(I know this is a spoiler, but this state’s flag is so cool!)

A question came to my mind recently, and that is what states have had their preferences best represented in presidential elections? Also, which ones have had their preferences least represented in said elections? I looked back to the first election all the way to 2020, and I found some results that are expected and a few not so much.

The five states that have voted for the winner the most are:

3. Pennsylvania (TIE, 81%) – I suppose this isn’t a great surprise, as Pennsylvania has historically been an electoral vote rich state and was one of the most Republican states in the nation from end of the War of the Rebellion to the Great Depression, an era in which Republicans won all but four presidential elections. Pennsylvania has trended a bit Democratic lately though, with Republicans only winning the state in 2016 since 1992.

3. California (TIE, 81%) – California frequently has either gone with the trends of the nation or been a trend-setter for the nation throughout its history. This is becoming a bit less true today than it was back in the day, as the state hasn’t voted for a Republican candidate for president since 1988. California doesn’t look like it will do so anytime soon: Democratic candidates haven’t gotten below 60% of the vote since 2008, and Biden won the state with 63% of the vote in 2020, the second best performance the Democratic candidate has had in the state’s history, only being outdone by FDR’s 1936 reelection.

2. Ohio (TIE, 82%) – Ah, Ohio, the classic bellwether state. Until 2020, the thinking was that whoever won Ohio won the presidential election. Indeed, until that point, over the last 100 years the only times the nation went against Ohio’s judgment was in 1944 and in 1960, the former happened as Thomas Dewey’s running mate was Ohio Governor John W. Bricker, and the latter was nationally a very close election. Ohio may be becoming less representative if its Republican trend is maintained or accelerates.

2. Illinois (TIE, 82%) – Illinois has gotten substantially more Democratic in recent years, to the point that Republicans write off winning the state in presidential elections, having last done so in 1988. However, it wasn’t always this way. “Will it play in Peoria?” as a figure of speech doesn’t exist for no reason, and Illinois, like Ohio, represented Middle America. It was one of the pivotal states that produced JFK’s win in 1960, and swung with the nation. The reason the state ties with Ohio despite its recent Democratic turn is because of its strong loyalty to the GOP from Reconstruction to the Great Depression.

1. New Mexico (WINNER, 89%) – In the state’s history from 1912 to present, New Mexico’s preference has been best represented. It was not until 1976 that their preference was rejected, when the voters narrowly preferred Gerald Ford to Jimmy Carter. There would only be two more occasions in which this happened: 2000, in which they very narrowly voted for Gore over Bush, and 2016, in which they voted for Clinton over Trump by 8 points. Their preferences have historically been extremely well-aligned to the national mood, and even if their preference loses in 2024, they will still be on top with an 86% win rate.

The five least represented are:

4. South Carolina (TIE, 57%) – South Carolina, although now a firmly Republican state, was once one of the most wedded to the Democratic Party, and this was really bad for its win rate from the end of Reconstruction to the Great Depression. Even in 1928, a year in which Republicans did astonishingly well in the South, nearly all South Carolina voters voted for Al Smith. A good deal of this result can be attributed to South Carolina being the last state to adopt the secret ballot. Voters would pick either the Democratic ballot or the Republican ballot, and everyone could see what the individual voter picked. Even if a voter may have preferred the Republican candidate, the social consequences of picking the Republican ballot could be quite significant, including loss of friendships and business. However, under the governorship of Strom Thurmond, the secret ballot was instituted in 1950, and people started voting more Republican. A prominent example was South Carolina’s Jimmy Byrnes, once a major supporter of the New Deal as well as FDR’s right-hand man on domestic affairs during World War II, was becoming more and more conservative and starting in 1952 he voted for Republican candidates for president. The states’ voters both declined to vote for Eisenhower and voted for Goldwater, significantly harming their win rate.

4. Texas (TIE, 57%) – Texas’ win-rate is substantially harmed by its voters’ refusal to vote for a Republican candidate for president until 1928. The state throughout its history has frequently had one distinct party preference in presidential races, and only the period of 1952 to 1980 was a time in which Texas could be said to be a swing state, thus their win-rate is tied with the fortunes of whatever party their voters pick.  

3. Alaska (56%) – Fun fact: Alaska has only once voted for the Democratic candidate for president! That was Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. Their voters’ staunch loyalty to Republican candidates for president since has made their electoral win rate completely tied in with the modern Republican Party.

2. Alabama (52%) – Alabama is spared from last place because a majority of their electors voted for John F. Kennedy in 1960 instead of Harry Byrd (who never announced his candidacy). This state’s history of presidential preferences is almost identical to its neighbor, Mississippi. Aside from 1960, the only time when the state did not vote as Mississippi did was in 1840, when Mississippi voted for Whig William Henry Harrison while Alabama stuck with Democrat Martin Van Buren. In this regard, Alabama has lived up to its rebel reputation.

1. Mississippi (LOSER, 51%) – The state that has had their way the least is Mississippi, with the nation selecting their voters’ preference for president only 51% of the time. Mississippi interestingly did quite well in getting their preferences before the 1860 election, as from their founding to 1856 their preference was chosen 80% of the time. However, the War of the Rebellion changed the environment for them a lot. After 1872, Mississippi became one of the most Democratic states in the nation. Like Alabama, they dissented from numerous landslides, such as Theodore Roosevelt in 1904, Warren Harding in 1920, Calvin Coolidge in 1924, Herbert Hoover in 1928, the Eisenhower victories, and LBJ in 1964. They also on three occasions voted for a third option: Strom Thurmond in 1948, Harry Byrd in 1960, and George Wallace in 1968. Mississippi is, quite unsurprisingly, the ultimate rebel state.

List of States in Order:

April 22, 2024 marked the 30th anniversary of the death of one of American history’s most fascinating presidents. These aren’t necessarily facts everyone knows about him. Some are interesting and reveal some private viewpoints of his and some are downright bizarre. I’ve avoided some of the big stuff that everybody knows.

