{{Short description|American politician}} {{Other people|James Conner}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = James Perry Conner | image = James P. Conner (Iowa Congressman).jpg | caption = From Volume II (1911) of ''History of Crawford County, Iowa'' | state = Iowa | district = 10th | term_start = December 4, 1900 | term_end = March 3, 1909 | predecessor = Jonathan P. Dolliver | successor = Frank P. Woods | birth_date = {{birth date|1851|1|27}} | birth_place = Delaware County, Indiana, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1924|3|19|1851|1|27}} | death_place = Denison, Iowa, U.S. | party = Republican }} '''James Perry Conner''' (January 27, 1851 – March 19, 1924) was a Republican U.S. Representative from Iowa's 10th congressional district from 1900 to 1909.

==Background== Born in Delaware County, Indiana, Conner attended the Upper Iowa University in Fayette, Iowa, and graduated from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1873. He was admitted to the bar and practiced in Denison, Iowa. He served as district attorney of the thirteenth judicial district of Iowa from 1880 to 1884. He was elected as a circuit judge of the thirteenth judicial district in 1884, and as a district judge of the sixteenth judicial district in 1886, serving over eight years on the bench.<ref name=bio>"Hon J.P. Connor," Daily Iowa Capital," 1900-09-26 at p.4.</ref> He served as delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1892.

==Congress== Connor was a former law partner and political ally of Iowa Governor Leslie M. Shaw.<ref name=bio/> When U.S. Senator John H. Gear died in July 1900, Shaw was responsible for making an interim appointment to fill the seat. Connor was one of many Republicans who hoped Shaw would choose them to fill the vacancy,<ref>"Connor Being Urged," Waterloo Daily Courier, 1900-08-08 at p.1.</ref> but Shaw instead chose Connor's congressman, Jonathan P. Dolliver, thus creating a new vacancy in the U.S. House. Dolliver's House seat (in Iowa's 10th congressional district) was filled by a direct election between candidates chosen by district conventions.<ref>"Dolliver Appointed," Waterloo Daily Courier, 1900-08-23 at p.1.</ref> On the 96th ballot, Conner received the Republican nomination over a crowded field,<ref>"Dolliver's Successor," Waterloo Daily Courier, 1900-09-27 at p.1.</ref> and was elected in the general election.<ref>"Iowa Beats its Record: Iowa Congressmen," Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette, 1900-11-08 at p.1.</ref> After serving in the Fifty-sixth Congress, he was reelected two years later (in 1902) to the Fifty-seventh, and later to the three succeeding Congresses.<ref name="cd">{{cite web |title=S. Doc. 58-1 - Fifty-eighth Congress. (Extraordinary session -- beginning November 9, 1903.) Official Congressional Directory for the use of the United States Congress. Compiled under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing by A.J. Halford. Special edition. Corrections made to November 5, 1903 |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/SERIALSET-04562_00_00-001-0001-0000 |website=GovInfo.gov |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |access-date=2 July 2023 |page=33 |date=9 November 1903}}</ref>

In 1908, Connor was defeated in the Republican primary by newspaper publisher Frank P. Woods,<ref>"Allison and Woods," Buffalo Center Tribune, 1908-03-05 at p.1.</ref> as part of a broader attempt by the party's progressive wing to displace incumbents from the more conservative "standpatter" wing. In all, Connor served in Congress from December 4, 1900, to March 3, 1909.

==After Congress== He resumed the practice of law in Denison, where he died on March 19, 1924. He was interred in Oakland Cemetery.

==References== {{reflist}} {{CongBio|C000690}}

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{{IARepresentatives}} {{USCongRep-start|congresses= 56th–60th United States Congresses |state=Iowa}} {{USCongRep/IA/56}} {{USCongRep/IA/57}} {{USCongRep/IA/58}} {{USCongRep/IA/59}} {{USCongRep/IA/60}} {{USCongRep-end}} {{Bioguide}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Conner, James Perry}} Category:1851 births Category:1924 deaths Category:People from Delaware County, Indiana Category:People from Denison, Iowa Category:University of Iowa College of Law alumni Category:Iowa state court judges Category:District attorneys in Iowa Category:Republican Party United States representatives from Iowa Category:20th-century United States representatives