appointed on august 20, 1937, as a democrat by her husband, governor bibb graves, to the united states senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of hugo l. black, graves was the first woman senator from alabama, and the first married woman to serve in the senate (all the others had been widows). she served from august 20, 1937, until her resignation on january 10, 1938. governor graves' decision to appoint his wife as interim senator until a special election could be held, was made in order to favor none of the possible candidates over any other. he wanted their continued support for his programs. during her term, she voted in support of new deal programs directed at agriculture, crop control, and labor policy.