Twists and Turns: An Alternate 1952 and Beyond
- Thread starter Gentleman Biaggi
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Update 87: 1970 Chilean Election
Gentleman Biaggi
Banned
The 1970 Chilean Election were the first to be held after the Military Junta, lead by Gustavo Leigh had taken power. Twelve long years of coups, a horrid civil war, attempted revolts, riots, and controversial elections had lead to the Chilean populace searching for unity and peace. Luckily for them, they actually got to have that decision chosen by them. The Junta had promised to restore democracy after their rise to power, and after two years of reforming the nation, the Chilean election would be happening exactly on time. However, several changes were made that would make it much, much different from the 1964 Election. For one, the traditional system of having one round of voting and then a vote in the National Congress for president was replaced. In its place, a two-round system similar to France's was created. On the other hand, Leigh had been lighter on former Socialists and Communists than many liked. He allowed for the Socialist and Communist Parties to stay around, but their actions were heavily monitored by the government and they really didn't have much popular support after the Civil War. This action - or lack thereof angered some members of the Junta, particularly José Toribio Merino, who would end up being a major political opponent of Leigh in post-Junta Chile. The most famous election-based action taken by Leigh was his decision to cap all campaign donations at approximately $100,000. This largely played into the right-wing idea that Allende had only entered power due to donations by the Soviet Union, an idea that really only existed to counter the fact that there might have already been serious problems in Chile that caused Allende's electoral success. However, people (nations) on the right also disliked that idea, as they could no longer accept support from nations like Portgal or Peru. Overall, the reforms and actions of the Military Junta under Leigh were controversial on the left and the right, and some expected that they would negatively affect any candidate who connected themselves to the Junta.
Fortunately for the Junta's supporters, the man to throw his hat into the presidential ring first was Gustavo Leigh himself. However, Leigh's early candidacy is said to have negatively affected the election itself. Several potential candidates stayed away, either fearing that the election would be fraudulent in some way or that Leigh would steamroll them freely. José Toribio Merino was not like those potential candidates. He jumped in almost the second Leigh did and while Leigh ran as an independent (with support from several parties but still), Merino created his own political party, the Partido de la Gente Libre, or Party of the Free People. The party was largely a right-libertarian personality cult that was used as an attack dog on all his opponents. Merino was supported by Junta member Augusto Pinochet, but other than that, he lacked real mainstream support. Even Jorge Alessandri, a supporter of the Junta but one who saw it as too moderate, refused to back Merino and instead ran for president on his own ticket out of anger at Merino. Meanwhile, the Christian Democratic Party was split between pro- and anti-Junta factions. The anti-Junta faction managed to take power within the party, and it nominated progressive Radomiro Tomic, who was also supported by the Radical Democracy Party. Despite Tomic's reputation as a progressive, Rafael Tarud was seen as the "real" left-wing candidate of the race, leading the so-called "Agrarian Alliance", which was a left-wing nationalist party, much like the old Socialists, but one that also seemed to oppose the Allende's regime itself while supporting its policies. Smaller candidates included Clodomiro Almeyda of the Socialist Party, Luis Corvalán of the Communists, and María De la Cruz of the Equality Movement.
The first round of the election was expected to be close, but Leigh was expected to make it to the second round easily. This all changed when the wildly popular Alessandri entered the race. Alessandri pushed Leigh to second, and there were even fears that Leigh, Alessandri, and Merino would split the vote and Tomic or Tarud would make it to the second round with a chance to win. However, Leigh campaigned hard, mentioning his success at stabilizing the country and pointing out that Alessandri had refused to run in stronger years like 1958 and 1964 as a way to show that Alessandri wasn't really committed to becoming president. While this campaign undoubtedly helped Leigh, what really lead to his first-round victory was the revelation that Alessandri had taken bribes to not run for president out of fear of splitting the right-wing vote away from the Christian Democrats. This absolutely tanked Alessandri's candidacy and he finished with only 8% of the vote while continuing to claim that he was innocent and had never done such a thing. While Alessandri's collapse assisted Leigh, it could be argued that it helped Rafael Tarud more. With Tarud running a fiery populist and anti-corruption campaign, the revelation that the son of a former Chilean president had taken bribes that arguably lead to the Chilean civil war was a political gold mine for Tarud. His base began to truly rally behind him, with many saying that if Tarud wasn't in the second round of voting, they'd have "no choice" but to spoil their ballot or stay home. This lead to fears of a revolt from Tarud supporters within the Junta, but upon further investigation, all threats were generally seen as minor. However, a much bigger potential threat was a coup from supporters of Merino. Merino had support from within the military, and if some weren't careful, a coup could very much occur. This even became a realization within the public, and it generally hurt Merino's numbers. That wasn't the only thing that did though, Merino himself was just not a very good candidate and his campaign suffered. With all the chaos that occurred before the first round, the two men who would make it to the second round would shock the nation as a whole.
Despite divisions within his party, despite having a campaign that failed to do much when compared to the fiery populism of Tarud or the hard campaigning of Leigh, Radmiro Tomic made it to the second round of voting. However, his luck largely ran out there. While Leigh failed to get the support of Alessandri or Merino in the second round, he gained most of their supporters by pushing his candidacy to the right. Tomic didn't have much to build on, and as his base was largely moderate opposition to the Junta's power (really just opposition to Leigh at this point in the election), he had little crossover appeal. Instead, Leigh buried him in the general election, and began his "true" presidency. Leigh's time as president would be a stark change from when he was head of the Military Junta. He moved to the right on many issues, and ended up leaving his former independent affiliation to create the Union Party, which would become the main center-right party in Chile. If anything, the 1970 Election would be famous for creating the political system that followed the Junta. In four out of the next five elections, the two candidates would be from the Agrarian Alliance and the Union Party. The rise of the Agrarian Alliance would later be attributed to a political vacuum on the left of the Chilean Political spectrum and a political scandal that affected the National Congress under Leigh....
