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 County results Packwood: 50-60% 60-70% Roberts: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Oregon |
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The 1974 United States Senate election in Oregon was held on November 5, 1974. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Bob Packwood won re-election to a second term. Betty Roberts was chosen to replace former U.S. Senator Wayne Morse, who won the Democratic primary but died before the general election. [1] [2]
The Democratic primaries were held on May 28, 1974. Incumbent Senator Bob Packwood was running for re-election after his upset victory against popular incumbent Democrat Wayne Morse in 1968 made him the youngest member of the Senate. [3]
In the Democratic primary, former Senator Morse, trying to win back the seat he had for 24 years before losing to Packwood six years earlier, faced Oregon State Senate President Jason Boe and several other candidates for a chance to take back his Senate seat. [4] Boe, who was 45, made Morse's age, 73, an issue in the race while Morse said his experience in the Senate made him a stronger candidate. [5] Boe called for a series of debates around the state, but Morse refused. He went on to defeat Boe 49% to 39%, and planned to use the same strategy in the general election against Packwood, whose narrow victory over Morse 6 years earlier was attributed to Packwood's superior performance at a debate in Portland late in the campaign. [1]
In July, Morse was hospitalized in Portland with what was originally described as a serious urinary tract infection. His condition deteriorated and he died on July 22. [2] The death was originally reported to have been caused by kidney failure, but it was later revealed that Morse died of leukemia; Boe apparently knew of the diagnosis during the campaign but did not make it a campaign issue. [6]
The Oregon Democratic State Central Committee met on August 11, two days after Richard Nixon resigned the Presidency. They chose State Senator Betty Roberts over Boe to replace Morse as the Democratic nominee. [7] Roberts, an Oregon State Senator, had run for the Democratic nomination for Governor that year, but lost in the May primary to eventual general election winner Robert W. Straub. [7]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Wayne Morse | 155,729 | 48.98% | |
| Democratic | Jason Boe | 125,055 | 39.33% | |
| Democratic | Robert T. Daly | 21,881 | 6.88% | |
| Democratic | Robert E. O'Connor | 14,984 | 4.71% | |
| Democratic | miscellaneous | 319 | 0.10% | |
| Total votes | 396,204 | 100.00% | ||
Outgoing Oregon governor Tom McCall, who had decided not to run in 1968, had pledged to Packwood a year earlier that he would not challenge him in 1974. [9] But as his term as governor ended, McCall began reconsidering his decision, believing he would bring more integrity to the job. In March 1974, at a dinner party held at Packwood's Washington D.C. home in McCall's honor, McCall informed Packwood that he would challenge him. [9] The news of McCall's change of plans soon reached the media. Eventually, McCall decided that he had little chance against Packwood, who had similar positions to his own and had a reputation for ruthless campaigning that McCall did not share. [9] [10] McCall did not run, and Packwood was unopposed in the Republican primary. [4]
The 1974 mid-term elections were dominated by the fallout from the Watergate scandal. Strong Democratic gains were predicted, giving Roberts a good chance at an upset. In addition, the Senate had no female members and Roberts was one of three women (along with Democrat Barbara Mikulski in Maryland and Republican Gwenyfred Bush in South Carolina) seeking a Senate seat. [11] But on the issues, Packwood and Roberts shared many positions, such as on abortion, military spending, and the environment. [12] Moreover, Packwood had distanced himself from Watergate, calling for Nixon's impeachment and denouncing Gerald Ford's pardon of Nixon. [12] [13] Roberts was also at a financial disadvantage, having entered the race late and facing debt from her failed gubernatorial run; Packwood was able to use money he had raised for a primary challenge that never materialized, and led in most polls by a double-digit margin. [12]
