Changes

Following the death of sitting congressman Royal H. Weller, Gavagan ran for the open seat in 1929 and soundly won, defeating Republican opponent Hubert T. Delaney.<ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=212853 NY District 21 Special Race - Nov 05, 1929]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved May 19, 2023.</ref> He was subsequently reelected seven times.<ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=80771 Candidate - Joseph A. Gavagan]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved May 19, 2023.</ref> Gavagan's House tenure was marked with a sharp [[liberal]] record,<ref>[https://voteview.com/person/3509/joseph-andrew-gavagan GAVAGAN, Joseph Andrew (1892-1968)]. ''Voteview''. Retrieved May 19, 2023.</ref> and was endorsed for reelection in the 1938 midterms by the American Labor Party.<ref name=purge>September 18, 1938. [https://www.nytimes.com/1938/09/18/archives/purge-plan-defended-gavagan-backs-president-in-talks-before-labor.html PURGE' PLAN DEFENDED; Gavagan Backs President in Talks Before Labor Groups]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved May 19, 2023.</ref>

Following the death of sitting congressman Royal H. Weller, Gavagan ran for the open seat in 1929 and soundly won, defeating Republican opponent Hubert T. Delaney.<ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=212853 NY District 21 Special Race - Nov 05, 1929]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved May 19, 2023.</ref> He was subsequently reelected seven times.<ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=80771 Candidate - Joseph A. Gavagan]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved May 19, 2023.</ref> Gavagan's House tenure was marked with a sharp [[liberal]] record,<ref>[https://voteview.com/person/3509/joseph-andrew-gavagan GAVAGAN, Joseph Andrew (1892-1968)]. ''Voteview''. Retrieved May 19, 2023.</ref> and was endorsed for reelection in the 1938 midterms by the American Labor Party.<ref name=purge>September 18, 1938. [https://www.nytimes.com/1938/09/18/archives/purge-plan-defended-gavagan-backs-president-in-talks-before-labor.html PURGE' PLAN DEFENDED; Gavagan Backs President in Talks Before Labor Groups]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved May 19, 2023.</ref>

Rep. Gavagan was noted by ''[[The New York Times]]'' as a defender of President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]'s "purge" campaign against intraparty centrists-to-conservatives who particularly opposed his [[court packing]] scheme.<ref name=purge/> The Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937, seeking to expand the number of seats on the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] for the appointment of additional pro–New Deal justices, was highly unpopular in Washington and among the American people.<ref>Zelizer, Julian E. (October 15, 2018). [https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/15/opinion/supreme-court-packing-democrats-.html Packing the Supreme Court Is a Terrible Idea]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved May 19, 2023.</ref> The vast majority of Roosevelt's "purge" list were reelected, and the Democratic Party's majority shrank in the midterms.

Rep. Gavagan was noted by ''[[The New York Times]]'' on September 18, 1938, as a defender of President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]'s "purge" campaign against intraparty centrists-to-conservatives who particularly opposed his [[court packing]] scheme.<ref name=purge/> The Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937, seeking to expand the number of seats on the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] for the appointment of additional pro–New Deal justices, was highly unpopular in Washington and among the American people.<ref>Zelizer, Julian E. (October 15, 2018). [https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/15/opinion/supreme-court-packing-democrats-.html Packing the Supreme Court Is a Terrible Idea]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved May 19, 2023.</ref> The vast majority of Roosevelt's "purge" list were reelected, and the Democratic Party's majority shrank in the midterms.

In early September 1937, Gavagan's two year-old daughter Rosemary died from burns after overturning a boiling kettle in his summer home at Ludlow, New York.<ref>September 9, 1937. [https://www.nytimes.com/1937/09/09/archives/gavagan-baby-loses-life-daughter-of-representative-overturns-a.html GAVAGAN BABY LOSES LIFE; Daughter of Representative Overturns a Boiling Kettle]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved May 19, 2023.</ref>

In early September 1937, Gavagan's two year-old daughter Rosemary died from burns after overturning a boiling kettle in his summer home at Ludlow, New York.<ref>September 9, 1937. [https://www.nytimes.com/1937/09/09/archives/gavagan-baby-loses-life-daughter-of-representative-overturns-a.html GAVAGAN BABY LOSES LIFE; Daughter of Representative Overturns a Boiling Kettle]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved May 19, 2023.</ref>