1. Nixon wasn’t only the first president to visit Communist China, he was also the first to visit Moscow, doing so for the Moscow Summit in 1972.
2. Richard Nixon’s private views on abortion were mixed, expressing concern in the aftermath of Roe v. Wade (1973) that legalization would result in “permissiveness” and the breakdown of the family, but also thought it necessary in some cases, stating, “There are times when an abortion is necessary. I know that. When you have a black and a white, or a rape” (Savage). Nixon, it should be noted, was far from unique in his day in his disapproval of interracial relations…only five years before 72% of Americans disapproved of interracial marriage (Gallup).
3. In the early morning of May 9, 1970, Nixon, unable to sleep, had his chauffeur drive him to the Lincoln Memorial, where he talked with a group of hippies who were going to be protesting that day.
4. In the Watergate tapes, Nixon bashed numerous racial, ethnic, religious, and other groups. Per historian Ken Hughes, “There are three groups about whom Nixon is particularly paranoid: Jews, intellectuals and Ivy Leaguers. He believes that members of all those groups are arrogant and put themselves above the law. After the leak of the Pentagon Papers he became convinced that the leak was part of a conspiracy that was going to leak his own secrets” (Little).
5. As Eisenhower’s vice president, Nixon pushed for a strong measure to protect voting rights, but the Senate under the leadership of Lyndon B. Johnson (D-Tex.) weakened the measure.
6. Despite Nixon’s post-presidency reputation as an environmental president, he vetoed the highly popular Water Pollution Control Amendments in 1972 on cost grounds, which was overridden by overwhelming margins.
7. Richard Nixon backed guaranteed minimum income through the proposed Family Assistance Plan, which would have simultaneously increased the welfare rolls while being a form of workfare. It failed due to opposition from some conservatives (for the former) and from some liberals for being insufficiently generous.
8. Richard Nixon pushed for a universal healthcare coverage plan, but something to bear in mind is that this was universal catastrophic health insurance and only applied if you were employed. Nixon would in retirement be opposed to President Clinton’s proposed universal healthcare plan.
9. Out of office, Nixon supported the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
10. Richard Nixon was once observed eating a dog biscuit after feeding a few to one of his dogs by the Secret Service.
11. Nixon was no athlete. He was a bit of a klutz and although he tried to improve his golf game he eventually quit and called it “a game for lazy bastards” (Howe).
12. Nixon did, however, like bowling and had a bowling alley installed in the White House and, unlike other physical activities, he was decent at it. He saw bowling as more time efficient than golf.
13. Nixon conducted, through Anna Chennault, secret negotiations with the South Vietnam government, promising them a better deal than the Johnson Administration with a peace arrangement. He believed that Johnson’s peace proposal was a late effort to secure the election for Hubert Humphrey. South Vietnam rejected the peace deal, and although certainly Nixon’s pitch carried weight, chances are they would have done so anyway. Although not treason, as Nixon and his campaign weren’t giving “aid and comfort” to enemies of the United States, it may have been a Logan Act violation (Farrell). LBJ knew of it but did not expose it, as it would have revealed that he was spying on the Nixon campaign.
14. As a member of Congress, Nixon was a staunch internationalist, or as some might say today, a “globalist”. He retained this approach in his presidency.
15. Richard Nixon was publicly in favor of banning “Saturday night specials”, inexpensive guns commonly used by criminals, but was privately in favor of a complete handgun ban. He vacillated a bit though, also saying a few days later, “What do they want to do, just disarm the populace? Disarm the good folks and leave the arms in the hands of criminals?” (Politico). Nixon generally favored stronger gun control.
16. Nixon saved Israel during the Yom Kippur war through 22,000 tons of arms shipments, counteracting the arms shipments Egypt and Syria were receiving from the Soviets (Maoz). He notably had considerably different views towards Israeli and American Jews, admiring the former and regarding the latter as by and large political enemies.
17. Richard Nixon’s favorite food was cottage cheese with ketchup.
18. Nixon considered nominating the first woman to the Supreme Court in California’s Mildred Lillie, but she was not recommended by the American Bar Association.
19. Nixon did not often back challenges to Southern Democratic politicians from Republicans as he saw many of them as allies. A notable exception was Tennessee Congressman Bill Brock’s successful effort to unseat Senator Albert Gore Sr.
20. Nixon developed an intense rivalry with Earl Warren that turned into mutual hatred.
21. Nixon is one of two presidents to have two Supreme Court nominees rejected in a row.
22. Two months after his resignation, Nixon almost died of phlebitis.
23. By 1986, Nixon was ranked one of the most admired men in the United States per a Gallup poll, a remarkable reputational comeback.
24. Nixon’s successors sought out his advice, although they were not too loud about doing so.
25. The charges of impropriety against Nixon in 1952 that he refuted with the “Checkers” speech were indeed overblown and what he had wasn’t illegal.
26. Nixon maintained correspondence with Donald Trump in the 1980s to early 1990s, including a letter in which he said that Pat had assessed that when Trump decided to run for president he would win. Although this did not prove true for his first effort (he lost the Reform Party nomination in 2000 to Pat Buchanan), we all know what happened the second time!
27. Although Nixon didn’t originally consider himself to be an author, after writing the final chapter of his first and mostly ghostwritten book Six Crises (1962), he proceeded to write nine more best-selling books throughout his life.
28. Nixon had the Secret Service trail Ted Kennedy in 1972 presumably for his own protection, but it was actually to try and find any dirt on him.
29. In 1985, Nixon ended his Secret Service protection, wanting privacy.
30. Nixon was a strong opponent of campaign finance legislation, and opposed the Federal Election Campaign Act Amendments in 1974.
    
    References
    
    Farrell, J.A. (2018, December 30). Anna Chennault: the Secret Go-Between Who Helped Tip the 1968 Election. Politico.
    
    Retrieved from
    
    https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/12/30/anna-chennault-obituary-vietnam-back-channel-nixon-1968-223299/
    
    Howe, C. (2014). Richard Nixon ate dog biscuits, got looped on martinis, walked the beach in his suit and lace-ups and spied on Ted Kennedy. Secret service agents reveal Tricky Dick’s bizarre behavior before he resigned 40 years ago. Daily Mail.
    
    Retrieved from
    
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2717322/Richard-Nixon-ate-dog-biscuits-got-looped-martinis-walked-beach-suit-lace-ups-spied-Ted-Kennedy-New-book-reveals-Tricky-Dicks-bizarre-behavior-forced-resign-presidency-40-years-ago.html
    
    Gun control: Richard Nixon wished for total handgun ban. (2013, March 11). The Associated Press.
    
    Retrieved from
    
    https://www.politico.com/story/2013/03/gun-control-richard-nixon-wished-for-total-handgun-ban-088686
    
    Little, B. (2023, October 18). 7 Revealing Nixon Quotes From Tapes. History Channel.
    
    Retrieved from
    
    https://www.history.com/news/nixon-secret-tapes-quotes-scandal-watergate
    
    Maoz, J. (2009, October). Richard Nixon Saved Israel – but Got No Credit. Commentary.
    
    Retrieved from
    
    https://www.commentary.org/articles/jason-maoz-2/thirty-six-years-ago-today-richard-nixon-saved-israel-but-got-no-credit/
    
    Saad, L. (2017, June 21). Gallup Vault: Americans Slow to Back Interracial Marriage. Gallup.
    