Fortunately for the Junta's supporters, the man to throw his hat into the presidential ring first was Gustavo Leigh himself. However, Leigh's early candidacy is said to have negatively affected the election itself. Several potential candidates stayed away, either fearing that the election would be fraudulent in some way or that Leigh would steamroll them freely. José Toribio Merino was not like those potential candidates. He jumped in almost the second Leigh did and while Leigh ran as an independent (with support from several parties but still), Merino created his own political party, the Partido de la Gente Libre, or Party of the Free People. The party was largely a right-libertarian personality cult that was used as an attack dog on all his opponents. Merino was supported by Junta member Augusto Pinochet, but other than that, he lacked real mainstream support. Even Jorge Alessandri, a supporter of the Junta but one who saw it as too moderate, refused to back Merino and instead ran for president on his own ticket out of anger at Merino. Meanwhile, the Christian Democratic Party was split between pro- and anti-Junta factions. The anti-Junta faction managed to take power within the party, and it nominated progressive Radomiro Tomic, who was also supported by the Radical Democracy Party. Despite Tomic's reputation as a progressive, Rafael Tarud was seen as the "real" left-wing candidate of the race, leading the so-called "Agrarian Alliance", which was a left-wing nationalist party, much like the old Socialists, but one that also seemed to oppose the Allende's regime itself while supporting its policies. Smaller candidates included Clodomiro Almeyda of the Socialist Party, Luis Corvalán of the Communists, and María De la Cruz of the Equality Movement.
The first round of the election was expected to be close, but Leigh was expected to make it to the second round easily. This all changed when the wildly popular Alessandri entered the race. Alessandri pushed Leigh to second, and there were even fears that Leigh, Alessandri, and Merino would split the vote and Tomic or Tarud would make it to the second round with a chance to win. However, Leigh campaigned hard, mentioning his success at stabilizing the country and pointing out that Alessandri had refused to run in stronger years like 1958 and 1964 as a way to show that Alessandri wasn't really committed to becoming president. While this campaign undoubtedly helped Leigh, what really lead to his first-round victory was the revelation that Alessandri had taken bribes to not run for president out of fear of splitting the right-wing vote away from the Christian Democrats. This absolutely tanked Alessandri's candidacy and he finished with only 8% of the vote while continuing to claim that he was innocent and had never done such a thing. While Alessandri's collapse assisted Leigh, it could be argued that it helped Rafael Tarud more. With Tarud running a fiery populist and anti-corruption campaign, the revelation that the son of a former Chilean president had taken bribes that arguably lead to the Chilean civil war was a political gold mine for Tarud. His base began to truly rally behind him, with many saying that if Tarud wasn't in the second round of voting, they'd have "no choice" but to spoil their ballot or stay home. This lead to fears of a revolt from Tarud supporters within the Junta, but upon further investigation, all threats were generally seen as minor. However, a much bigger potential threat was a coup from supporters of Merino. Merino had support from within the military, and if some weren't careful, a coup could very much occur. This even became a realization within the public, and it generally hurt Merino's numbers. That wasn't the only thing that did though, Merino himself was just not a very good candidate and his campaign suffered. With all the chaos that occurred before the first round, the two men who would make it to the second round would shock the nation as a whole.
Despite divisions within his party, despite having a campaign that failed to do much when compared to the fiery populism of Tarud or the hard campaigning of Leigh, Radmiro Tomic made it to the second round of voting. However, his luck largely ran out there. While Leigh failed to get the support of Alessandri or Merino in the second round, he gained most of their supporters by pushing his candidacy to the right. Tomic didn't have much to build on, and as his base was largely moderate opposition to the Junta's power (really just opposition to Leigh at this point in the election), he had little crossover appeal. Instead, Leigh buried him in the general election, and began his "true" presidency. Leigh's time as president would be a stark change from when he was head of the Military Junta. He moved to the right on many issues, and ended up leaving his former independent affiliation to create the Union Party, which would become the main center-right party in Chile. If anything, the 1970 Election would be famous for creating the political system that followed the Junta. In four out of the next five elections, the two candidates would be from the Agrarian Alliance and the Union Party. The rise of the Agrarian Alliance would later be attributed to a political vacuum on the left of the Chilean Political spectrum and a political scandal that affected the National Congress under Leigh....
No Pinochet is great - though I naturally would like to see the Christian Democrats doing well there!
Gentleman Biaggi
Banned
Nah they’ve split too much because of the more moderate JuntaNo Pinochet is great - though I naturally would like to see the Christian Democrats doing well there!
Update 88: The 1973 French Election
Gentleman Biaggi
Banned
Going into the 1973 Election, it seemed as if Jacques Massu may have more issues running for re-election than most expected when he entered office. Massu's time as president was less based off fixing the issues at home as pushing through a strong foreign policy. Due to splits in the Capitalist Bloc, many European leaders had decided that forming an alliance between nations to protect each others' colonial and domestic interests was necessary. Massu helped lead the front on this (along with newly "elected" Portuguese Prime Minister António de Spínola), and in 1972, the "New Entente" between Portugal, France, the United Kingdom, the Spanish Successor-States and Belgium was formed, largely due to Massu's work. Massu then got one of his political allies, Maurice Schumann to lead said New Entente, thus verifying Massu's power within Europe.[1] That wasn't all, as Massu also pushed for French entry into the First Middle Eastern War, and sent troops in during the Algerian Crisis.[2] However, this focus on foreign policy issues lead to Massu ignoring some more key issues in France. For one, many began to oppose intervention into the Middle East, as memories of the economic crisis caused in part due to intervention in South Vietnam and Algeria were brought up again. Not only that, but protests by some opposing the more conservative domestic policies of Massu were also cause for controversy. This lead to major victories for the left-wing of France in the 1969 Parliamentary Elections, but not enough to topple the Republican Alliance's Majority.
While Massu faced protests and growing legislative opposition, he was not dead by a long shot. For one, many anti-war protests were sponsored by the left, and many ironically ended in violence between law enforcement and protesters. Massu was able to turn this on his opponents, tarring them as the same radicals who were attacking law enforcement and disrupting a war that was generally popular within the New Entente and the fractured Capitalist Bloc. Also, while left-wing legislative victories seemed daunting, their failure to actually take even a plurality was telling. If anything, this success began to fracture the left, especially when it came to foreign policy, as pro-US, anti-US, pro-NE, anti-NE, pro-war, and anti-war split-offs of the SFIO, PCF, PSU, and Radical Parties began to rise. While these groups had little legislative representation, they could severely hurt the left in the first round of the French election. Meanwhile, Massu was actually much more popular in France than some outsiders actually expected. Massu's strong "French-First" foreign policy was incredibly popular among centrist and right-wing groups, thus strengthening Massu's Republican Alliance. Not only that, but the nation's economy was stronger than in years past, and there was not much sentiment to "switch horses mid-stream" during a major war.
