McCuish became Governor of Kansas for the remaining eleven days ending January 14, 1957. His first and only official act was the appointment of his predecessor Hall as the new Chief Justice. This approach was legally and politically correct, but it had a negative aftertaste. Many critics condemned this practice as immoral and unethical.

Another résumé

After the end of his brief tenure, McCuish returned to his newspapers. He died of a stroke in 1962 and was buried in Newton, Kansas.

Web links

• John McCuish in the National Governors Association (English)
• Biography at the Kansas Historical Society (English)
• John McCuish in the database of Find a Grave (English)