Chapter 105: More Than a Feeling - The 1976 Down Ballot Races
Above: Congresswoman-Elect Fannie Lou Hammer (D - MS) and
Congressman-Elect Bayard Rustin (D - PA), two of many African American representatives first elected in the midst of Mo Udall’s triumphant 1976 Presidential campaign.
Congressman-Elect Harvey Milk (D - CA) and Rustin would become the first openly gay members of the United States Congress. Though they came from different wings of the Democratic Party, the Christian Democratic Hammer and the Social Democratic Rustin and Milk would leave tremendous legacies on their party, and the nation in general, for years to come.
Unlike two years ago, when the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan had given President Bush and his Republican Party modest gains in both houses of Congress as a result of public trust in his foreign policy prowess, 1976 and its “Democratic Wave” were firmly, unequivocally the result of domestic grievances and woes. After a long, spirited campaign season, the American public simply believed that the GOP had not done enough to answer the troubling questions about the country’s future in their eight years in the White House under Presidents Romney and Bush. In accordance with Congressman Udall’s progressive vision for the nation’s future, Democrats up and down the ticket temporarily put their internal disagreements about social policy on hold and turned their focus toward attacking the Republicans, especially on economic issues. Udall’s campaign strategy obviously paid off, as “bread and butter” messaging sold candidates like hot cakes from the Deep South to the Industrial Heartland, from the farms and fields of the Great Plains, to the massive metropolitan hubs of the East and West Coast. This isn’t to say that voters had no interest in foreign policy. President Bush’s impressive achievement in negotiating the Walker’s Point Accords, continued Soviet Aggression (including the still ongoing War in Afghanistan), as well as rising tensions and conflict in the Middle East all made the “top ten” list of most cited issues by voters in exit polls. Far more frequently, however, issues like “taxes”, “the economy”, and of course, “jobs” filled the top slots. While the GOP mostly parroted the Administration’s talking points about “staying the course” and “weathering the storm”, Democrats took out their hatchets and went to work, picking apart Republican candidates’ plans and proposals (or lack thereof) and even managing to split GOP voters, by turning the party’s more conservative and libertarian base against its more liberal wing. In several races, liberal Republicans disappointed with what they saw as the President’s inaction were swayed to jump ship and back the Democratic candidate instead. In races all across this nation, this cross-party voting proved to be the GOP’s downfall.
With the economy reaching the darkest depths of the Great Recession, the Democrats were correct in their belief that they could easily take back the House of Representatives. Despite surprise GOP victories in the lower house in ‘72 and ‘74, Speaker Gerald R. Ford (R - MI) knew that he had little chance of holding onto his majority. What he and the other leaders of the Congressional Republicans could not have predicted however was the sixty seat swing which would sweep into office with the new President-elect, giving Mo Udall an 87 seat majority with which to craft legislation to make his progressive vision for bringing the country back to prosperity a reality. Biting at the chomps to finally get into the ring as the head of Democtatic leadership on the Hill, the tall Irish Liberal from Boston with a heart of gold, Tip O’Neill (D - MA), became the newly minted Speaker of the House, with dedicated progressive Patsy Mink (D - HI) becoming the first female House Majority Leader, and first Asian-American to rise to such a high rank in Congress as well. Hoping to strike a balance between the wings of the Party to ensure as strong a governing coalition as possible and prevent infighting, House Democrats then elected moderate centrist Congressman Jim Wright of Texas as House Majority Whip. Political writers, analysts, and pundits were near unanimous in their praise for the Democrats’ strategies. “This,” wrote California Governor Jimmy Roosevelt (D) in an editorial to The Washington Post, “Is how you win an election!” All in all, tough, progressive messaging combined with a strong ground game and outreach effort to lead to an unexpectedly lopsided election season. “The Spirit of ‘76” as it came to be known would forever afterward be remembered as one of the Democratic Party’s “shining moments” - a point referenced by all future campaigns as they attempted to recapture Mo Udall’s popular triumph. This isn’t to say that the new President-elect would not still struggle with his share of difficulties, however. Far from it. Indeed, Udall’s promises of a “better, brighter future” included proposals for a national employment guarantee, trust busting (especially against ‘too big to fail’ banks), reform of the “draconian” drug laws of the Romney and Bush administrations, and most prominently of all - universal, single payer healthcare, modeled on the national systems in Canada and the United Kingdom. Such initiatives were widely popular with the American people, but faced skepticism, if not outright hostility from the GOP and more conservative and moderate Democrats. If Udall was going to deliver on any of these starry eyed promises, he would need to hone his skills as a master negotiator, and wield the bully pulpit of the Presidency effectively to channel public anger at the economic establishment. For the easy going Arizona environmentalist, it was going to require one hell of an “on the job training regimen”.