The 1973 French Presidential Election was, as expected, a war among the left for who would get the right to fight Massu in the Second Round. Left-Wing and Agrarian split-offs began to battle, attacking each other just as much as they attacked Massu for their personal pet issue. This lead to the rise of one of the most unexpected political returns in French history, the return of the Union of French Fraternity, or the Poujadist movement. Yes, despite royally shitting the bed the first time they got into power, the UFF had never truly died, and Pierre Poujade was fighting just as hard as ever in parliament about really anything Massu did that wasn't taken straight out of the UFF handbook. The party's nominee for president, Jean-Louis Tixier-Vignancour was even more controversial than Poujade, and was a former representative in Vichy France, causing many to attack him. However, Vignancour continuously apologized for his former affiliations, and campaigned hard despite it. However, this constant apologizing lead Communist leader Jacques Duclos to famously declare "Si tu dois continuer à t'excuser à chaque arrêt de la campagne, tu n'auras pas le temps de faire campagne"- or "If you have to keep apologizing at every campaign stop, you won't have enough time to actually campaign". Vignancour responded by attacking Duclos even more, and used right-wing resentment of the PCF to his advantage. In reality, Vignancour's campaign was about one thing, and that was while France seems high-and-mighty now, Massu is leading us down a potentially dark path. This resentment was not only shared by normal anti-tax Poujadist voters, who would vote for the UFF no matter what, because they still had to pay taxes, but with people who were actually more conscious of France's foreign policy. Vignancour stirred up support by mentioning Massu's decision to support Kabylian rebels in Algeria, or his push for home rule in Madagascar, or his decision to support the Saudi government despite its radical actions. While this foreign policy view was right-wing, it was independent, and, seemingly most importantly, it was different. Almost every single candidate had a differing foreign policy, but many overlapped, and with all the split-offs, many wondered if the split-offs themselves were just pointless and petty (they were) and decided to vote for Vignancour or Massu over (arguably) louder, but less independent or coherent ideas. While this wasn't the only thing that strengthened Vignancour (his campaign advertisements often played on the racist sentiments of the French populace and several gaffes were made by Jacques Duclos), and Vignancour certainly did not make it to the second round in a blowout (he only beat Duclos by 0.9% of the vote), it certainly helped push him to the second round.
In the end, it didn't matter. Massu stomped Vignancour to the ground with his second round campaign, as not only did the strong Republican Alliance base vote for him, but practically the entire left did out of fear of a Vignancour presidency (although some did support him out of spite). While Massu really did not have to campaign that much, he ended up basically ending the Vignancour campaign by showing up to a televised debate in full military garb, and while he never mentioned it, a picture's worth a thousand words, and the image of Massu proudly debating a former Vichy leader while showing off his medals won defeating him was enough to cause even the most undecided voters to vote for Massu[3]. Despite this, Vignancour won 25% of the vote, but not a single administrative division. For the next six years, Massu would continue to make history on the foreign and domestic fronts.
[1], [2] Both the Algerian Crisis and First Middle Eastern War will be described in more depth later, this is just about F R A N C E
[3] I'm convinced @Gonzo would have a picture of this debate on his wall ITTL- just for the motivation
While Massu faced protests and growing legislative opposition, he was not dead by a long shot. For one, many anti-war protests were sponsored by the left, and many ironically ended in violence between law enforcement and protesters. Massu was able to turn this on his opponents, tarring them as the same radicals who were attacking law enforcement and disrupting a war that was generally popular within the New Entente and the fractured Capitalist Bloc. Also, while left-wing legislative victories seemed daunting, their failure to actually take even a plurality was telling. If anything, this success began to fracture the left, especially when it came to foreign policy, as pro-US, anti-US, pro-NE, anti-NE, pro-war, and anti-war split-offs of the SFIO, PCF, PSU, and Radical Parties began to rise. While these groups had little legislative representation, they could severely hurt the left in the first round of the French election. Meanwhile, Massu was actually much more popular in France than some outsiders actually expected. Massu's strong "French-First" foreign policy was incredibly popular among centrist and right-wing groups, thus strengthening Massu's Republican Alliance. Not only that, but the nation's economy was stronger than in years past, and there was not much sentiment to "switch horses mid-stream" during a major war.
The 1973 French Presidential Election was, as expected, a war among the left for who would get the right to fight Massu in the Second Round. Left-Wing and Agrarian split-offs began to battle, attacking each other just as much as they attacked Massu for their personal pet issue. This lead to the rise of one of the most unexpected political returns in French history, the return of the Union of French Fraternity, or the Poujadist movement. Yes, despite royally shitting the bed the first time they got into power, the UFF had never truly died, and Pierre Poujade was fighting just as hard as ever in parliament about really anything Massu did that wasn't taken straight out of the UFF handbook. The party's nominee for president, Jean-Louis Tixier-Vignancour was even more controversial than Poujade, and was a former representative in Vichy France, causing many to attack him. However, Vignancour continuously apologized for his former affiliations, and campaigned hard despite it. However, this constant apologizing lead Communist leader Jacques Duclos to famously declare "Si tu dois continuer à t'excuser à chaque arrêt de la campagne, tu n'auras pas le temps de faire campagne"- or "If you have to keep apologizing at every campaign stop, you won't have enough time to actually campaign". Vignancour responded by attacking Duclos even more, and used right-wing resentment of the PCF to his advantage. In reality, Vignancour's campaign was about one thing, and that was while France seems high-and-mighty now, Massu is leading us down a potentially dark path. This resentment was not only shared by normal anti-tax Poujadist voters, who would vote for the UFF no matter what, because they still had to pay taxes, but with people who were actually more conscious of France's foreign policy. Vignancour stirred up support by mentioning Massu's decision to support Kabylian rebels in Algeria, or his push for home rule in Madagascar, or his decision to support the Saudi government despite its radical actions. While this foreign policy view was right-wing, it was independent, and, seemingly most importantly, it was different. Almost every single candidate had a differing foreign policy, but many overlapped, and with all the split-offs, many wondered if the split-offs themselves were just pointless and petty (they were) and decided to vote for Vignancour or Massu over (arguably) louder, but less independent or coherent ideas. While this wasn't the only thing that strengthened Vignancour (his campaign advertisements often played on the racist sentiments of the French populace and several gaffes were made by Jacques Duclos), and Vignancour certainly did not make it to the second round in a blowout (he only beat Duclos by 0.9% of the vote), it certainly helped push him to the second round.
