MovieChat Forums > The Farmer's Daughter (1947) Discussion > How can they both be in Congress?

How can they both be in Congress?

posted 16 years ago by dawh1
6 replies | jump to latest

WARNING. THIS IS A SPOILER.

At the beginning of the movie, Glenn has just been elected to Congress. A little farther along in the movie another congressman dies in office. So Katie runs for, and gets elected to, his unexpired term. But that seat has to represent a different district from the one Glenn represents. There can't be two representatives from the same congressional district, and a husband and wife can't represent two different congressional districts unless they are separated and actually live in two different districts.

[–] brackenhe 16 years ago

That is somewhat of a sticky point in the film, but I just assumed that Katrin is running for the seat from her home district which is not all that far from Capitol City. And they weren't married at that point because he retrieves her from the farm the night before the election and that's when they confirm their love for each other. The story ends with them returning to Washington shortly afterward, after they've gotten married.

[–] mikeoak840 14 years ago

Maybe she ran from her home district, in the country, instead of the larger city where she was working as a maid.

[–] Adam_P_L 13 years ago

No, she's not running from her home district. She's running for the 13th district in opposition to Finley, who's the candidate for the Morleys' party.

I can't remember if it's explained in any way, but since Glenn Morley (Joseph Cotten) is already a congressman and he's initially supporting Finley's run, he has to be a congressman from a different district than the 13th.

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[–] dvbar1 12 years ago

Cotten is a Senator.

[–] alistla 12 years ago

Cotten is not a senator, he is consistently referred to throughout as a congressman. Loretta young's character ran for Congress in a different district than the one Cotten represents. (Otherwise, they would have run against each other.)

The OP raises an interesting question. Technically, a representative must maintain his or her legal residence in the district. A husband and wife would naturally live together, but they can't simultaneously declare legal residence in two different districts. This would not affect the election occurring in the movie, as they are not married at the time of the election and Loretta Young says early on that she was not registered to vote in the district where Cotten lived (presumably maintaining her legal residence at her family's farm).

It will, however, impact their reelection, so they would have to decide in the next two years which district to declare their residence in, in which case one of them would have to forgo running for reelection. Unless one of them were to run for the Senate or some other statewide office.

I also wonder whether Cotten indeed switched parties as he threatened to, or if he stayed in his original party after Ethel Barrymore turned against Finney. In that case, they would be members of different parties, which might make things a little awkward.

[–] blondee661 11 years ago

Cotten is not a senator, he is consistently referred to throughout as a congressman. Loretta young's character ran for Congress in a different district than the one Cotten represents. (Otherwise, they would have run against each other.)

Like they mentioned throughout the movie Cotten is refered as a congressman, I think we we're supposed to assume that Young's character ran for Congress in a different district, the one that Johnson originally represented, yet wasn't a resident of, since she told him she couldn't vote for him at the party, which I feel is another plot hole of some sort, unless Johnson was a senator.