    Retrieved from
    
    https://news.gallup.com/vault/212717/gallup-vault-americans-slow-back-interracial-marriage.aspx
    
    Savage, C. (2009, June 23). On Nixon Tapes, Ambivalence Over Abortion, Not Watergate. The New York Times.
    
    Retrieved from
    
    https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/us/politics/24nixon.html

The 1970s were a difficult time for the United States. It was a period characterized by stagflation, stagnation, demoralization, and disillusion. To add to this, crucial industries went to the government for bailouts. Two industries that figured prominently were Lockheed Martin and Chrysler.

In 1971, with the US still having troops committed in Vietnam, Lockheed Martin, a prominent defense contractor, was in financial trouble as their liabilities exceeded their assets by $38.5 million (Trimble). Although they appealed to private banks for a loan, they refused to do so unless the government was supporting them. Lockheed Martin going under would have been highly disruptive for the Pentagon, as they were the largest contractor working with them, and they supplied the C-130, P-3, and S-3A aircraft in addition to the Poseidon, Polaris, and Trident ballistic missiles (Trimble). There were also up to 60,000 people who would be out of work as a result, particularly in California. In 1971, Congress responded with the Emergency Loan Guarantee Act, crafted by Treasury Secretary John Connally, permitting the government to guarantee up to $250 million in private loans to private businesses, which was understood to be directed at Lockheed Martin. The House vote was the most difficult hurdle, with the bill passing 192-189 (D 102-129, R 90-60) on July 30th, one of the closest votes of the session on major legislation. The Senate passed the measure on an exceptionally close 49-48 (D 22-30, R 27-16, I 0-1, C 0-1) vote on August 2nd.

Interestingly, this was an issue in which the liberal Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) and the conservative Americans for Constitutional Action (ACA) took the same position: they both opposed. ADA was opposed to anything that would bolster the Vietnam War and ACA was consistently opposed to subsidies and bailouts. Both Barry Goldwater and George McGovern voted against, but there was more opposition from Democrats and support from Republicans for this measure. Republicans had two compelling arguments to deal with: supporting national defense or backing free market orthodoxy. You might call this the “Horseshoe Theory” in effect, but most of the “Horseshoe Theory” is simply ultra-conservatives and ultra-liberals voting the same but for considerably different reasons. The New York Times also noted there were local interests involved in the voting, “The one pattern in the roll call was that Senators with Lockheed installations or the plants of subcontractors in their states voted for the legislation. Those with plants in their states of the McDonnell Douglas Corporation, makers of the DC‐10, which would be the principal competitor of the Tri star, voted against the Lockheed bill, as did those with plants in their state of the General Electric Company, which makes the engines for the DC‐10” (Shanahan). The case of Chrysler would be a bit less stark and fits considerably better on a left to right scale.

The Chrysler Bailout

By the late 1970s, multiple factors had hurt Chrysler over the years. The quality of American cars declined, gas prices were rising, car sales were declining, and many consumers were finding greater appeal with foreign-made cars, particularly from Japan and Germany. By 1979, Chrysler was facing bankruptcy, and by November they were reporting $721 million in losses for the year (Cole). The aid they sought was a $1.5 billion loan, six times larger than the bailout of Lockheed Martin and twice as large as the Carter Administration had initially set as its maximum. Under the proposed bailout, Chrysler would have to obtain $1.5 billion more in concessions and private loans.

Although an argument can be made for national defense in backing a Chrysler bailout as they were contracted to produce the M-1 Abrams tank for the Pentagon in 1977, the larger issue was the biggest four-letter word in politics: jobs. 360,000 people would be out of work immediately if Chrysler folded, with double the amount occurring additionally due to a ripple effect (Seabury). In other words, they had become, like Lockheed, thought of as “too big to fail”. While free marketeers could argue that its competitors would pick up the slack, the risk wasn’t one that the US government or a majority of Congress was keen on taking. There was also a good deal more incentive for liberal Democrats to vote for given the influence of the prominent United Auto Workers, who with 1.5 million members would find themselves with a considerable loss in union dues and were major backers of the Democratic Party. This was a strong motive for the Carter Administration to back the bailout, and what’s more UAW was at that time neutral in the 1980 Democratic primary, with a considerable possibility that there would be an endorsement of Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts should he launch a challenge, and UAW president Douglas Fraser did end up endorsing Kennedy when he challenged Carter. An Administration official frankly commented on the bailout, “it’s hard to argue with the fact that this is a fundamental political decision” (Cole).

The adoption of the conference report of the bailout was adopted by the House on December 20th on a 241-124 (D 191-42, R 50-82) vote and by the Senate on a 43-34 (D 31-11, R 12-22, I 0-1) vote, being signed by President Carter. The bailout also included concessions by UAW for $203 million in wages and $200 million in pension deferrals (Cole). ACA counted a vote against initial passage as positive, while ADA did not count this measure at all. Although you had some Democrats who were consistent in opposition to bailouts, such Senators Claiborne Pell of Rhode Island and William Proxmire of Wisconsin, many supported for the UAW and jobs. It also didn’t hurt that by 1979 the Lockheed bailout had actually netted the Treasury $31.2 million (Cole). The choice for opposition was easier for Republicans given their opposition to strong organized labor, particularly those unions which actively back Democrats, as well as less emphasis on national defense, and that this was a Carter rather than a Nixon Administration proposal. This bailout’s legacy is more controversial, as although proponents can say that Chrysler did get back on its feet, the government would again bail out Chrysler in 2008 with the onset of the Great Recession, eventually being sold to Fiat in 2014. The Heritage Foundation in 1983 also pointed out in a report some groups of people not considered or cast aside by the proponents of bailing out Chrysler:

“. Current and future laid-off Ford and General Motors workers, who never understood that their tax dollars were being used to destroy their own jobs in order to save jobs at Chrysler.
. Small businessmen and private individuals, who never understood that the Chrysler bail-out would squeeze $1.2 billion out of the credit market, making it difficult and more costly for them to raise business capital or finance a mortgage on a new house, all of which would have created new job.
. Over 60,000 now laid-off Chrysler workers, who expected the bailout to save their jobs.
. American car buyers, who never understood that Ford and General Motors would have taken over much of a bankrupt Chrysler’s market and produced cars more efficiently, reducing the cost of domestic automobiles” (Hickel).

Bailouts continue to be a controversial issue and as I have argued in the past, the financial services bailout was a major motivator for increasingly populistic politics.

References

Cole, R.J. (1979, November 4). Politics and Jobs: Chrysler Corporation’s $1.5 Billion Bailout. The New York Times.

Retrieved from

Hickel, J.K. (1983, July 12). The Chrysler Bail-Out Bust. The Heritage Foundation.

