Jim Sasser

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Upon winning his party's Senate nomination, Sasser set out to attack the record of one-term incumbent Sen. Bill Brock, heir to a Chattanooga candy fortune. Sasser emphasized Brock's connections to former President Richard M. Nixon and his use of income tax code provisions that had, despite his great wealth and considerable income, resulted in his paying less than $2,000 in income tax the previous year. Sasser was able to capitalize on the tax issue by pointing out that Brock had paid less than many Tennesseans of considerably more modest means.

Sasser's campaign was also greatly aided by the efforts of ex-Senator Gore. Brock had defeated the elder Gore for the Senate in 1970 largely upon the basis of Gore's opposition to the Vietnam War. Sasser won handily over Brock, and went on to serve three Senate terms.

Re-election, 1982 and 1988

He turned back a serious effort against him by five-term United States Representative Robin Beard very handily in 1982. That showing was so impressive that his 1988 Republican opponent was a virtual political unknown named Bill Andersen, whose underfunded, essentially token campaign never stood a chance.

1994 re-election campaign

There were two unforeseen events that negated Sasser's popularity. Some Tennessee voters were discontented with the first two years of the Clinton administration, especially the proposal for a national health-care system largely put together and advocated by Clinton's wife, Hillary Clinton, as well as the passage of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban. The other was the somewhat unexpected nomination of Nashville heart transplant surgeon Bill Frist for the seat by the Republicans.

Frist was a political unknown and a total novice (who never voted until he was 36) [4] at campaigning, but was from one of Nashville's most prominent and wealthiest medical families, which gave him name recognition, especially in the Nashville area, and resources adequate to match the campaign war chest built up by a typical three-term incumbent, a challenge most "insurgent" candidates find to be extremely difficult. A further factor working to Frist's advantage was a simultaneous Republican campaign by actor and attorney Fred Thompson for the other Tennessee Senate seat, which was held to replace Al Gore, who had resigned in 1993 to become Vice President of the United States. To an extent, Frist was able to bask in the reflected glory of this formidable stage presence, and additionally developed some campaigning skills, which were almost totally absent in the early stages of his campaign. Another factor in Frist's favor was that Sasser was never seen as possessing much charisma of his own. During the campaign Nashville radio stations were derisive towards Sasser to the point of stating that he could only win "a Kermit The Frog lookalike contest."[ citation needed ] In one of the largest upsets in a night of political upsets in the November 1994 U.S. general elections, Frist defeated incumbent Sasser by approximately 14 percentage points. As of January 2024, he is the last Democrat to have represented Tennessee in the U.S. Senate.

Senate accomplishments

With the retirement of Senator Lawton Chiles in 1989, Sasser became Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. In that role, he served as a key ally of Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell of Maine. Sasser helped negotiate the 1990 budget summit agreement with President George H. W. Bush. And in 1993, he engineered passage of President Bill Clinton's first budget, which reduced the deficit by $500 billion over 10 years [5] [6] but passed without any Republican votes.

With these successes, Sasser began to work his way upward in the party leadership. When then-Senate Majority Leader Mitchell announced his intention to retire, Sasser was widely expected to be elected to the position, had he won a fourth term in the Senate. [7]

Ambassador to China

Sasser went on to serve as ambassador to China during the period of alleged nuclear spying and the campaign finance controversy that involved possible efforts by China to influence domestic U.S. politics during the Clinton Administration. Sasser again gained media attention when the U.S. Embassy in Beijing was besieged after U.S. warplanes mistakenly bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade during the U.S. intervention in the Kosovo War. Shortly after the siege of the embassy was lifted, Ambassador Sasser retired (he was slated to do so before the siege, so his retirement was not a direct result) and returned to the United States, where he presently divides his time between Tennessee and Washington, D.C., as a consultant.

Electoral history

Notes

  1. "Tennessee statesman James Sasser donates papers to Vanderbilt". News. 2013-07-01. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
  2. Randal Rust. "Sasser, James Ralph". Tennessee Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
  3. "Sasser, James Ralph — Biographical Information". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 2007-06-15.
  4. Masterson, Karen (December 24, 2002). "Unanimous vote names Frist new Senate leader". Houston Chronicle . Retrieved 2020-10-14.
  5. "Clinton and House Democrats Agree On Spending Cuts, but Ante Is Raised," by Michael Wines in The New York Times .
  6. "Clinton to Cut Spending Further," by Eric Pianin and Ruth Marcus in The Washington Post .
  7. Fram, Alan (May 8, 1994). "After 17 Years, Tennessee's Jim Sasser Emerging From Senate Anonymity". Associated Press. Retrieved 2019-07-13.

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References

Jim Sasser
Jim Sasser.jpg
Official portrait captured in 1986 or earlier
6th United States Ambassador to China
In office
February 14, 1996 July 1, 1999
Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator from Tennessee
(Class 1)

1976, 1982, 1988, 1994
Succeeded by
Vacant
Title last held by
Ted Stevens
John Rhodes
Response to the State of the Union address
1982
Served alongside: Robert Byrd, Alan Cranston, Al Gore, Gary Hart, Bennett Johnston, Ted Kennedy, Tip O'Neill, Don Riegle, Paul Sarbanes
Succeeded by
U.S. Senate
Preceded by United States Senator (Class 1) from Tennessee
1977–1995
Served alongside: Howard Baker, Al Gore, Harlan Mathews, Fred Thompson
Succeeded by
Preceded by Chair of the Senate Budget Committee
1989–1995
Succeeded by
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Ambassador to China
1996–1999
Succeeded by
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded byas Former US Senator Order of precedence of the United States
as Former US Senator
Succeeded byas Former US Senator