Chapter 90: You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet - The 1974 Midterm Elections
Above:
Congresswoman Shirley Temple Black (R - CA) and
Mr. Gary Hart (D - CO) were two candidates for the United States Senate in 1974 who surprised many political pundits with their come from behind victories. Both were instantly seen as “rising stars” and “faces to watch” in their respective parties, and both harbored a similar ambition: “One day, I am going to be President of the United States”.
1974’s midterm elections were a complicated matter for American voters to sort through. Chaotic domestic concerns combined with a fearful situation abroad in the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to produce an electoral dilemma: should the people vote for change; or to confirm their support for the steady hand of President Bush? At home, the administration’s austerity measures and efforts to combat inflation were beginning to take their toll on an already weakened American economy. The U.S. GDP shrank by almost 1% through the 1973 - 1974 fiscal year, and the slowdown showed few signs of stopping. If anything, things were only going to get a whole lot worse before they got any better. Secretary of Treasury Milton Friedman insisted that his plan to kill inflation, to stop runaway drops in American purchasing power, were more beneficial in the long run than short term stimulus. Interest rates skyrocketed and with them, so too did unemployment, which reached 8% at the beginning of the summer. By the month before the elections, it was nearly 8.5%. Friedman severely cut back the available money supply in the country in order to try and raise the value of money once more, a process called deflation. But the process of doing so made it harder for already cash strapped businesses to make investments or pay their workers. Thus, layoffs ensued. A stock market crash at the beginning of the year and the residual effects of the oil shock had done little to stem fears about the health of the economy, and for a time, it looked to many like the Democrats were in for big gains at the polls. These predictions however did not take into consideration an age old phenomenon in American politics: the October Surprise.
When the Soviet Union and Pakistan invaded Afghanistan on July 12th, national security and military issues immediately surged to the top of every voter’s list of most important concerns. It was as if all of the sudden, domestic worries were blissfully put away for a moment, and the entire world turned to pay attention to a small, mountainous nation in Central Asia. Though some everyday Americans were more concerned with the economy than an aggressive war half a world away, Cold War paranoia was old hat in American political consciousness, and many who were considering demanding a change would wind up voting for the Republicans, believing that the party of Eisenhower might be better poised to protect them from a suddenly once-again hostile Soviet Union. Some even went so far as saying that the Soviets “needed to be taught a lesson” and only the GOP could provide such tough foreign bluster. The Democrats were the party of Jack Kennedy and detente. It was time to bring in the tough guys. Sensing that they could gain an edge with this issue, the GOP took the Soviet ball and ran with it. Republican senate, gubernatorial, and house candidates all ran masterful smear campaigns, accusing their Democratic opponents of being “peaceniks” and questioning whether the Dems would have the
cojones to do what it took to keep the Soviet Union contained. Democrats shot back that such thinking was a by-product of a forgotten age. They reminded the American people that it was really President Kennedy that had won South Vietnam’s independence through peace and diplomacy, rather than war. It was also JFK who had opened up China and brought them to the negotiating table with the west. President Bush had his diplomatic achievements to be sure, they said, but President Romney, for all his good qualities, had been naive at foreign affairs, and cost thousands of Americans their lives in Cambodia. They argued that the American people should trust them to protect their interests overseas. Generally, the public would vote with the Republicans, rallying behind their Commander in Chief and advocating for some “tough love” at the very least with the USSR. In the House of Representatives, Speaker Gerald Ford (R - MI) was pleased to find that this trend would grow his majority to have a little bit more leverage on Capitol Hill.
U.S. House of Representatives (218 needed for a majority):
Republicans: 234 seats (+15)
Democrats: 201 Seats (-15)
House Leadership:
Speaker of the House: Gerald R. Ford (R - MI)
House Majority Leader: John Jacob Rhodes (R - AZ)
House Majority Whip: Robert H. Michel (R - IL)
House Minority Leader: Tip O’Neill (D - MA)
House Minority Whip: John Brademas (D - IN)
The Republicans also made gains in the Senate, eating away further at Majority Leader Mike Mansfield’s (D - MT) ever slimming advantage there. Throughout much of the country, President Bush’s high favorability numbers held sway with voters, who turned out in droves to vote Republican all the way down the ballot. Times may have been tough economically, but the people were not yet ready to abandon the leader who promised them a way out, and soon. In California, a formerly Republican stronghold which had turned increasingly into a swing state with its largely liberal population along the coast, sitting Senator Alan Cranston (D) was expecting to weather the storm and be reelected to his seat rather easily. His advocacy for total Nuclear disarmament however cost him big time in the aftermath of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and he began to see his opponent, popular Republican Congresswoman Shirley Temple Black catch up to him in the polls. Rep. Black released vicious, scathing attack ads accusing Cranston of wanting to “disarm” American military might, and then followed up on these by appearing in a second, more positive series of TV spots with conservative Hollywood celebrities, such as legendary actor Jimmy Stewart and singer Doris Day. Black’s promise: that of a prosperous, powerful America resonated strongly with the people of the Golden State in ‘74, and they rewarded her with a slim election to one of their coveted Senate seats. The same story was told across party lines in the Rocky Mountain State of Colorado, where aging incumbent Republican Peter Dominick expected to ride an easy red wave to yet another term. The conservative Senator could not have anticipated, however, the spirit and drive of his opponent’s insurgent opposition campaign. Gary Hart, who had piloted George McGovern’s ill-fated race for the Democratic Nomination in ‘72, had returned home to Colorado to try and focus on building a political career of his own. He first won a relatively easy Democratic Primary. Few candidates believed that they could unseat Dominick in such a strongly Republican year. Unlike his contemporaries, Hart liked to think, he was born with guts. In a highly energetic, perfectly strategized campaign, Hart chose not to defend his liberal ideals, but rather to go on the attack, painting Dominick as too old, out of touch, and not particularly interested in governing anymore. The Aspen native pointed out Dominick’s lax attendance record at sessions of the Senate, his relatively limited slate of policy proposals, and even his decision not to actively campaign as signs of a career winding down. Shockingly, the people of Colorado agreed. On election night, Hart shocked even his closest supporters by winning the Senate seat with just under 55% of the vote. Even as the nation turned toward conservatism, Colorado voted for a change.
