1996 Republican Primary
“This has got to be one of the nastiest races I’ve ever seen. And that’s saying something!”
-Roy Cohn on the Buckley News Network-
Initially, the leading candidate for 1996 on the Republican was Susan Scott Agnew, a senatorial member of the Agnew Dynasty that occupied the Governorship, the Maryland speakership, and 1 of the two members of the Senate delegation. She had recently filibustered Caseycare for 15 hours, nearly killing the bill. She had a wonderful TV presence, being a darling of the Republican base. However, it was leaked that she was considered “my dumbest child” by Daddy Spiro. While this scandal never hurt her long term Senate career, it killed her fundraising, made her a joke in the eyes of many, and prevented her form building any serious campaign infrastructure. It potentially hurt her chances in the election going further on.
Bob Dornan represented the “Reagan Liberty Conservative Wing”. While extremely Liberty Conservative in many respects, he fought against the rising post-war neo-isolationism, having famously helped whip support for Iacocca's U.N. biological weapons treaty. However, more interventionist Republicans preferred the more moderate tone of John Lewis, and Liberty Conservative firebrands had chosen Clarence Thomas. While Bob Dornan could bomb-throw with the best of them, he was sloppy, far from eloquent, insensitive, and light on policy.
John Lewis had been bloodied by the Football Scandal, alienating a great many Southern voters, though he gained a new demographic of supporters in white upper-middle class “Tennis Moms” in the process. Going into the race he found himself in the position where he had more support from white voters than black voters, losing much of the latter demographic to Clarence Thomas. Another candidate came in the form of a scion of the Rockefeller family. Worrying that more socially conservative forces would lead to Progressive gains, Stephen Clark Rockefeller decided to enter the race and use his family fortune to steamroll through the primaries through a massive advertising campaign. However, he was one of the most boring campaigners in history. In addition, he “over-moderated”, signaling his support for CaseyCare, and unwillingness to repeal any major Iacocca legislation or spending, for fear of increasing unemployment. When asked about inflation in an interview after the first primary, Rockefeller said that “America will have to accept high inflation as a reality of our post-war economy”. This gaffe was attacked non-stop by all candidates, and is cited as the worst in recent memory. Rockefeller’s lack of speaking skills and obvious tiredness meant he could never counteract those counter-narratives. Thankfully, his legislative skills were excellent, and in his state he would be fondly remembered for his work behind the scenes, “the governor you didn’t know was there”.
Rockefeller trying, and failing, to be more engaging
Clarence Thomas and John Lewis engaged in the most bitter infighting of all of the candidates as they vied for control over the African-American Portion of the party. Thomas was the voice of an emerging black middle, and upper-middle, class, that saw inflation, (which had ruined many of their savings) and government contracts (which they believed they never won on account of race) as what had killed their rapid improvement in economic fortunes in the initial post-war years. John Lewis represented the “sensible wing” of pragmatist centrists who allied with the wealthy and Northeastern parts of the party (even though their support mostly came from poorer members of the African American Community who were less anti-entitlement). Lewis would attack Thomas saying that “his positions reflect the fact that his rule would be terrible for our poor… as president he’d be worse for us than George Wallace...David Duke would love his welfare policies”. Thomas responded by calling Lewis an “Uncle Tom...always willing to sell out our progress to curry favor among the well-connected white aristocracy”. This fighting ruined both of these candidates’ chances to pull ahead. Though Thomas was eventually dragged behind due to apparent sexual assault allegations, which while unproven at the time, had forced his numbers further below Lewis’s. Both candidates did get a plank for D.C. Statehood into the official party platform (which the Progressives also adopted, though the Democrats had been choosing to ignore the issue in the general election, as it’d definitely lead to a loss for them electorally.)
Clarence Thomas firing up a crowd
Ted Bundy, on the other hand, built his candidacy for the general election. He would “triangulate”, to use a turn of phrase of his. He would be harsher on drugs, divorce, and the elite than the Democrats, which would give him appeal to culturally-focused Communonationalists, especially in the “shallow south” (Carolinas, Florida, Georgia as opposed to Alabama, Arkansas etc.). Bundy would be more “law and order” than the Democrats, (especially with the rise of the Whole-Life Liberals), could ever be. His record on drugs and union protests in Washington State backed this up. Bundy also added tirades against political connections and “New Deal Welfare for the rich” to this populism.