U.S. House of Representatives (218 Needed for a Majority):
Democrats: 261 Seats (+60)
Republicans: 174 Seats (-60)
Tip O’Neill (D - MA), Speaker of the House of Representatives
House Leadership:
Speaker of the House: Tip O’Neill (D - MA)
House Majority Leader: Patsy Mink (D - HI)
House Majority Whip: Jim Wright (D - TX)
House Minority Leader: Gerald R. Ford (R - MI)
House Minority Whip: John Jacob Rhodes (R - AZ)
The Democrats may have retaken the House and grown their majority in the Senate, but in exchange, it cost them a titan of the legislature. Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield of Montana had served in the upper chamber for twenty-four years, the last sixteen of which as Majority leader for a beleaguered, but ultimately victorious Democratic Party. A laconic liberal icon, Mansfield’s shrewd management of his vote count helped President Kennedy turn the 1960’s into the Wonder Years that they were, and prevented the 1970’s from descending into a full slide toward the political right under Presidents Romney and Bush. Though the Party establishment were loathe to see Mansfield go, at 73 years of age, the Montana Senator was ready to step aside and let the new generation take up the reins, so that he could spend more time with his family. To try and fill his shoes, and continuing in the spirit of unity which pervaded the Party since the convention in New York, current Majority Whip Russell B. Long (D - LA), the party’s leading Southern populist, was elected as the new Senate Majority Leader, with his previous chief rival, the narrowly reelected Edward M. Kennedy (D - MA) taking his prior post as Senate Majority Whip. Though Long and Kennedy had had their share of differences in the past, both were in firm agreement of the need for a system of universal health care, as well as expansion and reworkings of New Deal and New Frontier era policies to keep them current and reactive to the challenges facing the United States in the latter half of the 1970’s. On the Republican side, outgoing Minority Leader Hugh Scott’s hand picked successor, the moderate dealmaker Howard Baker (R - TN) was handily elected to succeed him, with defense expert and bright rising star Senator Donald Rumsfeld (R - IL) as Minority Whip. With the House largely secure with Speaker O’Neill’s large majority, President-elect Udall swiftly turned his attention during the transition time allotted for strategy on the Hill toward identifying remaining liberal Republicans with whom the administration could work.
Senate Majority Leader Russell B. Long (D - LA)
The Senate of the 95th Congress:
Democrats (Majority): 56 Seats (+5)
Republicans (Minority): 44 Seats (-5)
Alabama
John J. Sparkman (D)
James B. Allen (D)
Alaska
Theodore F. Stevens (R)
Frank Murkowski (R)
Arizona
Barry Goldwater (R)
Dennis DeConcini (D) - Defeated Sam Stieger for open seat. D Gain.
Arkansas
John L. McClellan (D)
Dale Bumpers (D)
California
John V. Tunney (D) - Narrowly reelected over Sam Hayawaka. D Hold
Shirley Temple Black (R)
Colorado
Gordon L. Allott (R)
Gary Hart (D)
Connecticut
Abraham A. Ribicoff (D)
Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. (R) - Reelected over Gloria Schaffer. R hold.