Retrieved from

https://www.heritage.org/government-regulation/report/the-chrysler-bail-out-bust

Seabury, C. (2021, September 18). The Chrysler Bailout of 1979: A Retrospective. Investopedia.

Retrieved from

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/chrysler-bailout.asp

Shanahan, E. (1971, August 3). Senate Backs Lockheed, 49-48. The New York Times.

Retrieved from

https://www.nytimes.com/1971/08/03/archives/senate-backs-lockheed-4948-senate-passes-loan-guarantee-for.html

To agree to the conference report on H.R. 5860, Chrysler loan guarantees (motion passed). Voteview.

Retrieved from

https://voteview.com/rollcall/RH0960672

To agree to the conference report on H.R. 5860, Chrysler loan guarantees (motion passed). Voteview.

Retrieved from

https://voteview.com/rollcall/RS0960506

To pass H.R. 8432. Voteview.

Retrieved from

https://voteview.com/rollcall/RH0920152

To pass H.R. 8432, authorizing $250 million for emergency loan guarantees to major business enterprises. Voteview.

Retrieved from

https://voteview.com/rollcall/RS0920164

Trimble, S. (2020, March 24). Nearly 50 Years Apart, Lockheed Bailout Resonates During Boeing Crisis. Aviation Week Network.

Retrieved from

https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/supply-chain/nearly-50-years-apart-lockheed-bailout-resonates-during-boeing-crisis

From a young age, William Lester “Bill” Armstrong (1937-2016) took an interest in radio, becoming a DJ at 11 years old, and was America’s first top 40 DJ who was a teenager. By the age of 22 after service in the Colorado National Guard, Armstrong purchased radio station KOSI-AM in Aurora, and would become the owner of multiple television and radio stations. In 1962, Armstrong was elected to the Colorado House, being the youngest person at the time elected to the legislative body, and was elected to the State Senate in 1964. During this time, he became President of the Senate.

By 1970, Colorado was a growing state, having gained the 5^th Congressional District, based in Aurora. Armstrong ran for this Republican district against Democrat Byron L. Johnson, who served one term previously in Congress, and won with 62% of the vote.

Armstrong’s record in the House proved strongly conservative, with Americans for Constitutional Action grading him 100 in 1974 and 1977, his other scores being above 90. One Democrat described him, partly inaccurately, as a “raving, drooling conservative” (Wins). His focuses were on taxes, budgets, and economic regulation. Armstrong did support a few conservation measures. During his time in the House, Armstrong became a born-again Christian, which he credited to making him more tolerant of other viewpoints, stating, “So even though I am certain of what I believe, I am more accepting of other opinions on other subjects. My own limitations and shortcomings remind me not to be too critical of the failings of others” (Elliott). Although his legislative priorities tended more towards fiscal and economic matters, he nonetheless proved a strong social conservative.

In 1978, Armstrong ran in the Republican primary for the Senate, with his opponent being astronaut Jack Swigert Jr., who had been on the Apollo 13 mission. Although he defeated Swigert, the two became close friends, and Armstrong backed Swigert’s bid for Congress in 1982 and was with him when he died of cancer on December 27th that year. In the 1978 campaign, Armstrong hit incumbent Democrat Floyd Haskell hard on his record on spending and taxes in effective televised ads, helping produce his win with 58% of the vote.

In the Senate, Armstrong quickly took the lead on numerous conservative causes. During the 96^th Congress, he pushed for a cost-of-living military pay increase of 3.4%, a reduction in taxes and spending, and repealing the 1969 credit control law on July 1, 1981. The latter proposal was part of the bill extending the Council on Wage and Price Stability despite President Carter’s opposition, but with expiration being on June 30, 1982, instead. Armstrong also opposed restoring the Selective Service in 1980, siding with the more libertarian side of the conservative Republicans.

During the Reagan Administration, Armstrong was the leading advocate of indexing income tax rates for inflation so that people would not be subject to bracket creep, thereby owing higher rates of taxation in addition to inflation compromising their wallet despite not earning more money. This proposal, which he sponsored with Bob Dole (R-Kan.), would be adopted for individual income taxes in the 1981 tax reduction, effective starting in 1985. No longer did individual income taxpayers have to worry about bracket creep. Armstrong also was a staunch budget hawk, supporting budget cuts and a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution as well as taking part in the National Commission on Social Security Reform, where he successfully pushed for raising the retirement age. Armstrong proved popular with Coloradans and won reelection in 1984 with 64% of the vote. The following year, he sponsored the creation of the Korean Veterans War Memorial. On social issues, Armstrong backed the Hatch-Eagleton Human Life Amendment in 1983 as well as a school prayer amendment in 1984. In 1988, Armstrong sponsored an amendment overturning a court ruling for Washington D.C. to exempt religious institutions from a law banning discrimination against homosexuals, which passed 58-33 on July 11^th. That year, he played a key role in passing the Family Support Act of 1988, a mild welfare reform law that instituted work requirements of 16 hours a week for able-bodied welfare recipients among other provisions. Although Armstrong voted against initial passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, he voted for the conference report, thus sending the bill to the president.

Armstrong chose not to run for another term in 1990, and after leaving the Senate, he held the position of director of Campus Crusade for Christ until 2008. From 2006 until his death on July 5, 2016, he served as the president of Colorado Christian University. Armstrong had lost his five-year battle with cancer.

Armstrong represented a different time in Colorado politics, when conservatives were a stronger force. The thought that someone with his politics could win a Senate seat, especially with over 60% of the vote, seems nigh impossible in the Colorado of today.

References

Armstrong, William Lester. Voteview.

Retrieved from

https://voteview.com/person/14002/william-lester-armstrong

Elliott, D. (2016, July 7). William L. Armstrong, Republican senator from Colorado, dies at 79. The Washington Post.

Retrieved from

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/william-l-armstrong-republican-senator-from-colorado-dies-at-79/2016/07/07/5a4fa18a-4458-11e6-8856-f26de2537a9d_story.html

Floyd Haskell Dies. (1998, August 26). The Washington Post, B06.

Retrieved from

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/campaigns/junkie/links/haskell.htm

Wins, M. (1978, May 12). Senator Haskell of Colorado Seen In Deep Trouble in Re-election Bid. The New York Times.

Retrieved from

Bill Armstrong of Colorado, perhaps the GOP’s (and for conservatives) greatest success in a candidate who defeated a Democrat. He will be a future entry in my Great Conservatives series.