The Senate of the 94th Congress
Democrats (Majority) - 52 (-5)
Republicans (Minority) - 48 (+5)
Alabama
John J. Sparkman (D)
James B. Allen (D) - Easily reelected in 1974, D Hold
Alaska
Theodore F. Stevens (R)
Frank Murkowski (R) - Defeated Democrat Gravel for open seat. R Gain
Arizona
Barry Goldwater (R)
Paul Fannin (R) - Easily reelected in 1974. R Hold
Arkansas
John L. McClellan (D)
Dale Bumpers (D) - Unseated Incumbent Fulbright in Dem Primary. D Hold
California
John V. Tunney (D)
Shirley Temple Black (R) - Narrowly defeated incumbent Cranston. R Gain
Colorado
Gordon L. Allott (R)
Gary Hart (D) - Narrowly defeated incumbent Dominick. D Gain
Connecticut
Abraham A. Ribicoff (D) - Narrowly reelected in 1974. D Hold
Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. (R)
Delaware
William V. Roth Jr. (R)
Joseph R. Biden (D)
Florida
Lawton Chiles (D)
Jack Eckerd (R) - Defeated incumbent Collins. R Gain
Georgia
Sam Nunn (D)
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter (D) - Elected to fill Talmadge’s Seat. D Hold
Hawaii
Daniel K. Inouye (D) - Reelected in 1974. D Hold
Spark Matsunaga (D)
Idaho
Frank F. Church (D) - Reelected in 1974. D Hold
James A. McClure (R)
Illinois
Charles H. Percy (R)
Donald Rumsfeld (R) - Easily reelected in 1974. R Hold
Indiana
Richard Lugar (R)
Edgar Whitcomb (R) - Defeated incumbent Bayh. R Gain
Iowa
Jack R. Miller (R)
David M. Stanley (R) - Elected to fill empty seat. R Gain
Kansas
James B. Pearson (R)
Bob Dole (R) - Easily reelected in 1974. R Hold
Kentucky
Walter B. Huddleston (D)
Wendell Ford (D) - Narrowly defeated incumbent Cook. D Gain
Louisiana
Russell B. Long (D) - Ran unopposed in 1974. D Hold
John J. McKeithen (D)
Maine
Margaret Chase Smith (R)
Edmund Muskie (D)
Maryland
John Glenn Beall (R)
Spiro T. Agnew (R) - Defeated incumbent Mathias in GOP Primary. R Hold
Massachusetts
Edward M. Kennedy (D)
Silvio O. Conte (R)
Michigan
Philip A. Hart (D)
Robert P. Griffin (R)
Minnesota
Hubert Humphrey (D)
Eugene McCarthy (D)
Mississippi
James O. Eastland (D)
John C. Stennis (D)
Missouri
W. Stuart Symington (D)
Thomas F. Eagleton (D) - Reelected in 1974. D Hold
Montana
Michael J. Mansfield (D)
Henry S. Hibbard (R)
Nebraska
Roman L. Hruska (R)
Carl T. Curtis (R) - Reelected in 1972, R Hold
Nevada
Howard W. Cannon (D)
Paul Laxalt (R) - Elected to fill empty seat. R Gain
New Hampshire
Thomas J. McIntyre (D)
Louis Wyman (R) - Replaced retiring incumbent Cotton. R Hold
New Jersey
Clifford P. Case (R)
Harrison A. Williams Jr. (D)
New Mexico
Joseph M. Montoya (D)
Pete Domenici (R)
New York
Robert F. Kennedy (D)
Ramsey Clark (D) - Defeated GOP incumbent Javits thanks to independent Conservative Roy Cohn splitting the vote. D Gain
North Carolina
J. Terry Sanford (D) - Easily reelected in 1974. D Hold
Jesse Helms (R)
North Dakota
Milton R. Young (R) - Reelected in 1974. R Hold
Quentin M. Burdick (D)
Ohio
John Glenn (D)
Robert Taft, Jr. (R) - Reelected in 1974. R Hold
Oklahoma
Dewey F. Bartlett (R)
Henry Bollman (R) - Defeated incumbent Monroney. R Gain
Oregon
Mark O. Hatfield (R)
Bob Packwood (R) - Reelected in 1974. R Hold
Pennsylvania
Hugh D. Scott, Jr. (R)
Richard Schweiker (R) - Reelected in 1974. R Hold
Rhode Island
John O. Pastore (D)
John Chafee (R)
South Carolina
Strom Thurmond (R)
Ernest Hollings (D) - Reelected in 1974. D Hold
South Dakota
James Abourezk (D)
Leo Thorsness (R) - Defeated incumbent McGovern. R Gain
Tennessee
Albert Gore, Sr. (D)
Howard H. Baker, Jr. (R)
Texas
Lyndon B. Johnson (D)
Barefoot Sanders (D)
Utah
Frank E. Moss (D)
Jake Garn (R) - Replaced retiring incumbent Bennett. R Hold
Vermont
Winston L. Prouty (R)
Richard W. Mallary (R) - Replaced retiring incumbent Aiken. R Hold
Virginia
Harry F. Byrd, Jr. (D)
William L. Scott (R)
Washington