In the end, it didn't matter. Massu stomped Vignancour to the ground with his second round campaign, as not only did the strong Republican Alliance base vote for him, but practically the entire left did out of fear of a Vignancour presidency (although some did support him out of spite). While Massu really did not have to campaign that much, he ended up basically ending the Vignancour campaign by showing up to a televised debate in full military garb, and while he never mentioned it, a picture's worth a thousand words, and the image of Massu proudly debating a former Vichy leader while showing off his medals won defeating him was enough to cause even the most undecided voters to vote for Massu[3]. Despite this, Vignancour won 25% of the vote, but not a single administrative division. For the next six years, Massu would continue to make history on the foreign and domestic fronts.
[1], [2] Both the Algerian Crisis and First Middle Eastern War will be described in more depth later, this is just about F R A N C E
[3] I'm convinced @Gonzo would have a picture of this debate on his wall ITTL- just for the motivation
Gentleman Biaggi
Banned
Howdy y’all, I’m sorry that I haven’t gotten an update out in a while, school, other AH projects, and of course basketball (playing in the Elite Eight has been hell on my AH prospects- at least as far as YOU know). However, this mediocre TL is not dead, and you can expect an update by the end of the week.
Update 89: The 1970 Massachusetts Gubernatorial Election
Gentleman Biaggi
Banned
In recent years, the political climate of Massachusetts had become much more toxic. Racial issues had become prevalent, most famously with the Boston busing crisis, that had lead to controversial exchanges between white and black Boston residents. Meanwhile, the state was also politically split. While traditionally Democratic, Massachusetts had elected a Republican senator simply due to splits within the Democratic Party, and with Democratic governor Robert Kennedy retiring after eight years as governor, Republicans hoped for a return to governance for the first time since 1963. With this, Republicans went hard to draft Edward Brooke. Brooke had been the Massachusetts Secretary of State since 1964, and was popular with both Democrats and Republicans, who saw him as a figure of compromise. Brooke was also supported by most establishment Republicans for his opinions on the Boston Busing Crisis. While Brooke had done his best to stay out of the issue due to his position as Secretary of State, he had expressed a very pro-busing point of view. The Democratic Party of Massachusetts was very split on the issue, and if they nominated an anti-busing candidate, Republicans hoped that liberals could float to the liberal Brooke and if they nominated a more pro-busing candidate, a third-party candidate with more ties to the Democrats would run and split the vote. Brooke easily won the Republican nomination against very minor opposition, and largely spent much of his campaign focused on the general election. He endorsed Eliot Williams, another liberal Republican for the position of Lt. Governor, and with that, the Republican ticket became one of the more liberal in the state's history.
While the Republican Party was very much united, the Democrats were a little more... disorganized. Busing issues had split the party down the middle, as had the fact that with no real conservative opposition in Massachusetts, more conservatives flocked to the Democrats, and largely built up a strong "populist" wing. With Robert Kennedy refusing another term and Ed Kennedy wanting to stay on as Mayor of Boston, Democrats began to look for someone newer to the political scene. Kevin White, a Boston City Council member and Kennedy ally looked like a great potential candidate, but he struggles against the two other major candidates. White's major opponents were long-time Lynn Mayor Pasquale Caggiano, who been mayor of the city since 1956, and had strong ties to labour and was supported by former senator Foster Furcolo, which helped him build a base among Italian-Americans. While Furcolo had lost in 1966 Senate Election, many felt that had largely been due to Kennedy influence, splitting many Italian and Irish Democratic voters and reigniting many old feuds. The other was Louise Day Hicks, a noted anti-busing advocate who was also popular with more blue-collar voters, particularly in Boston. Hicks was generally more conservative than Caggiano, and thus won support from the party's growing "populist" wing. Other than those three, there were many minor candidates, including left-wing future Governor Michael Dukakis. At the state's convention, however, Caggiano preformed worse than expected due to some issues with the "establishment", and decided to drop out before the official primary took place. Caggiano decided to endorse Hicks, which on paper seemed strange, Caggiano had generally stayed out of the busing debate as mayor and did not share the same views as Hicks, not only that, but Hicks was a very strong and proud Irish figure, which seemed to contrast with Caggiano's very Italian base. However, the two did share similarities, both had support from union voters and their bases were very blue collar and were fed up with the Kennedys and their domination of Massachusetts politics. This seeming unification of two very angry bases lead to the nomination of Hicks, which shocked the liberal infrastructure of the party. In an attempt to "make up" with so-called "dynasty voters" - or voters who seemingly had Democrat in their blood, Hicks supported John Roosevelt for Lt. Governor. Even this seemed to cause a controversy, as Roosevelt was more conservative than his brothers or father, and had only moved to Massachusetts in 1960.
After an attempt at unity within the Democratic Party, the Republicans prepared for victory. Surely Massachusetts wouldn't throw their support to Hicks? The same woman who used populism to attack racial progress? As it turned out, they were wrong- sort of. Hicks had growing support, particularly from blue-collar voters across the state, and her support from Caggiano had forced her to abandon her plays towards Irish voters. Hicks was famously attacked as a "fascist" by some radicals in the state, which angered her supporters and helped build up some support as an "anti-radical" candidate. It also seemed as if the presence of Roosevelt would help Hicks, as many voters felt that Roosevelt's name was enough reason to vote for Hicks, as both were on the same ticket. The campaign would become famously dirty, with ads attacking each other that spread the airwaves and dominated the state. Despite Brooke's best efforts, he was not above the same type of attack ads, and notably attacked Hicks and the Boston Busing Opposition as racist and against improvements in schooling. Brooke lead narrowly by election day, and would win with 53% of the vote, largely due to liberal cross-over voters and bigger minority support than had been given to Republicans in the past.
While the Republican Party was very much united, the Democrats were a little more... disorganized. Busing issues had split the party down the middle, as had the fact that with no real conservative opposition in Massachusetts, more conservatives flocked to the Democrats, and largely built up a strong "populist" wing. With Robert Kennedy refusing another term and Ed Kennedy wanting to stay on as Mayor of Boston, Democrats began to look for someone newer to the political scene. Kevin White, a Boston City Council member and Kennedy ally looked like a great potential candidate, but he struggles against the two other major candidates. White's major opponents were long-time Lynn Mayor Pasquale Caggiano, who been mayor of the city since 1956, and had strong ties to labour and was supported by former senator Foster Furcolo, which helped him build a base among Italian-Americans. While Furcolo had lost in 1966 Senate Election, many felt that had largely been due to Kennedy influence, splitting many Italian and Irish Democratic voters and reigniting many old feuds. The other was Louise Day Hicks, a noted anti-busing advocate who was also popular with more blue-collar voters, particularly in Boston. Hicks was generally more conservative than Caggiano, and thus won support from the party's growing "populist" wing. Other than those three, there were many minor candidates, including left-wing future Governor Michael Dukakis. At the state's convention, however, Caggiano preformed worse than expected due to some issues with the "establishment", and decided to drop out before the official primary took place. Caggiano decided to endorse Hicks, which on paper seemed strange, Caggiano had generally stayed out of the busing debate as mayor and did not share the same views as Hicks, not only that, but Hicks was a very strong and proud Irish figure, which seemed to contrast with Caggiano's very Italian base. However, the two did share similarities, both had support from union voters and their bases were very blue collar and were fed up with the Kennedys and their domination of Massachusetts politics. This seeming unification of two very angry bases lead to the nomination of Hicks, which shocked the liberal infrastructure of the party. In an attempt to "make up" with so-called "dynasty voters" - or voters who seemingly had Democrat in their blood, Hicks supported John Roosevelt for Lt. Governor. Even this seemed to cause a controversy, as Roosevelt was more conservative than his brothers or father, and had only moved to Massachusetts in 1960.
