Stephen Marvin Young (May 4, 1889December 1, 1984) was an American lawyer, World War I veteran, journalist and politician from the U.S. state of Ohio. A member

of the Democratic Party, he served two terms as a United States senator from Ohio from 1959 until 1971. In 1930, he ran for the Democratic nomination for governor of Ohio but lost in the Democratic primary to former Representative George White, who went on to win the governorship. On one occasion, he wrote, "Dear Sir: It appears to me that you have been grossly misinformed, or are exceedingly stupid. Which is it?" On another, he received a hostile letter that ended with the constituent's phone number and the message, "I would welcome the opportunity to have intercourse with you." Young wrote back, "you sir, can have intercourse with yourself."

Young was very narrowly re-elected in 1964, defeating the Republican nominee, then-Representative Robert Taft Jr., who was the son of conservative icon Senator Robert A. Taft from Ohio and the grandson of William Howard Taft. He decided not to run for re-election to the Senate in 1970. In the 1970 U.S. Senate primary, Howard Metzenbaum was selected to replace Young, but Metzenbaum lost the general election to Taft, who was again the Republican nominee. In 1976, Metzenbaum won Young's Senate seat back from Taft and held it for the Democratic Party until his retirement in 1995.

Young stood as a favorite son in the 1968 Ohio presidential primary. He did not enter any other primaries or stand as a candidate in his own right; he ultimately endorsed Hubert Humphrey.

Home and death

Young lived in Washington, D.C., until his death on December 1, 1984. He was buried in Norwalk Cemetery, Norwalk, Ohio.

References

  • Stephen Young, Former Senator From Ohio, Dies
  • Official Congressional Directory: 91st Congress, Second Session (1970)