The 2022 midterm was one in which although the GOP gained the House, it was one of substantial disappointment as they had a net loss of one seat in the Senate and had a net loss of governor races. The results were especially bad in Michigan and Pennsylvania, in the former case Democrats got unified government on the state level for the first time in over 40 years. There were two fundamental factors that resulted in this dreadful outcome. The first being Trump using the legitimacy of the 2020 election outcome as a litmus test for his endorsement in primaries, which resulted in numerous underperforming candidates like Tudor Dixon and Doug Mastriano, who impacted the party downticket. The second factor was the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which heightened Democratic turnout. I have no regrets about the latter even if it cost the GOP some, but the former was beyond belief. It was so avoidable! This election was a bit better for the GOP in numeric gains, although they started at a worse position and won neither chamber of Congress, but did manage to have the numbers to sustain a filibuster should the GOP of the time unify. Then again, the parties were not as “ideologically responsible” then as now. The elements were there for a bad midterm for Jimmy Carter and the Democrats, but they managed in some places to mitigate the damage. Much like in 2022, Michigan proved a bright spot for Democrats in this midterm.

A midterm that could have been quite bad for President Jimmy Carter given the not-so-great state of the economy was mitigated by gains in some states, particularly Florida and Michigan. Some states such as Nebraska and Oklahoma replaced their arch-conservative Republican senators with considerably more moderate Democrats.

The states in which Republicans gained were:

Arkansas – Democratic Congressman Jim Guy Tucker retires to run for the Senate and is succeeded by Republican Ed Bethune.

California – Democratic Congressmen John J. McFall, John Krebs, and Mark Hannaford lose reelection to Republicans Norman Shumway, Chip Pashayan, and Dan Lungren respectively.

Colorado – Republican Congressman Bill Armstrong defeats Democratic Senator Floyd Haskell for reelection.

Georgia – Republican Newt Gingrich succeeds retiring Democratic Congressman John J. Flynt.

Illinois – Retiring Democratic Congressman George Shipley is succeeded by Republican Dan Crane.

Indiana – Democratic Congressman David Cornwell loses reelection to Republican H. Joel Deckard.

Iowa – In the Senate, Democrat Dick Clark loses reelection to Republican Roger Jepsen. In the House, Democrat Mike Blouin loses reelection to Republican Tom Tauke.

Kansas – Democratic Congresswoman Martha Keys loses reelection to Republican Jim Jeffries.

Kentucky – Democratic Congressman John Breckinridge loses renomination, and he is succeeded by Republican Larry Hopkins.

Maine – Republican Congressman William Cohen defeats Democratic Senator William Hathaway for reelection.

Minnesota – Senate seats held by Muriel Humphrey (widow of Hubert Humphrey) and Wendell Anderson are won by Republicans Dave Durenberger and Rudy Boschwitz, with Durenberger defeating nominee Bob Short and Boschwitz defeating Anderson for a full term. I wrote in more depth about this part of the 1978 midterms in my post of September 25, 2021, “The Minnesota Massacre”.

Mississippi – Congressman Thad Cochran succeeded the retiring Democrat James Eastland to the Senate. This is the first time since Reconstruction Mississippi elected a Republican to the Seante.

New Hampshire – Republican Gordon Humphrey defeats Democrat Thomas McIntyre for reelection to the Senate.

New York – Democratic Congressman Otis G. Pike retires and is succeeded by Republican/Conservative William Carney, and Democrat Edward Pattison loses reelection to Republican Gerald Solomon. However, Democrat Peter Peyser gains Republican Bruce Caputo’s seat as he retired to run for Lieutenant Governor of New York.

Pennsylvania – Democrats Josh Eilberg, Fred Rooney, and Joseph Ammerman lose reelection to Republicans Charles Dougherty, Donald Ritter, and William Clinger respectively. Democrat Eugene Atkinson succeeds retiring Republican Gary Myers.

South Carolina – Republican Carroll Campbell succeeds retiring Democratic Congressman James Mann.

Texas – Republican Tom Loeffler succeeds Democrat Bob Krueger, who ran for the Senate, while Republican Ron Paul defeats Democrat Bob Gammage for reelection.

Wisconsin – Republican Toby Roth defeats Democrat Robert Cornell for reelection.

Wyoming – Republican Dick Cheney succeeds retiring Democratic Congressman Teno Roncalio. Roncalio to this day is the last Democrat to represent Wyoming in Congress.

Mixed:

New Jersey – Democrat Bill Bradley wins the Senate seat held by Republican Clifford Case, who was defeated for renomination by conservative activist Jeffrey Bell. To this day Case is the last Republican to be elected to the Senate by the people of New Jersey. Republican Jim Courter defeats Democratic Congresswoman Helen Meyner for reelection in the House.

Ohio – Democrats gain a seat when Tony Hall succeeds retiring Republican Charles Whalen, while Republicans gain a seat with Lyle Williams defeating Charles Carney for reelection in a typically Democratic district.

South Dakota – Republican Representative Larry Pressler succeeds retiring Democrat James Abourezk to the Senate, but Democrat Tom Daschle succeeds him to the House.

The states in which Democrats gained were:

Connecticut – Republican Congressman Ronald Sarasin retires to run for Governor of Connecticut and is succeeded by Democrat William Ratchford.

Florida – Republican Louis Frey retires to run for Governor of Florida, and he is succeeded by Democrat Bill Nelson, while Republican J. Herbert Burke, beset by scandal, loses reelection to Democrat Edward Stack.

Maryland – Republican Congressman Newton Steers of Bethesda loses reelection to Democrat Michael Barnes. Both men are liberals.

Massachusetts – Republican Senator Ed Brooke loses reelection to Democratic Representative Paul Tsongas. Both men are liberals. Brooke was harmed by negative publicity surrounding his divorce.

Michigan – Republican Senator Bob Griffin, despite being a fairly prominent Senate Republican, loses reelection to Democrat Carl Levin, and Republican Congressmen Garry Brown and Al Cederberg lose reelection. Griffin’s reelection bid was harmed by his initial announcement that he would not run for another term.

Nebraska – Republican Senator Carl Curtis retires at 73, and in his place Democrat J. James Exon is elected. While normally Nebraska votes Republican, Exon was a popular governor who emphasized low spending and taxes.

Oklahoma – Republican Senator Dewey Bartlett retires due to his lung cancer diagnosis (he dies two months after leaving office), and he is succeeded by Democrat David Boren, a popular governor.

Washington – Representative John Cunningham of Seattle loses reelection to Democrat Mike Lowry. Cunningham’s election in 1977 was a bit of a fluke.

This election is in itself a last, as in it is the last time that a midterm for a Democratic president resulted in their party holding both houses of Congress. 1978 was a time in which the Democratic Party was structurally stronger, but the price was that it was a bigger tent party, thus being able to secure Senate victories in places such as Nebraska and Oklahoma with candidates who would not pass muster today in the party. What’s more, in this election, Democrats Richard Shelby of Alabama and Phil Gramm of Texas would be elected to their first terms; both men would have futures as Republican senators. Given this midterm, it seems a bit difficult to believe that the 1980 election would work out so well. Whether history repeats itself here we have yet to see…after all Biden was a big supporter of Carter and was the first politician outside of Georgia to endorse him in 1976 (Hurt).