Delaware
Joseph Biden (D)
Thomas Maloney (D) - Narrowly defeated incumbent William Roth. D Gain.
Florida
Lawton Chiles (D) - Reelected over John Grady. D hold.
Jack Eckerd (R)
Georgia
Sam Nunn (D)
James Earl Carter (D)
Hawaii
Daniel K. Inouye (D)
Spark Matsunaga (D) - Reelected over William Quinn. D Hold.
Idaho
Frank F. Church (D)
James A. McClure (R)
Illinois
Charles H. Percy (R)
Donald Rumsfeld (R)
Indiana
Richard Lugar (R) - Reelected over former Senator Vance Hartke. R Hold.
Edgar Whitcomb (R)
Iowa
Jack R. Miller (R)
David M. Stanley (R)
Kansas
James B. Pearson (R)
Bob Dole (R)
Kentucky
Walter B. Huddleston (D)
Wendell Ford (D)
Louisiana
Russell B. Long (D)
John McKeithen (D)
Maine
Margaret Chase Smith (R)
Edmund Muskie (D) - Reelected over Robert A G Monks. D Hold.
Maryland
Spiro T. Agnew (R)
Paul Sarbanes (D) - Defeated incumbent John Glenn Beall. D Gain.
Massachusetts
Edward M. Kennedy (D) - Narrowly reelected over Michael Robertson. D Hold.
Silvio O. Conte (R)
Michigan
Robert P. Griffin (R)
Donald Riegle (D) - Elected to fill the seat left by retiring incumbent Hart. D Hold.
Minnesota
Hubert Humphrey (D)
Wendell R. Anderson (D) - Elected to replace retiring incumbent McCarthy. D Hold
Mississippi
James O. Eastland (D)
John C. Stennis (D) - Ran unopposed for reelection. D Hold.
Missouri
Thomas F. Eagleton (D)
Jerry Litton (D)* - Elected to fill retiring Symington’s seat. D Hold.
Montana
Henry S. Hibbard (R)
Jack Melcher (D) - Elected to fill retiring Mansfield’s seat. D Hold.
Nebraska
Carl T. Curtis (R)
Edward Zorinsky (D) - Elected to fill retiring Hruska’s seat. D Gain.
Nevada
Howard W. Cannon (D) - Reelected over David Towell. D Hold.
Paul Laxalt (R)
New Hampshire
Thomas J. McIntyre (D)
Louis Wyman (R)
New Jersey
Clifford P. Case (R)
Harrison A. Williams Jr. (D) - Reelected over David Norcross. D Hold.
New Mexico
Pete Domenici (R)
Harrison Schmitt (R) - Defeated incumbent Montoya. R Gain.
New York
Robert F. Kennedy (D) - Narrowly reelected over U.S. Rep. Jack Kemp. D Hold.
Ramsey Clark (D)
North Carolina
J. Terry Sanford (D)
Jesse Helms (R)
North Dakota
Milton R. Young (R)
Quentin M. Burdick (D) - Reelected over Robert Stroup. D Hold.
Ohio
John Glenn (D) - Reelected over Ralph Perk. D Hold.
Robert Taft, Jr. (R)
Oklahoma
Dewey F. Bartlett (R)
Henry Bollman (R)
Oregon
Mark O. Hatfield (R)
Bob Packwood (R)
Pennsylvania
Richard Schweiker (R)
William J. Green III (D) - Filled open seat left by retiring Scott. D Gain.
Rhode Island
John Chafee (R)
Richard P. Lorber (D) - Filled open seat left by retiring Pastore. D Hold.
South Carolina
Strom Thurmond (R)
Ernest Hollings (D)
South Dakota
James Abourezk (D)
Leo Thorsness (R)
Tennessee
Howard H. Baker, Jr. (R)
James Sasser (D) - Elected to fill the open seat left by retiring Gore. D Hold.
Texas
Barefoot Sanders (D)
Audie Murphy (D) - Elected to fill the seat left by retiring Smith. D Hold.