At a campaign dinner I was about to get a campaign check from a wealthy Miami widow, the type with more plastic than a lego brick, and she said, ‘You better not touch my social security or you won’t get my Hundred Thousand”, Now my fellow hard-working Americans, what does this woman need social security for? She is clearly not destitute, and spending money on her will cause your social security check to become meaningless in the face of inflation!
-Bundy 1/10/1996-Minnesota
Meanwhile, he was more dovish and pro-free trade than the progressives. After receiving an endorsement from Buchanan, the face of the anti-Freyist movement, Bundy said “it’s about time Frey and his Imperial friends shut their utopian yaps and we started focusing on our own backyard, the Caribbean and the Pacific.” While he wasn’t overtly anti-Freyist, just neo-isolationist, he appealed to that crowd as well. Bundy also appealed to Rockefeller Republican moderates, who often crossed party lines, by repeating at every campaign stop that “the Democrats are owned by anti-Trade Unions. They will never promote the trade America needs in the 21st century. In the last four years of Democratic Presidents not one trade deal has been signed. And Forget the Progressives, they can’t agree on anything except to praise chairman Perot”. Bundy sold himself as the Liberty Conservative candidate who could deliver in the general election whilst maintaining core Liberty Conservative tenants. Rockefeller and Lewis wouldn’t provide “the change America wants, the change that America needs” (from the Candidacy Announcement Speech) but Thomas and Dornan couldn’t win.
Ted Bundy in the fourth debate had one of his best lines of the campaign:
“as much as I dislike Caseycare, repealing it is not possible at this time, and I won’t waste time on it like Clarence Thomas. It doesn’t mean that I will, and I quote “accept inflation as a reality for our post-war economy” as the esteemed Governor Rockefeller has said. There are numerous non-essential government agencies, like Amtrak, that do nothing but hand checks to members of the elite to provide services for the rich, well-connected, and the, dare I even say this, old white men which run them. If we want to reduce the deficit, I suggest we enact the reforms suggested by Bob Dole and build a more efficient, and smaller, government by eliminating the non-essential and preserving what the people truly want and expect from government”.
This line added gravitas and a visionary element to a candidate derided as harsh, angry, and calculating. While Bundy had the demeanor of a populist demagogue, he was more intelligent then he let on.
Bundy did have one major issue, however, his wife Jennifer Bundy, née Aniston. Having married two years previously, such an age discrepancy made many uneasy. It had been a productive marriage, with a one year old boy and two year old girl, and a third (and final) girl on the way. Even after their marriage, Jennifer continued to grace the silver screen, especially after Bundy signed a special tax exemption for in-state TV studios. Rockefeller’s campaign manager, taking a page out of the book of Cohn and Bundy himself, dug up a previously recorded phone call, and allowed his minions to make made an attack ad out of it through an unaffiliated “Citizens for Rockefeller” ad. In a call to a friend played on the ad, Jennifer, then on her honeymoon said “I love powerful men...and he is a powerful man, he’s a...wow”. After beign released, Agnew said “it would be a tragedy for our highest office to be disgraced by a man obsessed with women’s looks not their minds, and with a first lady who only cares about her husband’s money.” Bob Dornan, upon hearing the news accused Mrs. Bundy of being a “gold-digger” and “a bimbo”.
Mrs. Bundy responded with humor. She appeared on a NYC comedy skit show singing “Bundy is a Girl’s Best Friend”, a twist on the Marilyn Monroe hit. Ted Bundy himself said “I find it funny that the governor would be lecturing us on desiring power and influence, has my good friend the governor forgotten he is, after all, a Rockefeller?” The pre-primary season was already rough, but that portion of the campaign season ended with the Minnesota Primary...
