Owen took first place in the primary and was subsequently officially elected by the legislature as a Democrat to the United States Senate.Scales and Goble (p. 33) describe Owen, at the time of his initial election to the Senate, as representing "that form of genteel southern progressivism that would soon find its champion in Woodrow Wilson". As two senators were being elected simultaneously, Owen and Thomas Gore, the two men entered a lottery to determine which of them should serve the longer and which the shorter term before needing to run for re-election. Owen won the draw, and hence went on, as a member of the Senate's Class 2, to serve a first term of over five years, ending on March 4, 1913. Owen was elected United States Senate Democratic Conference Secretary on December 3, 1913, despite not being sworn in officially as a U.S. Senator until December 11.United States Senate -- States in the Senate -- Oklahoma -- Timeline. Accessed on 02/07/2018 at: https://www.senate.gov/states/OK/timeline.htm.