Utah
Jake Garn (R)
Orrin Hatch (R) - Defeated incumbent Moss. R Gain.
Vermont
Richard W. Mallary (R)
Patrick Leahy (D) - Defeated Incumbent Stafford. D Gain.
Virginia
Elmo Zumwalt (D) - Defeated Incumbent Byrd. D Hold.
William L. Scott (R)
Washington
Warren G. Magnuson (D)
Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson (D) - Reelected over George Brown. D Hold.
West Virginia
Jennings Randolph (D)
Robert C. Byrd (D) - Ran unopposed for reelection. D Hold.
Wisconsin
William Proxmire (D) - Reelected over Stanley York. D Hold.
Gaylord A. Nelson (D)
Wyoming
Clifford P. Hansen (R)
Gale McGee (D) - Reelected over Malcolm Wallop. D Hold.
Other Races of Note:
Due to
Texas Governor Lloyd Bentsen (D) being elected Vice President of the United States, rancher, and former member of the Texas House of Representatives
Dolph Briscoe (D) is elected to serve as his successor.
One of the most decorated American combat soldiers of World War II and now a fierce advocate for Veterans and those suffering from Post traumatic stress disorder across the nation,
Congressman Audie Murphy of Texas (D) was elected to replace the retiring Preston Smith (D), who in turn had been appointed by Governor Bentsen to replace Lyndon Johnson after he passed away. Congressman, now Senator Murphy’s chief aim is the creation of a cabinet level position for Veterans’ Affairs.
With one of the narrowest margins of victory in the history of the State of Vermont (requiring three official recounts to confirm his win - by just 10 votes), 35 year old carpenter, Social Democrat, former HeadStart teacher and anti-war and civil rights activist
Bernard “Bernie” Sanders (D) is elected Mayor of Burlington, Vermont. Dedicated to preserving life in rural America and leading the Democratic Party in a more progressive direction, Bernie’s grassroots, “people first” campaign shocked the nation when its shoe-string budget and dedicated volunteers managed to overcome the incumbent Democrat, Gordon Paquette.
Elected for the first time to the U.S. House of Representatives, representing the heart of Chicago,
Reverend Jesse Jackson (D - IL), would become a passionate voice for social justice and continued Civil Rights action in the Democratic Party. Young, intensely energetic, and charismatic, Jackson has a very bright future ahead of him in politics. For the time being, he works to build his “Rainbow Coalition” of various minority groups, including: African Americans; Hispanic Americans; Arab-Americans; Asian Americans; Native Americans; family farmers; the poor, and the working class; as well as European American Progressives who wanted to see the Democratic Party continue to embrace its modern New Deal roots.
Also reelected and hoping to bring the Republican Party in a more Libertarian direction,
Representative Ron Paul (R) of Texas makes good on his nickname “Dr. No”, proudly touting to his constituents his refusal to back “this Administration’s tax and spend nonsense”. He pledges to do the same against the incoming President-Elect Udall.
In a year of rampant Democratic victories, the GOP found a breath of fresh air in New Mexico’s U.S. Senate Race, where Apollo-Svarog XVII
Astronaut Harrison Schmitt (R) defeated two-term incumbent Joseph Montoya to help stop the bleeding in the upper chamber. A moderate Republican, Schmitt seeks a seat on the Senate Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Space.
While her husband serves as a Junior Executive partner at nearby Lockheed Martin,
Hillary Rodham Bush (R) finds success in her first election where her Presidential father in law could not. She wins her first public office as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates at the age of 29. Young, vivacious, and full of energy, Hillary used her twin children, Prescott and Chelsea, as proof of her “tough Mom” campaign image.
Proving his political gambit of jumping ship from the Bush Administration to be a success, former White House Chief of Staff
Richard “Dick” Cheney (R) is elected to represent his home state of Wyoming’s at-large Congressional District. He will quickly seek to grow his own power base and has his eyes set on a long term House leadership position.
Next Time on Blue Skies in Camelot: 1976 Draws to a Close