After an attempt at unity within the Democratic Party, the Republicans prepared for victory. Surely Massachusetts wouldn't throw their support to Hicks? The same woman who used populism to attack racial progress? As it turned out, they were wrong- sort of. Hicks had growing support, particularly from blue-collar voters across the state, and her support from Caggiano had forced her to abandon her plays towards Irish voters. Hicks was famously attacked as a "fascist" by some radicals in the state, which angered her supporters and helped build up some support as an "anti-radical" candidate. It also seemed as if the presence of Roosevelt would help Hicks, as many voters felt that Roosevelt's name was enough reason to vote for Hicks, as both were on the same ticket. The campaign would become famously dirty, with ads attacking each other that spread the airwaves and dominated the state. Despite Brooke's best efforts, he was not above the same type of attack ads, and notably attacked Hicks and the Boston Busing Opposition as racist and against improvements in schooling. Brooke lead narrowly by election day, and would win with 53% of the vote, largely due to liberal cross-over voters and bigger minority support than had been given to Republicans in the past.
Update 90: The 1970 Midterm Elections (Part I)
Gentleman Biaggi
Banned
Going into the 1970 Elections, Oklahoma was one of the "safer" western seats for the Constitution Party. Governor Dewey Bartlett had entered the governor's mansion in 1966 with a narrow victory over former governor J. Howard Edmondson and Republican D.A Bryce. In 1968, Bartlett and the Constitution Party of Oklahoma promised to endorse Republican senator John Jarman as long as the Republicans supported Bartlett in 1970. An agreement between the two parties was reached, and so, many felt that Bartlett was on the road to re-election. During his one term as governor, Bartlett began to make more conservative changes to a government once dominated by Democrats. Despite this, he also pushed for some amounts of “modernization”, notably ending Oklahoma’s prohibition law, which caused some controversy within his party, but was celebrated by much of the population. He also became a figure for more moderate politics within the Constitution Party, proclaiming that in order to survive, the Constitution Party must bend slightly to the center. While this helped his position with the general population, many members of the party were furious, and Bartlett faced a primary challenge from the much more conservative Reuel Little, who claimed that Bartlett had sold out to the Republicans and Democrats. Despite this, Bartlett won re-nomination from the Constitution Party easily. His next challenge was the Republican nomination, where he was challenged by moderate Oklahoma State Senator Henry Bellmon, who claimed support from many Republicans hesitant to back Bartlett. A primary battle ensued, and it seemed as if Bartlett's strategy was actually failing, as he was forced to campaign heavily in the Republican primary which also seemed to prove Little right in the Constitution primary. He still won both, but support was mixed.
In this climate, a strong, middle-ground Democrat could truly succeed. That man was expected to be David Hall, an attorney popular with the establishment. However, Hall was investigated for extortion during the campaign, and pretty soon he collapsed because of it. Instead, Fred Harris, a left-wing state senator with significant popularity with younger voters and Native Americans won the primary. He was seen as "too left-wing" for the party by many within it, and that lukewarm support hurt him in the general. Many swing voters alienated with Harris were willing to vote for Bartlett, as he was less "threatening" than other Constitution Party members and had promised to be a governor for all Oklahomans. But there was a reason why Harris had won the nomination in the first place, and it was not just youth and Native support. No, Harris had a penchant for grassroots campaigning, which helped him push hard against Bartlett, even with his lead in the polls. If things had stayed the same, Harris would have continued a catch-up campaign, and may have succeeded, but instead one of the more surprising candidates entered the race.
Well, he didn't really enter it. Stuart Hamblen, a former country singer and politician had retired to Oklahoma in 1962. He was noted for his support of temperance and runs for office in 1938 and 1952. However, he generally kept a low profile in Oklahoma, recording a few songs and eventual releasing an album in 1973 with a fellow politician. If things had stayed the way they were in Oklahoma, he would've simply stayed out of politics. Instead, Bartlett had decided to destroy the state's ban on alcohol, leaving Mississippi as the only state with a Prohibition law on the books. Hamblen, a former candidate himself decided it was time to step in. When he announced his campaign in early 1965 (only a few months after the repeal), it received little fanfare. Sure, he had returned to fame in the 1950s, but he wouldn't make a real change in the campaign. That was until major wings within the Constitution, Republican, and Democratic parties felt underrepresented. Hamblen decided to return to the old days of the Prohibition Party taking support from across the political spectrum.
The general election campaign was suprisingly boring. Despite grassroots campaigning from Hamblen and Harris, no major scandals or gaffes hit any candidate as the state went into election day.
At first glance, it seemed as if Harris would narrowly pull away with a victory. However, later results showed Bartlett successfully defending himself for re-election. A part of this was surprisingly Hamblen. Sure, it would appear that Hamblen's stronger-than-usual campaign would take away support from Bartlett, largely due to the Prohibition Party's shift to the right. However, due to Hamblen and Harris's similar campaigning styles, they actually split from each other. Hamblen managed to win Roger Millis county with 47% of the vote due to many within the county feeling that the overturn on the state's ban on alcohol was a major issue.
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In 1964, Dan Kuykendall, a little-known Memphis citizen and Constitution Party activist defeated incumbent senator Al Gore. Six years later, Tennessee politics was becoming much different. For one, while the Democratic Party had once suffered from internal splitting that lead to Constitution victories, splits were actually occurring on the outside of the party. However, they weren't the only ones. Kuykendall was primaried out of office by Thomas J. Anderson, a state representative who was politically to the right of him. Anderson claimed that Kuykendall was too close to the "Kefauver-Johnson Axis", noting the senator's decision to vote for Quentin Burdick when he was a supreme court nominee, and that seemed to be enough to throw out Kuykendall for most Constitution Party members in Tennessee. As for the Democratic Party, a heated primary between machine-backed former governor Roy Blanton and naval officer William R. Anderson ended with a narrow Blanton victory, largely due to machine support. However, it was clear to many that Anderson had enough actual support to run as an Independent. He did so, and began by attacking Blanton and the state Democratic party for its machinery and often corrupt politics.
