Matthew M. Neely

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Matthew M. Neely

21^st Governor of West Virginia
In office 1941 – 1945
Preceded by	Homer A. Holt
Succeeded by	Clarence W. Meadows

Born	November 9, 1874 near Grove, Doddridge County, WV
Died	January 18, 1958 Washington, D.C.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Alberta Claire Ramage
Profession	Politician
Religion	Presbyterian

Matthew Mansfield Neely (November 9, 1874 – January 18, 1958) was a Democratic politician from West Virginia. He is the only West Virginian to serve in both houses of the United States Congress and as Governor. He is also the only person to have held a full term in both Senate seats from the state.

He was born in a rural area in Doddridge County, West Virginia on November 9, 1874. He attended Salem College of West Virginia (now Salem International University), but did not earn a degree. At the outbreak of the Spanish-American War he entered the United States Army as a private. Following the war, he earned a law degree from West Virginia University.

He entered the practice of law in Fairmont, West Virginia and was elected its mayor in 1908. He was elected as a Congressman to an unexpired term in 1913 and was re-elected through 1918. In the 1920 election, he was defeated, due to his association with the policies of Woodrow Wilson.

He then ran for, and was elected to, the United States Senate in 1922 as a Democrat. He was defeated for re-election in 1928. He then ran for the state's other Senate seat in 1930 and was elected. He was re-elected in 1936. In 1940 he ran for governor and resigned the remaining two years of his Senate term.

He soon regretted his decision and strongly considered resigning to run for his old Senate seat in 1942. In later life he expressed strong regret for his term as governor. Upon the expiration of his term as governor in 1944, he ran for and was elected to his old House seat. He was, however defeated for re-election in 1946.

In 1948 he was again elected to the Senate, beginning his third non-consecutive term there. He continued to serve until his death in 1958.

He was a New Deal Democrat and advocate for organized labor and civil rights. During his terms in the Senate in the 1930's he sponsored "anti-lynching" legislation, but such legislation never passed. When he returned to the Senate after a term as governor and another term in the House of representatives, he had lost his seniority, although he had many friends among the senior senators. He was assigned the Chairmanship of the U.S. Senate Committee on the District of Columbia, where he became the preeminent proponent of "home rule" for the District, effectively urging that the government of the District of Columbia be turned over to its majority of African-American citizens. He died in 1958, several years before the home rule he had sponsored finally passed both houses of Congress.

Neely was known through his political career as a master orator. In his honor, Fairmont State University sponsors an oratory contest in his name every year.

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Preceded by John W. Davis	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from West Virginia's 1st congressional district 1913–1921	Succeeded by Benjamin L. Rosenbloom
Preceded by Howard Sutherland	United States Senator (Class 1) from West Virginia 1923–1929	Succeeded by Henry D. Hatfield
Preceded by Guy D. Goff	United States Senator (Class 2) from West Virginia 1931–1941	Succeeded by Joseph Rosier
Preceded by Homer A. Holt	Governor of West Virginia 1941–1945	Succeeded by Clarence W. Meadows
Preceded by A. C. Schiffler	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from West Virginia's 1st congressional district 1945–1947	Succeeded by Francis J. Love
Preceded by W. Chapman Revercomb	United States Senator (Class 2) from West Virginia 1949–1958	Succeeded by John D. Hoblitzell, Jr.