Warren G. Magnuson (D) - Reelected in 1974. D Hold
Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson (D)
West Virginia
Jennings Randolph (D)
Robert C. Byrd (D)
Wisconsin
William Proxmire (D)
Gaylord A. Nelson (D) - Reelected in 1974. D Hold
Wyoming
Gale W. McGee (D)
Clifford P. Hansen (R)
Senate Leadership:
Senate Majority Leader: Mike Mansfield (D - MT)
Senate Majority Whip: Russell B. Long (D - LA)
Senate Minority Leader: Hugh Scott (R - PA)
Senate Minority Whip: Howard Baker (R - TN)
Other Races of Note:
Leader of the Congressional Black Caucus and the preeminent voice for social democracy in the United States,
Congressman Ron Dellums (D - CA) is reelected to his house seat by a wide margin. Dellums campaigns on a pledge “never to vote for war”. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. encourages Dellums to run for higher office, possibly the U.S. Senate or Governor of California in the future. Dellums also promises to bring Anti-Apartheid legislation to the floor of the House in 1975.
Governor Jimmy Carter of Georgia (D) is elected to fill retiring Senator Herman Talmadge’s seat. His brand of folksy, evangelical populism will endear him to many as a potential Presidential candidate in 1976.
Despite a spirited campaign and the support of many emboldened conservative New Yorkers,
Governor Jim Buckley (R) is narrowly defeated in his reelection bid by
Congressman Hugh Carey (D) of Brooklyn. Carey vows to get New York City out of its bankruptcy crisis and to end “the attitude of dismissal and demagoguery in Albany”.
NYC Councilman Mario Cuomo (D) is elected Lieutenant Governor.
Governor Lloyd Bentsen (D - TX) is reelected by a comfortable margin over Republican challenger Jim Granberry. He begins to talk to friends and family about a potential Presidential campaign in 1976.
Barry Goldwater, Jr. (R - CA) son of the legendary Conservative firebrand from Arizona, is elected to fill the House seat left open by Shirley Temple Black when she is elected U.S. Senator.
Libertarian activist, Air Force flight surgeon, and certified M.D.
Ron Paul (R) is elected to represent the Texas 22nd in the U.S. House. He decided to enter politics after President Romney took the United States off of the Gold Standard back in 1971.
Governor Jimmy Roosevelt (D - CA) is reelected to a full term of his own over his Republican challenger,
State Legislator Houston Flournoy. Filled with renewed optimism about his political prospects, and seeing Robert Kennedy out of the picture for ‘76, Roosevelt begins to quietly assemble a team of advisers for a Presidential campaign of his own.
Jerry Brown (D - CA), the son of former Governor Pat Brown, is elected Roosevelt’s Lieutenant Governor.
A former Attorney General under President John F. Kennedy, an aggressive supporter of Civil Liberties and Civil Rights, and a bona-fide, progressive New Frontier Liberal,
Ramsey Clark (D) is narrowly elected U.S. Senator from New York over popular
Liberal Republican incumbent Jacob K. Javits. This win is largely thanks to the independent conservative run of former Joseph McCarthy Attorney
Roy Cohn, who split the Republican vote. As the Junior Senator-elect from the Empire State, Clark positions himself as a strong ally and right hand man to his now-senior colleague, Robert F. Kennedy.
And perhaps best of all… In San Francisco, charismatic political organizer and “coalition builder”
Harvey Milk (D) is elected to the California State Assembly. The first openly gay elected public official in the United States, Milk’s narrow victory marks a tremendous moment of progress in the movement for LGBT+ rights, and the start of what would ultimately prove a historic political career.
Next Time on Blue Skies in Camelot: The Mid-70’s in Music