Meanwhile, the Republican Party of Tennessee had begun to compete more and more against the Democrats and Constitutionalists. Splits in both had allowed for some narrow Republican victories in the past, and they had lots of power in East Tennessee, a historic region for them. In 1970, they nominated Howard Baker, a member of the House of Representatives and noted ally of powerful Oregon representative Mark Hatfield, who would take the reigns as Republican leader after Leslie Arends retired in 1971. Baker was known for his passion for compromise, which upset some more conservative Republicans. However, Republican leadership was able to calm conservative Republicans due to gubernatorial candidate Bill Brock, who helped them stay within party bounds.
The general campaign looked like a sweep for the Republicans as splitting within the Democratic party occurred and many more moderate members of the Constitution party began to oppose Anderson's nomination. One poll even had Baker at 45% against a very divided opposition. However, things began to shift wildly. For one, a number of Baker gaffes allowed for Thomas Anderson to go on the attack, which helped him bring back some supporters. As for the Democrats, it was clear that William Anderson was their real candidate. Support from Nancy Kefauver in the general election only proved this, and William Anderson began to pick up among black voters, who were historically a part of the famed Crump machine, or voted Republican out of protest if a particularly "controversial" candidate was nominated. Then, Roy Blanton was accused by state Attorney General Milton Rice of selling pardons for liquor licenses as governor, which effectively ended all of his support and caused many to go to either Baker or William Anderson. Labour Unions also helped, as due to machine-supported governor Henry Leob's poor relations with labour, they began to throw support behind anti-machine candidates, and in the senate election, most of that support went to William Anderson.
In the final weeks, it looked as if the election would be a showdown between William Anderson and Howard Baker. Thomas Anderson was attempting to rile up the base, but without more moderate supporters, it seemed useless. In the end, it looked as if Anderson would win the election and go to Washington with a strong anti-establishment mindset.
In the gubernatorial election, a similar situation was occurring. Incumbent governor Henry Loeb was hated by practically everyone, and machines were only keeping him around to retain control over the party, and even then he almost lost re-nomination. Democrats appeared split, and as a result of that, one of the stranger candidates in Tennessee history took advantage of the situation. That candidate was Nat Winston, a former country music singer, solider, pastor, and doctor, who ran a strong campaign based around left-wing Christian populism, some amounts of "state/Appalachian pride" that somehow did not veer into confederate territory, banjo playing at rallies, and a strangely progressive idea (for Tennessee) of improving mental health facilities and supporting rehabilitation centers for sexual abuse survivors (no he did not put those last two points in front of a banjo tune at any rally).[1]
Other than Loeb and Winston, Republicans nominated Bill Brock, a famed Republican activist who had gained notoriety for running Frank Carlson's campaign in Tennessee, which was surprisingly successful considering that Frank Carlson's campaign everywhere else was a disaster. Brock contrasted with senate candidate Howard Baker due to his more conservative positions, and was expected to cut into the Constitution Party's support. Speaking of the Constitution Party, because they cannot go away, they nominated Jimmy Quillen, who largely won the nomination due to support from the alcohol industry. Despite this, he actually ran an interesting campaign for a Constitution Party nominee. Seeing union support evaporate for Loeb and hesitant to back Winston, he decided to go after it for an election victory. He generally moderated his stances, while also campaigning hard in union-populated areas. This allowed him to build a coalition of "traditional" Constitution voters, working-class members of unions, and the occasional Republican impressed with his more moderate stances. This coalition of sorts put Quillen at the top of most polls, however, this ended when Ray Blanton's scandal came out.
Yes, despite happening to the nominee of another candidate in another party in another race, Ray Blanton selling pardons for liquor licenses hurt Quillen. Quillen's deep ties to the alcohol industry seemed increasingly obvious. They were used to attack him and especially hurt him among union voters, who increasingly saw him as a fat cat and not a candidate out for their needs and interests. Quillen could've rode his coalition to a shaky victory and with a few attack ads (and some harsh realities for more idealistic voters) it could've been secured. Instead, Quillen, fearing that he had already lost union support (and pressure coming from Thomas Anderson) decided to shift to the right, hurting him even more, as moderate Republicans also deserted him. Bill Brock then swung in, regaining moderate support and then creating attack ads against Winston for his pro-abortion views in rural counties. Winston's poll numbers also began to hurt and he failed to gain support from William Anderson, but he still maintained a loyal base of support.
Still, as the weeks went on, the election was a battle between Brock and Quillen. Sure, Quillen had dived to the right, and Brock was punching hard, but plenty of people in Tennesee were willing to vote for Quillen, and still more felt "unsure" about Brock. However, several gaffes from Quillen and killed him, and the election ended with a Brock victory.
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In many Southern States, a battle was brewing within respective Republican parties. While Republican failures in the South were expected to be exacerbated by the rise of the Constitution Party, the opposite occurred. With southern Constitutionalists often being more conservative than their western and northeastern counterparts, and Democrats either pushing to the left or attempting to retain politicians of old, Republicans began to run as a "middle ground" candidates or even to the Democratic Party's left. The only real exception to this was South Carolina, where the party was taken over by far-right politicians who felt the Constitution Party too moderate. South Carolina was promptly stripped of all power on the national Republican scene, and there was even attempts at creating a "Independent Republican Group" in South Carolina. However, Arkansas seemed to be in the opposite situation.
As Arkansas was largely controlled by the so-called "Faubus machine", it was expected that the Constitution Party would dominate for at least the nest four years. They did, as incumbent governor Dale Alford won re-election easily. However, the 1970 election was about something different. Ever since Reconstruction, many Southern Republican Parties were controlled by "Black-and-Tan" factions, or biracial factions that were generally more left-wing than other Republicans. However, most of these factions were wiped out or ignored, except in Louisiana and in Arkansas. In Arkansas, the Democratic party hadn't been reluctant to support civil rights (unlike in Louisiana or especially Mississippi), but they hadn't necessarily accepted this faction into their party with open arms either. Instead, the Black-and-Tan faction held on bitterly, and in 1970, they nominated Daisy Bates, a noted Civil Rights activist who was drafted into the party. Her running mate was Jeff Dwire, step-father of future Arkansas Republican Representative Roger Clinton Jr. Dwire himself had run against Bates in the primary largely in the hopes of spreading attention for his business. However, he had become popular with more conservative (white) Republicans, and was chosen as Bates' running mate.