The Minnesota Primary proved to be a tight race, however, Bundy’s strategy of “Triangulation” worked well. Rockefeller and Agnew had decided to focus on later primaries. While Thomas, Lewis, and Dornan did better with the Liberty Conservative, Rockefeller Republican, and Reagan Republican bases, Bundy succeeded on the back of voters who crossed-over between parties and party factions. Many Communonationalsit Democrats, disappointed with the fare being served in the Democratic Party, decided to support Bundy. Other more libertarian Progressives, knowing that the Minnesota Primary was dominated by the solidly-left, pulled the lever for the dovish Bundy, who had been endorsed by Eugene McCarthy. Within the party, many Rockefeller Republicans, who felt that Lewis lacked the backbone to push free trade agreements through a hostile congress supported Bundy, as did Liberty Conservatives who felt Thomas and Dornan were unelectable.
The earlier “gold-digger” scandal was followed by a photo which revealed Bundy unexpectedly grabbing his wife’s “caboose” after his Minnesota Primary victory speech, which caused an upset among many. He was also caught calling Lynn Yeakel a “bitch” over an open mic, which Democrats eventually used as a moniker for the candidate. Many a T-shirt supporting Yeakel often proudly displayed the phrase “I voted for the bitch.” He did aggressively speak out against the rise in divorce and fathers leaving their families, which did somewhat stem the bleeding with female voters but leaving voters wondering what he'd do about the issue.
The next primary up, New Hampshire, had also been a nail biter. While Bundy did well among the manufacturing element, especially for a Republican, with his law and order rhetoric and anti-inflation tirades, (inflation had killed demand for New Hampshire textiles), he had trouble with the more socially liberal south. In a campaign speech he attacked Dartmouth College as “a den of drug-addled men and sinful sirens all subsisting on the bank accounts of their sugar-daddies” and even suggested banning fraternities and sororities in all government-supported institutions of higher learning. This lead to a general backlash, and even the townies supported, for the time being, the party culture of Dartmouth College (many pubs relied entirely on student money for their income, which trickled into the town’s economy as a whole). Oddly, it was Clarence Thomas who benefited the most from this comment, as many conservative New Hampshirites flocked to his candidacy. The candidate had declined to comment on the issue overall. The “bitch” and “caboose” issues hurt Bundy and made him vulnerable, and Rockefeller would win New Hampshire in an upset thanks to record campaign spending, his high numbers with white female voters and college students, and a divided liberty conservative vote.
Clarence Thomas proved his strength with a Virginia primary win on the back of the Buchanan-Wilder voters who failed to be convinced by the Buchanan endorsement. This was followed by a win by John Lewis, whose campaign had been reeling, in the Georgia Primary as expected. On the same day that Agnew’s came alive and won in Maryland and Delaware (though she could never find enough money from donors to keep an active candidacy). A successful primary debate on the subject of national security lead to a rise in support for Dornan, who won the California Primary the following week, on the back of a surprise Reagan endorsement. The Gipper himself did not stump for the candidate on the campaign trail, but the magic of such an endorsement from a man as idealized as Reagan gave him a spike in support. But he never could truly capitalize the magic as Bundy and Lewis wore him down quickly. Rockefeller, eyeing a contested convention, focused on running up the score in the northeast. Lewis did well in the moderate Midwest, Thomas dominated the conservative black southern primaries (garnering 70% support in the Mississippi Primary), whilst Bundy cleaned the plains and Northwest.
Republican emphasis on Winner-Take All Primaries (which composed 80% of all primaries) which had kept candidates in the race, had against all odds, led to a contested convention.