References

1978 House of Representatives elections. Wikipedia.

Retrieved from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1978_United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections

1978 Senate elections. Wikipedia.

Retrieved from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1978_United_States_Senate_elections

Hurt, M. (2023 March 1). How Jimmy Carter and Joe Biden built an enduring friendship. Axios.

Retrieved from

https://www.axios.com/2023/03/01/jimmy-carter-joe-biden-friendship

President Carter’s final two years were marked, per Americans for Constitutional Action, by many Democrats playing ball a bit more with the administration. Some strong conservatives did get elected to the Senate in 1978, most notably Bill Armstrong of Colorado and Gordon Humphrey of New Hampshire, but that election year seemed in some ways a bit of a wash, as in some cases staunch conservatives were replaced by less conservative people, such as Democrat Dave Boren succeeding Republican Dewey Bartlett in Oklahoma. Minnesota was a strange case with Republicans taking both Senate seats, replacing liberal Democrats with moderate conservative Rudy Boschwitz and centrist Dave Durenberger. President Carter himself scores 0 in both chambers in 1979 and a 12 in the House in 1980 and a 33 in the Senate in 1980. ACA and Carter agreed on the reinstatement of the selective service, against Warren Magnuson’s (D-Wash.) restricting amendment on trucking deregulation, for Jake Garn’s (R-Utah) amendment deleting middle income housing subsidies, against Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s (D-N.Y.) amendment making eligible private school students for federal education grants, and against Paul Simon’s (D-Ill.) amendment denying funds for an MX missile basing system.

A key point of difference among the House and Senate’s strongest conservatives was the matter of selective service. In a rather unusual instance for ACA, they sided with President Carter over figures such as Phil Crane (R-Ill.) and John Rousselot (R-Calif.). Another interesting point for the ACA was that on three occasions in 1980, what they counted as the correct position was also what Americans for Democratic Action counted as the correct position in their scorecard. In the House, Representative Devine’s (R-Ohio) motion to delete the Energy Mobilization Board was supported by both ACA and ADA. In the Senate, Senator Garn’s (R-Utah) proposal to eliminate subsidies for middle-income housing was supported by both ACA and ADA, and both opposed Senator Moynihan’s (D-N.Y.) proposal to make private school students eligible for Basic Educational Opportunity Grants.

One notable case in the Senate of increased cooperation with Carter was that of Harry Byrd Jr. (Ind.-Va.), who while he was a political independent, he caucused with the Democrats. While in 1977 and 1978 he scored a 96 and a 100 respectively, making him the most conservative of the Senate’s non-Republicans, his scores tumbled to a 74 and a 69 respectively in 1979 and 1980. Part of this is that he assisted the Carter Administration in a few critical votes, such as securing the 3/5’s vote necessary to end Senator Orrin Hatch’s (R-Utah) filibuster on the important nomination of AFL-CIO-backed William A. Lubbers as counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, despite voting against the nomination shortly after. Despite voting against the windfall profits tax in 1980, Byrd also voted against Senator Bob Dole’s (R-Kan.) motion to recommit the bill for hearings. Incidentally, Byrd is still the strongest conservative among the Senate Democratic caucus.

Issues counted in this Congress included the establishment of the Department of Education, the establishment of a windfall profits tax on oil, releasing sanctions on Zimbabwe-Rhodesia, food stamp funding, a Constitutional amendment to prohibit busing, prohibiting foreign aid to Nicaragua, implementing the Panama Canal treaties, the bailout of the Chrysler Corporation, and the tax-exempt status of private schools. As always with ACA, abortion was excluded as an issue.

The Senate’s all-star for the 96^th Congress was Jesse Helms of North Carolina, who is the only one to score 100 in both years. In the House, Dan Lungren and Bill Dannemeyer of California, Larry McDonald of Georgia, and Robert Daniel of Virginia did no wrong by ACA standards for the entirety of the session. Some notable freshmen this session include future Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich of Georgia and future Vice President Dick Cheney of Wyoming. In 1980, only Representative Charles Diggs (D-Mich.) scored a 0 in the House, once again demonstrating that ACA frequently made their scores hard to completely succeed or fail on.

KEY

+ – A vote for the conservative position.
+ – A pair or announcement for the conservative position.
– – A vote against the conservative position.
– – A pair or announcement against the conservative position.
? – No vote or opinion.
Democrats are in plain text, Republicans are in bold italics.

Vote Descriptions:

ACA-Index Scoresheets:

At one time, Rhode Island was a staunchly Republican state, but things began to change with the 1928 election in which although Herbert Hoover scored a resounding national victory, the Democrats succeeded in mobilizing their voters in Rhode Island and won the state for Smith. Not too long after, Democrats in the state began making major gains, with the leading figure being Theodore Green as governor. His time as governor led to the Senate for him, being elected in 1936. However, by 1960, Green was 93 years old and hard-of-hearing. He had not too long before been eased out of his chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee by LBJ in favor of Arkansas’ J. William Fulbright. A new figure needed to step up, and that was Claiborne Pell (1918-2009).

Politics were deeply ingrained in Pell’s family, with an ancestor serving as the state’s lieutenant governor as well as his father Herbert serving as a diplomat and a term in Congress from Manhattan from 1919 to 1921. Pell and his wife were friends of the Kennedys, and John joked of him that he was “the least electable man in America” because he had some strange habits and beliefs. Among his oddities were his beliefs in UFOs, psychic mediums, and ESP, buying used cars and using public transportation despite his wealth, and wore his father’s belt despite his father having been an overweight man while Pell was rail-thin. Pell thought of himself as “about as improbable, impossible and implausible a candidate as could have turned up in many a moon” (Roberts). Ironically given Kennedy’s joking, Pell not only in his first time ever running for elected office defeated the choice of the state Democratic establishment in the Senate primary, he also won the election. Although his lifestyle was generally upper-class despite his practices on used cars and public transportation, he was quite popular with working class voters in Rhode Island. Part of his popularity was his ability to campaign in the native languages of numerous of the state’s immigrant populations as he spoke French, Italian, and Portuguese. Pell was considered by some to be too nice…he didn’t once in his political career run a negative campaign, although he seldom had a need to do so. In office, he proved a liberal who supported civil rights and the New Frontier and Great Society programs. His best friend in the Senate was liberal Republican Jacob Javits of New York, with who he would frequently collaborate to advance liberal legislation. The conservative lobbying group Americans for Constitutional Action would judge him as a staunch liberal, with his career average score, taking pairs and certain position announcements into account between 1961 and 1984, being an 8%. The occasional exceptions he made tended to involve agricultural issues and occasional military procurement and development, such as for a nuclear attack aircraft carrier in 1972 and the SAM-D missile in 1973. He would, however, oppose the B-1 Bomber and MX Missile. Pell also opposed bailing out businesses, casting votes against the Lockheed Martin bailout in 1971 and the Chrysler bailout in 1979. Pell’s most notable achievement, and its the achievement that makes his last name familiar to many, is the Pell Grant to fund college educations, which was included in the 1972 Basic Educational Opportunity Act. This was also the achievement he was most proud of. That year, he faced his most formidable challenger in Republican John Chafee, former governor and President Nixon’s Secretary of the Navy. Initially, polls put Chafee up on Pell by 25 points, and indeed 1972 was an election that for once could work in favor for the Republicans for national office in Rhode Island; the last time they won a Congressional election in the state was in 1938 and the last time they had won a Senate seat was in 1930. Pell would prevail, but by single digits, and it was the only time he did not win all the state’s counties. Four years later, Chafee would win Rhode Island’s other Senate seat with the retirement of John Pastore. The two would serve together for twenty years.