In the Democratic Party, an old face emerged from the political wilderness, and that old face was Sid McMath, a former governor and political liberal. McMath hoped to destroy the Faubus machine with a strong grassroots campaign, however, due to most black voters supporting Bates, he didn't have as much of a base as other Democrats in the South, who often did have large amounts of black support. McMath tried to work around this by offering Bates the position of Lt. Governor, but she publicly turned it down. Instead the race between Bates and McMath became one of focus in a landslide year. McMath decided that Bates would gain a majority of the black vote, so he should go after two groups instead. These groups were Arkansas gun owners, and new residents of Arkansas. See, Arkansas had a proud gun culture, and instead of appealing to it, Bates attempted to avoid the issue, due to personal opposition. McMath did not have to face that, and went after these voters with a passion. Meanwhile the state of Arkansas (along with many others) had been receiving many Northern workers with jobs in industries that had suffered in the late 50s/early 60s. As coal had begun to boom, they traveled down to West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky. While this trend had largely ended by 1970, new residents were often more liberal than "native" residents of Arkansas. However, this attempt was attacked by Alford, who criticized it as appealing to new residents, not the whole state.
Throughout the campaign, Bates gained a reputation for speaking her mind, and with a solid base of support, began to overtake a struggling McMath. McMath heavily considered dropping out and endorsing Bates, but was stopped by the state Democratic Party due to fears of the party collapsing. However, that lack of confidence defined the McMath campaign, and he fell behind Bates for it.
In this climate, a strong, middle-ground Democrat could truly succeed. That man was expected to be David Hall, an attorney popular with the establishment. However, Hall was investigated for extortion during the campaign, and pretty soon he collapsed because of it. Instead, Fred Harris, a left-wing state senator with significant popularity with younger voters and Native Americans won the primary. He was seen as "too left-wing" for the party by many within it, and that lukewarm support hurt him in the general. Many swing voters alienated with Harris were willing to vote for Bartlett, as he was less "threatening" than other Constitution Party members and had promised to be a governor for all Oklahomans. But there was a reason why Harris had won the nomination in the first place, and it was not just youth and Native support. No, Harris had a penchant for grassroots campaigning, which helped him push hard against Bartlett, even with his lead in the polls. If things had stayed the same, Harris would have continued a catch-up campaign, and may have succeeded, but instead one of the more surprising candidates entered the race.
Well, he didn't really enter it. Stuart Hamblen, a former country singer and politician had retired to Oklahoma in 1962. He was noted for his support of temperance and runs for office in 1938 and 1952. However, he generally kept a low profile in Oklahoma, recording a few songs and eventual releasing an album in 1973 with a fellow politician. If things had stayed the way they were in Oklahoma, he would've simply stayed out of politics. Instead, Bartlett had decided to destroy the state's ban on alcohol, leaving Mississippi as the only state with a Prohibition law on the books. Hamblen, a former candidate himself decided it was time to step in. When he announced his campaign in early 1965 (only a few months after the repeal), it received little fanfare. Sure, he had returned to fame in the 1950s, but he wouldn't make a real change in the campaign. That was until major wings within the Constitution, Republican, and Democratic parties felt underrepresented. Hamblen decided to return to the old days of the Prohibition Party taking support from across the political spectrum.
The general election campaign was suprisingly boring. Despite grassroots campaigning from Hamblen and Harris, no major scandals or gaffes hit any candidate as the state went into election day.
At first glance, it seemed as if Harris would narrowly pull away with a victory. However, later results showed Bartlett successfully defending himself for re-election. A part of this was surprisingly Hamblen. Sure, it would appear that Hamblen's stronger-than-usual campaign would take away support from Bartlett, largely due to the Prohibition Party's shift to the right. However, due to Hamblen and Harris's similar campaigning styles, they actually split from each other. Hamblen managed to win Roger Millis county with 47% of the vote due to many within the county feeling that the overturn on the state's ban on alcohol was a major issue.
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In 1964, Dan Kuykendall, a little-known Memphis citizen and Constitution Party activist defeated incumbent senator Al Gore. Six years later, Tennessee politics was becoming much different. For one, while the Democratic Party had once suffered from internal splitting that lead to Constitution victories, splits were actually occurring on the outside of the party. However, they weren't the only ones. Kuykendall was primaried out of office by Thomas J. Anderson, a state representative who was politically to the right of him. Anderson claimed that Kuykendall was too close to the "Kefauver-Johnson Axis", noting the senator's decision to vote for Quentin Burdick when he was a supreme court nominee, and that seemed to be enough to throw out Kuykendall for most Constitution Party members in Tennessee. As for the Democratic Party, a heated primary between machine-backed former governor Roy Blanton and naval officer William R. Anderson ended with a narrow Blanton victory, largely due to machine support. However, it was clear to many that Anderson had enough actual support to run as an Independent. He did so, and began by attacking Blanton and the state Democratic party for its machinery and often corrupt politics.
Meanwhile, the Republican Party of Tennessee had begun to compete more and more against the Democrats and Constitutionalists. Splits in both had allowed for some narrow Republican victories in the past, and they had lots of power in East Tennessee, a historic region for them. In 1970, they nominated Howard Baker, a member of the House of Representatives and noted ally of powerful Oregon representative Mark Hatfield, who would take the reigns as Republican leader after Leslie Arends retired in 1971. Baker was known for his passion for compromise, which upset some more conservative Republicans. However, Republican leadership was able to calm conservative Republicans due to gubernatorial candidate Bill Brock, who helped them stay within party bounds.
The general campaign looked like a sweep for the Republicans as splitting within the Democratic party occurred and many more moderate members of the Constitution party began to oppose Anderson's nomination. One poll even had Baker at 45% against a very divided opposition. However, things began to shift wildly. For one, a number of Baker gaffes allowed for Thomas Anderson to go on the attack, which helped him bring back some supporters. As for the Democrats, it was clear that William Anderson was their real candidate. Support from Nancy Kefauver in the general election only proved this, and William Anderson began to pick up among black voters, who were historically a part of the famed Crump machine, or voted Republican out of protest if a particularly "controversial" candidate was nominated. Then, Roy Blanton was accused by state Attorney General Milton Rice of selling pardons for liquor licenses as governor, which effectively ended all of his support and caused many to go to either Baker or William Anderson. Labour Unions also helped, as due to machine-supported governor Henry Leob's poor relations with labour, they began to throw support behind anti-machine candidates, and in the senate election, most of that support went to William Anderson.
