PROGRESSIVE
PATRICIA
OLSON
MCCARTHY
FOR CONGRESS!
John Bernard threw the leaflet down on Elmer Benson's desk. Beneath the words was a very good picture of the young McCarthy couple. The former governor glanced at it, then looked up at the candidate. "Yes?" Benson asked. "You asked to meet?"
"Do you know what this is?" Bernard demanded.
"It appears to be a leaflet for a Congressional candidate; Patricia Olson is- Patricia Olson McCarthy, I suppose, is challenging Roy Wier in the third district."
"This leaflet," Bernard stated angrily, "was being distributed by members of the teachers' union." When Benson didn't respond, he continued, "A radical union, one that's endorsed you, and one that just a few weeks ago was planning to sit out this primary to avoid raising urban turnout for Humphrey."
Benson shrugged. "I suppose they changed their minds."
"Changed their minds?" Bernard asked. "You control the Progressive machine in this state, you could've told them, and every other radical union in Minneapolis, all of which have gone the same way to stand down, to not back the Olson girl's last minute vanity run."
"I'm not going to sabotage Patricia's campaign, John," Benson replied.
"We had a deal with Helen Winter, we were going to let Wier win with low turnout so I could-"
"
I am not going to sabotage her campaign!" Benson shouted. "I do not care about whatever deals we made. I don't care what affect her primary will have on other races." He was standing up at this point. "I'm not going to betray my best friend's daughter for politics. She'll always have a pass. Always." He sat back down.
Bernard, taken aback, began to apologize, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"No," Benson said. "Don't apologize. You're right; we had an arrangement, and I've let it get broken. I hope you win, I've endorsed you, I've done everything I can. But I can't betray Floyd."
"It probably wouldn't matter," Bernard lamented. "They'd revolt against you. You can't beat the Olson name in Minnesota."
~~~
In the end, it wasn't a contest. Patricia Olson McCarthy's maiden name certainly helped. No, it was certainly crucial, not just to voters, but to organizers. Her high level of activism in the previous years had only been possible due to her father, and so she knew all of the union leaders and activist group leaders in the area. However, it would be unfair to say she cruised along on her father's name alone. She'd inherited his speaking skills, and her husband Eugene was pretty good as well. The couple were very hard workers. In fact, at times Patricia felt hindered by her father's legacy. She had to change several speeches to insert more Floyd Olson quotes in them, so many she felt it was over the top. But the crowds ate it up.
Patricia Olson destroyed Roy Wier, 61-37. That margin was even larger than Benson's successful primarying of Henrik Shipstead, where the old moderate incumbent lost 43-55 to the younger radical former governor. But the most anticipated race was the gubernatorial primary, where, on the back of the highest midterm primary turnout Minneapolis had ever experienced, Mayor Hubert Humphrey beat John Bernard 48.5 to 48.2.
