Representative Benjamin Kurtz Focht

Benjamin Kurtz Focht (March 12, 1863 – March 27, 1937) was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania who served ten terms in Congress between 1907 and 1939, contributing to the legislative process during a significant period in American history. Over the course of his long public career, he represented the interests of his Pennsylvania constituents while holding a series of influential positions at both the state and federal levels.

Focht was born on March 12, 1863, in New Bloomfield, Perry County, Pennsylvania. Little is recorded in the official congressional record about his family background, but his early life in central Pennsylvania shaped a career closely tied to the region’s political and civic affairs. As a young man, he pursued higher education at several institutions within the state, reflecting both ambition and a broadening of his intellectual and professional horizons.

Focht attended Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania State College at State College, Pennsylvania, and Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. Although he did not become primarily known as an academic, this course of study provided him with the grounding in liberal arts and public affairs that would inform his later work in journalism, state government, and national politics. His ties to these institutions also reinforced his long-standing connection to central Pennsylvania communities.

In 1881, Focht entered the newspaper business by establishing the Lewisburg Saturday News in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. He served as editor and publisher of this paper from its founding until his death, using it as a platform for public commentary and political advocacy. His role as a newspaperman gave him visibility and influence in local and state politics and helped launch his political career. He was a delegate to the Republican State Convention in 1889, marking his formal entry into party politics, and he also served as an officer in the Pennsylvania National Guard, adding military and organizational experience to his public résumé.

Focht’s state legislative career began with his election to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, in which he served from 1893 to 1897. He then advanced to the Pennsylvania State Senate, serving from 1901 to 1905. During these years he developed a reputation as an active Republican legislator and built the political base that would support his later campaigns for Congress. After his initial period in federal office, he also served as water supply commissioner of Pennsylvania from 1912 to 1914, reflecting his involvement in state-level administrative and infrastructure issues.

Focht was first elected as a Republican to the U.S. House of Representatives in the Sixtieth Congress and took his seat on March 4, 1907. He was subsequently reelected to the Sixty-first and Sixty-second Congresses, serving continuously until March 3, 1913. An unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1912, he briefly left Congress before returning as a member of the Sixty-fourth Congress, beginning March 4, 1915. He was then reelected to the Sixty-fifth, Sixty-sixth, and Sixty-seventh Congresses. During this period of service he held significant committee leadership roles, serving as chairman of the United States House Committee on War Claims during the Sixty-sixth Congress and as chairman of the United States House Committee on the District of Columbia during the Sixty-seventh Congress. Despite his prominence, he faced repeated intraparty challenges and was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1922, 1924, 1926, 1928, and 1930, and again in 1932 for the unexpired term of Representative Edward M. Beers.

Between his periods of congressional service, Focht remained active in public and business life. After his early defeats for renomination, he resumed his business activities in Lewisburg, continuing to oversee the Lewisburg Saturday News and to engage in local affairs. He also returned to state government as deputy secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1928 and 1929, a position that placed him within the administrative leadership of the state and kept him closely involved with Republican Party organization and policy.

Focht returned to the U.S. House of Representatives once more when he was elected to the Seventy-third Congress and subsequently reelected to the Seventy-fourth and Seventy-fifth Congresses. In this final stretch of service, he again represented Pennsylvania in the House during the New Deal era, participating in the democratic process at a time of economic crisis and substantial federal policy innovation. He served continuously in this last period until his death in office in Washington, D.C., on March 27, 1937. Throughout his career, from his early days as a newspaperman to his multiple terms in Congress, Benjamin Kurtz Focht remained a prominent Republican figure in Pennsylvania politics and a long-serving member of the national legislature.