Roberts lost the election to Packwood 55% to 44%. [14] Packwood was the only Oregon Republican up for re-election to keep his seat: Democrats won every other available seat. In the Governor's race, Bob Straub, who beat Roberts in the Democratic primary, defeated Vic Atiyeh to become the first Democrat elected governor since 1956; in the U. S. House of Representatives races, Les AuCoin won an open seat in the 1st district and in the 4th district, Jim Weaver upset incumbent John Dellenback. [15]
After the election, Roberts, whose criticism of Packwood's ethics was a theme in her campaign, considered filing a lawsuit against Packwood for misrepresenting her positions on gun control, abortion, and Social Security in campaign advertisements, but later dropped the idea. [16]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bob Packwood (incumbent) | 420,984 | 54.93% | |
| Democratic | Betty Roberts | 338,591 | 44.18% | |
| Write-In | Jason Boe | 5,072 | 0.66% | |
| Write-In | Misc. | 1,767 | 0.23% | |
| Total votes | 766,414 | 100.00% | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
Packwood was re-elected to three more terms: in 1980, 1986, and 1992. Shortly after the 1992 election, allegations of sexual harassment revealed by The Washington Post led to his eventual resignation from the Senate in 1995. [18]
In 1977, Roberts became the first woman to serve to the Oregon Court of Appeals, [19] and in 1982, was appointed by Republican Governor Victor G. Atiyeh to the Oregon Supreme Court, the first woman to serve on that court. [20]
Robert William Packwood is an American retired lawyer and politician from Oregon and a member of the Republican Party. He resigned from the United States Senate, under threat of expulsion, in 1995 after allegations of sexual harassment, abuse and assault of women emerged.
Wayne Lyman Morse was an American attorney and United States Senator from Oregon. Morse is well known for opposing the Democratic Party’s leadership and for his opposition to the Vietnam War on constitutional grounds.
The 1996 United States Senate elections were held on November 5, with the 33 seats of Class 2 contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. They coincided with the presidential election of the same year, in which Democrat Bill Clinton was re-elected president.
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The 1986 United States Senate elections were elections for the United States Senate. Held on November 4, in the middle of Ronald Reagan's second presidential term, the 34 seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections. The Republicans had to defend an unusually large number of freshman Senate incumbents who had been elected on President Ronald Reagan's coattails in 1980. Democrats won a net of eight seats, defeating seven freshman incumbents, picking up two Republican-held open seats, and regaining control of the Senate for the first time since January 1981. This remains the most recent midterm election cycle in which the sitting president's party suffered net losses while still flipping a Senate seat.
The 1980 United States Senate elections were held on November 4, coinciding with Ronald Reagan's victory in the presidential election. The 34 Senate seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections. Reagan's large margin of victory over incumbent Jimmy Carter gave a huge boost to Republican Senate candidates, allowing them to flip 12 Democratic seats and win control of the chamber for the first time since the end of the 83rd Congress in January 1955.
The 1974 United States Senate elections were held on November 4, with the 34 seats of Class 3 contested in regular elections. They occurred in the wake of the Watergate scandal, Richard M. Nixon's resignation from the presidency, and Gerald Ford's subsequent pardon of Nixon. Economic issues, specifically inflation and stagnation, were also a factor that contributed to Republican losses. As an immediate result of the November 1974 elections, Democrats made a net gain of three seats from the Republicans, as they defeated Republican incumbents in Colorado and Kentucky and picked up open seats in Florida and Vermont, while Republicans won the open seat in Nevada. Following the elections, at the beginning of the 94th U.S. Congress, the Democratic caucus controlled 60 seats, and the Republican caucus controlled 38 seats.
The 1968 United States Senate elections were elections for the United States Senate. Held on November 5, the 34 seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections. They coincided with the presidential election of the same year. The Republicans picked up five net seats in the Senate. This saw Republicans win a Senate seat in Florida for the first time since Reconstruction.