Pell was effective at pushing his priorities while forming bipartisan compromises given his nonconfrontational demeanor that emphasized discussion, artfully characterizing his skill as “letting the other fellow have my way” (Roberts). Among his other accomplishments included sponsoring the bill establishing the National Endowment of the Arts and the National Endowment of the Humanities and sponsoring legislation for Amtrak. He also served on the powerful Foreign Relations Committee and was its chairman from 1987 to 1995, often sparring with North Carolina’s ultra-conservative Jesse Helms. Pell was an internationalist, backing foreign aid. Although a strong supporter of President Carter and generally of his foreign policy, he dissented on Carter’s sale of fighter jets to Egypt, Israel, and Saudi Arabia, seeing this policy as on net disadvantaging Israel. Pell was an opponent of the Reagan Administration, both domestically and on its increased military spending as well as support for El Salvador and the Contras.

In 1990, Pell faced another significant challenger in Republican Congresswoman Claudine Schneider. Despite Schneider being liberal and voters generally liking her, many didn’t want to risk control of the Senate going to Republicans, and Pell was victorious with 61% of the vote. Shortly after, he cast his vote against the US authorizing military force against Iraq for its invasion of Kuwait. Pell was an opponent of the Contract with America agenda of Congressional Republicans and in 1996 he was one of 14 senators to vote against the Defense of Marriage Act. In December 1994, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and although he mulled for a time whether to run again, he ultimately opted to retire. Pell died on January 1, 2009 at the age of 90. It is so rich with irony that the man JFK once jokingly called the “least electable man in America” turned out to be the most electable man Rhode Island ever sent to the Senate.

References

Claiborne Pell dies at 90; former Rhode Island senator, creator of Pell Grants. (2009, January 2). Los Angeles Times.

Retrieved from

https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-pell2-2009jan02-story.html

Lesniewski, N. (2011, November 29). Claiborne Pell: Story of an Uncommon Senator. Roll Call.

Retrieved from

https://rollcall.com/2011/11/29/claiborne-pell-story-of-an-uncommon-senator/

Ludes, J. (2018, November 20). Sen. Pell: Life and legacy. The Newport Daily News.

Retrieved from

https://www.newportri.com/story/news/local/2018/11/21/senator-claiborne-pell-life-and-legacy/8325235007/

Pell, Claiborne de Borda. Voteview.

Retrieved from

https://voteview.com/person/10818/claiborne-de-borda-pell

Roberts, T. (2021, Fall). Senator Claiborne Pell Helped Bring the Arts and Humanities to Every State. Humanities, 42(4).

Retrieved from

https://www.neh.gov/article/senator-claiborne-pell-helped-bring-arts-and-humanities-every-state

There are numerous perennial candidates in American history, with the king of them easily being Harold Stassen. But at least Stassen was at one time Minnesota’s incredibly popular governor and even seriously considered for the Republican nomination for president. Lawrence Joseph Sarsfield Daly (1912-1978) of Chicago could not claim the same successes.

Daly was not exactly the guy you’d think of entering politics. He was a high school dropout who for a living manufactured barstools in his garage. Daly was also married and would have five children. Yet, there was some force in this man that motivated him to consistently seek political office, despite having no connections with the major parties.

Daly’s pursuit of public office interestingly started with a minor victory. In 1932, he ran for and won a post as ward committeeman, only to be booted from the post as it was discovered he was only 20 years old, and thus underage. Daly also became a big fan of General Douglas MacArthur, and would submit his name in the Illinois primaries every presidential election year starting in 1936, and MacArthur would routinely withdraw his name. In 1938, he ran for Cook County School Superintendent and it was in this race that he started going by “Lar” as he thought it would appeal to Swedish voters (Rudnick). His name, however, appeared as Lawrence J. Daly on the ballot, and he surprisingly got 300,000 votes as numerous Irish voters liked his name. Daly also adopted “America First” in his name to appeal to American voters. But really, it was because he consistently was opposed to American involvement in foreign affairs. Daly would frequently wear an Uncle Sam suit to enhance his image as a super patriotic candidate. Along with non-intervention, Daly stood for numerous positions throughout his perennial career, including lower taxes, shooting drug peddlers on sight (after a seven-day warning to get out of town), 100% support for Joseph McCarthy’s anti-communist investigations, imprisoning any witness who invokes the 5th Amendment (protection from self-incrimination) in their testimony, and “Christian” education in public schools, with clergymen of Catholic, Protestant, and Eastern Orthodox factions as teachers (Boese).

Daly ran in Democratic and Republican primaries for political office, but more often the latter. He ran in the following elections:

GOP primary for Illinois Governor – 1956 and 1964.

GOP and Democratic primary for Chicago Mayor, as well as candidate in general election – 1959.

GOP primary for Chicago Mayor – 1963 and 1967.

Democratic nomination for president, and in the general election for president on the “Tax Cut” and “America First” slates – 1960.

Democratic primary for Senate – 1962.

Republican primary for Senate – 1966, 1970, 1974, and 1978.

In 1950, Daly, ever the resolute anti-Communist, wrote a letter to President Harry S. Truman offering to fly to the Kremlin to drop an atomic or hydrogen bomb (The La Crosse Tribune). History tells us that Truman did not take him up on this offer. In 1952, although there was a great deal of speculation and interest in General MacArthur running for president among the political right, he had once again declined. Perhaps, Daly thought, MacArthur just needed a nudge to motivate him. He first added his name to the Illinois primary, but MacArthur had it removed. Daly tried a different tactic for the Wisconsin primary by scanning the Chicago phone book and he found a man literally named “General MacArthur”. General MacArthur was a 42-year old tank inspector who was black and had eight children. With his consent and signature, Daly submitted his name on the Indiana Republican primary ballot.

