Jesus Gonzales, Jr. ran for the 11^th senate district in Michigan in 1950. He garnered 126 votes: 10 in Lapeer County, 97 in Macomb County, and 19 in St. Clair County.

What makes this early candidacy so intriguing is that Gonzales ran as one of only three candidates in the state who were part of the Progressive Party.

The third party ran Henry Wallace for president two years earlier, in 1948, at which time it organized Amigos de Wallace as way of reaching into the Latino community.

The author is seeking information on Jesus Gonzales, Jr., his 1950 legislative campaign, and the Progressive Party outreach to Latinos in the Midwest.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt arranged for the Democratic National Convention to nominate Henry A. Wallace as his vice presidential runningmate in 1940. Wallace was an Iowa farmer who had served two terms as FDR’s Secretary of Agriculture

The campaign released a Roosevelt-Wallace button that featured an ear of corn. Corn was Iowa’s principle crop, and the Democrats were courting family farmers who were then trending back to their Republican roots.

In 1940, the state had a small Latino community. Mexican American had come to Iowa not to pick crops, but to work on the railroad.

Latinos in Iowa in early 1900s

The people of Iowa did tip their hat to their Mexican neighbors during this era when the federal government actively promoted a Good Neighbor policy towards Latin America.

The U.S Post Office in Ames, Iowa boasted a Works Project Administration (WPA)- commissioned mural, “Evolution of Corn,” which linked the Aztecs and Iowa farmers.

Four decades later, in 1974, the state established Iowa Commission of Latino Affairs, from which this historic photo was used.