Albert B. Cummins

Who was Albert B. Cummins?

Albert Baird Cummins was the 18th Governor of Iowa, U.S. Senator and two-time presidential candidate. Cummins was perhaps the most influential leader in Iowa politics in the first quarter of the 20th century. However, for many years he was a polarizing figure, leading the Iowa Republican Party's progressive wing to power at the expense of its "old guard" of more conservative "standpatters" who had controlled the party almost since its inception. Shortly before his death, Cummins was defeated by an even more progressive adversary within his own party.