Equal Time Menace

One way Daly sought to enhance his profile was in his efforts to force broadcasters to allocate him equal time to major candidates. Perhaps the thought was with publicity will come votes, and he certainly needed those if he wanted to become Chicago’s mayor.

In 1959, Daly ran for mayor of Chicago after having run for both the Republican and Democratic nominations and lost. In the process, he demanded to be given equal time to incumbent Democrat Richard J. Daley and his Republican challenger, Timothy Sheehan, and filed a complaint to the FCC about Chicago broadcasters not doing so. On a 4-3 vote, the FCC in February ruled that networks had been in error not granting Daly equal time in broadcast coverage. He ultimately only got two votes in the general election. Daly thus became the proximate cause of a change in the Equal Time Act signed into law by President Eisenhower in September 1959, which exempted routine news coverage from having to cover candidates equally. However, if candidates were invited to appear for a broadcast, equal time still applied.

In 1960, Daly ran in the Democratic primary for president, having filed just before the deadline in the New Hampshire primary. In the general election, he would again agitate for equal time to the FCC so that he too could be interviewed on the Jack Paar Tonight Show as John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon had. Paar was livid that he was forced to accommodate this crank, and Daly showed up in his Uncle Sam costume, as you can see below:

During the show he did himself no favors by calling President Eisenhower a “poor excuse” for a president and directly solicited the public for campaign contributions, provoking boos and heckling from the audience (Lindberg, 194). One audience member challenged him, “Mr. Daly, I would like to know where your supporters are located. I teach special studies in Illinois, and we’ve never heard of you” to which he responded, “Well, sir, you apparently don’t read newspapers, watch television, listen to the radio, or attend meetings, because in every Illinois campaign in which I engage, I am known as the tireless candidate” (Zurski). Daly was known for delivering his speeches in a shouting and even threatening manner. As author Hal Higdon noted, “Lar Daly is a likeable person, but one of his major flaws in his character is that when he gets in front of a microphone, he begins to shout and threaten in an attempt to intimidate the audience. With Lar Daly as his own best friend, he doesn’t need enemies!” (Lindberg, 194). He did not fail to demonstrate this in his Jack Paar appearance. Daly’s conclusion to his speech before the audience was, “Your only choice is America first – or death” (Zurski). At the end of the program, Paar apologized to the audience to which they cheered.

The Jack Paar appearance netted Daly $151.17 in donations, a fraudulent check, and three death threats (Lindberg, 194). After this appearance, Congress suspended equal time regulations for the 1960 election so Nixon and Kennedy could debate without the possibility of Daly wanting to appear too (imagine that!). Daly would receive few votes outside of his own.

In his next Senate campaign, his “six point program” was

“ – An immediate invasion of Cuba to restore its “Christian social order”.

• No aid to communist countries except food and clothing to be distributed by Catholic and Orthodox churches.
• A cut in aid to Africa and Asia, and a boost in aid to America’s own underprivileged, including Negroes and Latin-born.
• A high tariff barrier to protect American working men.

Equal federal aid to parochial schools.

• And legalized gambling” (Ebert, 1962).

In the 1973 special election for Illinois’ 7^th district, Daly won a major party’s primary. However, he only won the Republican primary because no one else bothered to challenge Democrat Cardiss Collins in this heavily Democratic district. He only got 1,329 votes.

These campaigns, although a passion for him, came at a cost, and in his later years had to sell his Uncle Sam outfit. Daly’s health also was declining as he was in and out of hospitals and lost the ability to grasp objects with his hands (Anderson). In 1978, Daly again challenged incumbent Senator Chuck Percy in the Republican primary, but only got about 15% of the vote in the March 21^st election. This was his last race, and although he surely would have been up for more, his health gave out and he died of a lung ailment on April 17^th, less than a month after the primary.

Conclusion

Although one of the most ridiculous perennial figures in American politics, Daly is a testament to an indomitable spirit characteristic of America. Indeed, there are few people who would go as far as he did and meet with so little success. Daly’s approach was unabashed and shameless, and while on occasion he scored certain victories, they never translated into success in an election. Indeed, Father Mark Dennehy remembered him as “…the embodiment of Don Quixote” (Anderson).  He was also well-liked in his community as despite his tenacity and his poorly received Jack Paar appearance, he was known to be friendly and as a devout Catholic contributed to the Church every Sunday even though he was sometimes strapped for cash. However, his story also gives backing to the famous W.C. Fields quote, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There’s no point being a damn fool about it.”

References

Anderson, J. (1978, April 22). Lar Daly remembered for what really counted. Chicago Tribune.

Retrieved from

https://www.newspapers.com/image/386367814/?terms=%22Lar%20Daly&match=1

Boese, A. (2008, October 22). Strange Candidate #6: Lar “America First” Daly. Weird Universe.

Retrieved from

http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/strange_candidate_6_lar_america_first_daly

Ebert, R. (1962, November 1). US Senate Candidate Lar Daly Presents Program Here Friday. The Daily Illini, p. 9.

Retrieved from

https://idnc.library.illinois.edu/?a=d&d=DIL19621101.2.56&e=——-en-20–1–txt-txIN———-

Lar Daly, 66, Dead. (1978, April 19). The New York Times.

Retrieved from

Lar Daly, a candidate for everything, is dead. (1978, April 19). La Crosse Tribune (La Crosse, Wisconsin), 18.

Retrieved from

https://www.newspapers.com/image/512057542/?terms=%22Lar%20Daly%22&match=1

Lindberg, R.C. (2020, July 28). Tales of forgotten Chicago. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press.

Rudnick, N. (2021, June 17). The Biggest Loser: Elections Edition. The Hot Seat.

Retrieved from

https://medium.com/@rudnicknoah/the-biggest-loser-elections-edition-8dc372f6e401

Vos, T.P. & Ashley, S. (2014, December 1). Amending Equal Time: Explaining Institutional Change in American Communication Policy. Boise State University ScholarWorks.

Retrieved from

https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1079&context=communication_facpubs

Zurski, K. (2020, November 5). Lar Daly and the Art of Losing Elections. Unremembered.

Retrieved from

Lar Daly and the Art of Losing Elections

Television: Equal Sequel. (1964, August 28). Time Magazine.

Retrieved from

https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,876112,00.html

The Press: Free, Equal & Ridiculous. (1959, March 30). Time Magazine.

Retrieved from

https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,892443,00.html