Herschel C. Loveless

Who was Herschel C. Loveless?

Herschel Cellel Loveless was the 34th Governor of Iowa, from 1957 to 1961. He was also mayor of Ottumwa, Iowa. He was born in 1911 in Hedrick, Iowa and died in 1989 in Winchester, Virginia.

When elected governor in 1956, Loveless was only the fourth Democrat to win Iowa's gubernatorial seat since the Civil War. His ties to Iowa's growing labor movement and the state's urbanization helped to secure his victories in 1956 and 1958. During his years as governor, Loveless focused on issues such as flood control, mental health, and social services. He also promoted reapportionment to help redress the imbalance in rural-versus-urban representation in the state legislature. Loveless helped to align Iowa's Democratic Party more closely with its national counterpart.