Delegate Standings
- Ted Bundy: 967
- John Lewis: 697
- Clarence Thomas: 689
- Steven Clark Rockefeller: 488
- Bob Dornan: 198
- Susan Scott Agnew: 50
The Republican Convention at Freedom Hall, Philadelphia
Initially, it looked like Rockefeller was the candidate to beat at the convention, despite the fact that it was no longer the 1960s, the Rockefeller family still had a base of support and the capital to support his campaign. Bundy was unpopular with the Republican elite what with his many gaffes and populist policies which bled into the Democratic platform. Many delegates were itching to jump aboard the campaigns of Rockefeller or Dornan. The “Rockefeller wave” seemed more inevitable after Susan Scott Agnew, seeing the writing on the wall, dropped out of the race and pledged her delegates to Rockefeller. However, John Lewis refused to withdraw, and neither did Bob Dornan, the latter still hoping that he could end up a compromise candidate or at least act like a kingmaker in the convention to get a good consolation spot, while the former wanted a candidate who would best represent the key concerns of his base and the liberty conservative faction. Bundy knew though Lewis and Thomas had both decided to not endorse Dornan and let him have their delegates, so that ticket would never be able to go over the top, until nearly all of the delegates had become unbound. But Dornan could be ignored for Bundy’s purposes, lest any craziness ensue.
Bundy also knew that if he could get the Lewis and Thomas delegates behind him, he could win the election by uniting the moderates and liberty conservatives, along with the nomination. He met personally with both leaders, and presented a compromise: he would agree to have the first African American Vice President (a compromise choice between the two), Thomas would receive a key position within the administration or cabinet, and Lewis would become Whip of the Senate if/once Lewis chose to return to the Senate after running for President. After Rockefeller agreed to a joint-ticket with Dornan in private, the three stayed up all night in Philadelphia, looking over lists of potential African American VP’s to beat the combined front. The frontrunner was Douglas Wilder, Governor of Virginia, but he said he would not accept the position. Their final choice was an unconventional one however. He was tough on crime, popular among textualist conservatives, and would balance out the ticket. An outsider-Justice James Meredith-a person who appealed to both factions was chosen. He would be the first supreme court justice to be part of a party’s presidential ticket. The convention hall was surprised by the choice, but Bundy had the delegates. Dornan, a staunch civil rights supporter, announced he would withdraw soon after, and Rockefeller, seeing both Lewis and Thomas endorsing Bundy, realized his time was up. A surprised James Meredith was flown from D.C. to make an ad-lib speech to the convention, which elated the crowd. His famous quick wits which like Phyllis Schlafly made him a darling of the Republicans but hated by the Democrats, made an impression on the audience. Bundy gave a so-so follow-up, but importantly looked “Presidential”, and seemed to put his gaffes behind him. Behind the scenes, Thomas, Bundy, and Lewis patched up a platform, however, many note that Bundy was by far the dominant force in the room.
The choice of the justice James Meredith led to Democratic attacks of politicizing the judiciary but unified the Republican party and lead to a rise in African American voter registration. Bundy, had kept the party united, but he had a long ways to go if he wanted to make it to the White House
James Meredith talking with the press
List of Primaries with Winner:
Alabama-Thomas
Alaska-Bundy
Arkansas-Thomas
Arizona-Dornan
California-Dornan
Colorado-Bundy
Connecticut-Rockefeller
D.C.-Lewis
Delaware-Agnew
Florida-Lewis
Georgia-Lewis
Hawaii-Dornan
Idaho-Bundy
Illinois-Lewis
Indiana-Lewis
IA-Bundy
Kansas-Bundy
Kentucky-Thomas
Louisiana-Lewis
Maine-Bundy
Maryland-Agnew
Massachusetts-Rockefeller
Michigan-Lewis
Minnesota-Bundy
Mississippi-Thomas
Missouri-Bundy
Montana-Bundy
Nebraska-Bundy
Nevada-Bundy
New Hampshire-Rockefeller
New Jersey-Rockefeller
New Mexico-Dornan
New York-Rockefeller
North Carolina-Thomas
North Dakota-Bundy
Ohio-Lewis
Oklahoma-Thomas
Oregon-Bundy
Pennsylvania-Lewis
Rhode Island-Bundy
South Carolina-Thomas
South Dakota-Bundy
Tennessee-Thomas
Texas-Thomas
Utah-Dornan
Vermont-Rockefeller
Virginia-Thomas
Washington-Bundy
West Virginia-Lewis
Wisconsin-Bundy
Wyoming-Bundy
Puerto Rico-Lewis
Guam-Dornan
USVI-Bundy
Republicans Abroad-Dornan