Nagle's parents, George Nagle and Mary Burke immigrated to the United States in the 1830s from
Ireland, eventually settling in Indiana. Patrick S. Nagle was born on November 23, 1858, and grew up in a family of
Roman Catholics and
Jacksonian Democrats. He moved to Kansas with his family in 1876. He was later elected to county office, admitted to the
Kansas Bar Association, and participated in the
Land Run of 1889, eventually settling in
Kingfisher, Oklahoma. He married Angie McCartney on September 10, 1894. Nagle was a leading figure in
Oklahoma Territory's
Democratic Party, specifically within the conservative wing that backed
Grover Cleveland. In 1908, he joined the
Socialist Party of Oklahoma and, according to the
Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, was both respected for his leadership, and "resented" for "his dictatorial methods." He was the socialist nominee in the
1914 United States Senate election in Oklahoma and the
1918 Oklahoma gubernatorial election. He worked with
Oscar Ameringer on
Jack Walton's 1922
gubernatorial campaign and later served in Walton's administration until his death on January 12, 1924. ==Electoral history==