The 1966 United States Senate elections were elections on November 8, 1966 for the United States Senate which occurred midway through the second term of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The 33 seats of Class 2 were contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. With divisions in the Democratic base over the Vietnam War, and with the traditional mid-term advantage of the party not holding the presidency, the Republicans took three Democratic seats, thereby breaking Democrats' 2/3rds supermajority. Despite Republican gains, the balance remained overwhelmingly in favor of the Democrats, who retained a 64–36 majority. Democrats were further reduced to 63-37, following the death of Robert F. Kennedy in June 1968.
The 1954 United States Senate elections was a midterm election in the first term of Dwight D. Eisenhower's presidency. The 32 Senate seats of Class 2 were contested in regular elections, and six special elections were held to fill vacancies. Eisenhower's Republican party lost a net of two seats to the Democratic opposition. This small change was just enough to give Democrats control of the chamber with the support of an Independent who agreed to caucus with them, he later officially joined the party in April 1955.
Robert Blackford Duncan was an American politician from the state of Oregon. A Democrat, he served multiple terms in the Oregon Legislative Assembly and as a U.S. congressman from Oregon. In the Oregon House of Representatives he served as speaker for four years, and in the U.S. House he represented two different districts. The Illinois native and World War II veteran ran three unsuccessful campaigns to be elected to the U.S. Senate.
Walter Leslie AuCoin is an American politician. In 1974 he became the first person from the Democratic Party to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Oregon's 1st congressional district, since it was formed in 1892. The seat has been held by Democrats ever since.
The 1968 United States Senate election in Oregon was held on November 5, 1968. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Wayne Morse was seeking a fifth term, but narrowly lost re-election to 36 year-old Republican State Representative Bob Packwood in a very close race.
The 1980 Oregon United States Senate election was held on November 4, 1980 to select the U.S. Senator from the state of Oregon. Republican candidate Bob Packwood was re-elected to a third term, defeating Democratic state senator Ted Kulongoski and Libertarian Tonie Nathan.
The 1992 United States Senate election in Oregon was held on November 3, 1992. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Bob Packwood won re-election to his fifth term. As of 2023, this is the last time the Republicans won the Class 3 U.S. Senate seat in Oregon.
Harold K. Lonsdale was an American scientist, businessman, and politician. A Democrat, he ran for United States Senate in the U.S. state of Oregon three times, losing twice in the primaries and once as the Democratic candidate, losing in the 1990 general election to incumbent Republican Mark Hatfield. In 2011 Lonsdale sponsored a research challenge to determine the origin of life on Earth.
The 1990 Oregon United States Senate election was held on November 6, 1990, to select the U.S. Senator from the state of Oregon. Republican candidate Mark Hatfield was re-elected to a fifth term, defeating Democratic businessman Harry Lonsdale.
The 1966 Oregon United States Senate election was held on November 6, 1966 to select the U.S. Senator from the state of Oregon. Incumbent Senator Maurine Brown Neuberger did not seek re-election. Held during the escalation of United States involvement of the Vietnam War, the race was between Republican candidate and incumbent Governor of Oregon Mark Hatfield, who opposed the war, and Democratic congressman Robert B. Duncan, who supported the war. In an unusual move, Oregon's other Senator, Democrat Wayne Morse, who also opposed the war, crossed party lines to endorse Hatfield, who won in a close election, his first of five terms in the United States Senate.
Benjamin M. Musa was an American politician who served four terms in the Oregon State Senate between 1949 and 1968, including serving as President of the Oregon Senate during the 1963–1964 legislative term. A CPA, he was a conservative Democrat from a rural district, known for his ability to work with Republicans as well as fellow Democrats in the state senate. Musa ran for governor in 1966, but lost the Democratic primary to Robert W. Straub.
Boyd Richey Overhulse was an American politician and attorney from Oregon. He served three terms in the Oregon House of Representatives followed by two terms in the Oregon State Senate. A conservative Democrat from a rural district, Overhulse was known for his ability to work with Republicans as well as fellow Democrats in the state legislature. He was elected President of the Oregon Senate eleven days after taking his seat in the state senate, the first Democrat elected to that position in 79 years.