In the final weeks, it looked as if the election would be a showdown between William Anderson and Howard Baker. Thomas Anderson was attempting to rile up the base, but without more moderate supporters, it seemed useless. In the end, it looked as if Anderson would win the election and go to Washington with a strong anti-establishment mindset.
In the gubernatorial election, a similar situation was occurring. Incumbent governor Henry Loeb was hated by practically everyone, and machines were only keeping him around to retain control over the party, and even then he almost lost re-nomination. Democrats appeared split, and as a result of that, one of the stranger candidates in Tennessee history took advantage of the situation. That candidate was Nat Winston, a former country music singer, solider, pastor, and doctor, who ran a strong campaign based around left-wing Christian populism, some amounts of "state/Appalachian pride" that somehow did not veer into confederate territory, banjo playing at rallies, and a strangely progressive idea (for Tennessee) of improving mental health facilities and supporting rehabilitation centers for sexual abuse survivors (no he did not put those last two points in front of a banjo tune at any rally).[1]
Other than Loeb and Winston, Republicans nominated Bill Brock, a famed Republican activist who had gained notoriety for running Frank Carlson's campaign in Tennessee, which was surprisingly successful considering that Frank Carlson's campaign everywhere else was a disaster. Brock contrasted with senate candidate Howard Baker due to his more conservative positions, and was expected to cut into the Constitution Party's support. Speaking of the Constitution Party, because they cannot go away, they nominated Jimmy Quillen, who largely won the nomination due to support from the alcohol industry. Despite this, he actually ran an interesting campaign for a Constitution Party nominee. Seeing union support evaporate for Loeb and hesitant to back Winston, he decided to go after it for an election victory. He generally moderated his stances, while also campaigning hard in union-populated areas. This allowed him to build a coalition of "traditional" Constitution voters, working-class members of unions, and the occasional Republican impressed with his more moderate stances. This coalition of sorts put Quillen at the top of most polls, however, this ended when Ray Blanton's scandal came out.
Yes, despite happening to the nominee of another candidate in another party in another race, Ray Blanton selling pardons for liquor licenses hurt Quillen. Quillen's deep ties to the alcohol industry seemed increasingly obvious. They were used to attack him and especially hurt him among union voters, who increasingly saw him as a fat cat and not a candidate out for their needs and interests. Quillen could've rode his coalition to a shaky victory and with a few attack ads (and some harsh realities for more idealistic voters) it could've been secured. Instead, Quillen, fearing that he had already lost union support (and pressure coming from Thomas Anderson) decided to shift to the right, hurting him even more, as moderate Republicans also deserted him. Bill Brock then swung in, regaining moderate support and then creating attack ads against Winston for his pro-abortion views in rural counties. Winston's poll numbers also began to hurt and he failed to gain support from William Anderson, but he still maintained a loyal base of support.
Still, as the weeks went on, the election was a battle between Brock and Quillen. Sure, Quillen had dived to the right, and Brock was punching hard, but plenty of people in Tennesee were willing to vote for Quillen, and still more felt "unsure" about Brock. However, several gaffes from Quillen and killed him, and the election ended with a Brock victory.
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In many Southern States, a battle was brewing within respective Republican parties. While Republican failures in the South were expected to be exacerbated by the rise of the Constitution Party, the opposite occurred. With southern Constitutionalists often being more conservative than their western and northeastern counterparts, and Democrats either pushing to the left or attempting to retain politicians of old, Republicans began to run as a "middle ground" candidates or even to the Democratic Party's left. The only real exception to this was South Carolina, where the party was taken over by far-right politicians who felt the Constitution Party too moderate. South Carolina was promptly stripped of all power on the national Republican scene, and there was even attempts at creating a "Independent Republican Group" in South Carolina. However, Arkansas seemed to be in the opposite situation.
As Arkansas was largely controlled by the so-called "Faubus machine", it was expected that the Constitution Party would dominate for at least the nest four years. They did, as incumbent governor Dale Alford won re-election easily. However, the 1970 election was about something different. Ever since Reconstruction, many Southern Republican Parties were controlled by "Black-and-Tan" factions, or biracial factions that were generally more left-wing than other Republicans. However, most of these factions were wiped out or ignored, except in Louisiana and in Arkansas. In Arkansas, the Democratic party hadn't been reluctant to support civil rights (unlike in Louisiana or especially Mississippi), but they hadn't necessarily accepted this faction into their party with open arms either. Instead, the Black-and-Tan faction held on bitterly, and in 1970, they nominated Daisy Bates, a noted Civil Rights activist who was drafted into the party. Her running mate was Jeff Dwire, step-father of future Arkansas Republican Representative Roger Clinton Jr. Dwire himself had run against Bates in the primary largely in the hopes of spreading attention for his business. However, he had become popular with more conservative (white) Republicans, and was chosen as Bates' running mate.
In the Democratic Party, an old face emerged from the political wilderness, and that old face was Sid McMath, a former governor and political liberal. McMath hoped to destroy the Faubus machine with a strong grassroots campaign, however, due to most black voters supporting Bates, he didn't have as much of a base as other Democrats in the South, who often did have large amounts of black support. McMath tried to work around this by offering Bates the position of Lt. Governor, but she publicly turned it down. Instead the race between Bates and McMath became one of focus in a landslide year. McMath decided that Bates would gain a majority of the black vote, so he should go after two groups instead. These groups were Arkansas gun owners, and new residents of Arkansas. See, Arkansas had a proud gun culture, and instead of appealing to it, Bates attempted to avoid the issue, due to personal opposition. McMath did not have to face that, and went after these voters with a passion. Meanwhile the state of Arkansas (along with many others) had been receiving many Northern workers with jobs in industries that had suffered in the late 50s/early 60s. As coal had begun to boom, they traveled down to West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky. While this trend had largely ended by 1970, new residents were often more liberal than "native" residents of Arkansas. However, this attempt was attacked by Alford, who criticized it as appealing to new residents, not the whole state.
Throughout the campaign, Bates gained a reputation for speaking her mind, and with a solid base of support, began to overtake a struggling McMath. McMath heavily considered dropping out and endorsing Bates, but was stopped by the state Democratic Party due to fears of the party collapsing. However, that lack of confidence defined the McMath campaign, and he fell behind Bates for it.
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