Alternate History 🇺🇸 November 2, 1976: President Nelson Rockefeller wins election to full 4-year term and the aftermath

[Sergeant Foley]

......"Bush had an opportunity to make his mark on the Judiciary with the surprise retirement of Lewis F. Powell, Jr., after 14 years on the United States Supreme Court. The debate on whom should the President replace him with was a matter of constant debates and some of these debates raged within the White House; Attorney General Edwin Meese pushed hard for Judge Robert Bork of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, to earn the appointment. Bush seemed warming up to the idea until he received strong pushback from former Vice President Brooke and White House Chief of Staff Donald Regan including Treasury Secretary James Baker, especially Baker, who was grimly watching the President's approval ratings taking a huge plunge downward following explosive revelations of top officials of the White House National Security Council taking secret trips to Nicaragua including more revelations that the administration was selling military arms and spare parts to the Contra forces fighting the communist government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega.

Baker also noted that Bork's writings would be publicly controversial, and that the Senate Democrats on the Judiciary Committee were licking their chops at a chance of payback against Republicans, who successfully derailed Fortas' appointment to the Supreme Court in 1968, and that Bork was easier to paint as "The Saturday Night Hatchet Man", who viciously purged the entire Department of Justice on the behalf of Nixon.

Meese was dismayed and disappointed that Bush was talked out of appointing Bork once Brooke was lobbying the President, and Regan instead urged consideration of a figure who could "help" this Fall, as the 1986 Midterms were barreling ahead. Ginsburg was the first choice, but he backed out once revelations about him "experimenting with marijuana smoking" were revealed. Bush's instinct was to tap Anthony Kennedy, or even Juan Torruella, who would make history as the first Puerto Rican American on the Supreme Court. Bush interviewed both Kennedy and Torruella at the White House in the time after regular Cabinet meetings to keep his deliberations quiet and spoke with Torruella again by telephone, mulling the momentous choice, completely aware of his sagging approval ratings and debating the best alternative route forward would be......"
-The Presidential Gauntlet: Presidents and Judicial Nominations of the 20th Century

 

[Sergeant Foley]

......"despite playing with the idea of putting Bork on the nation's highest Judiciary, the staunch hardcore conservative judge was passed over. Although, this wouldn't be the last time Bork would be mentioned as a contender for an appointment in the future, as Juan Rafael Torruella, the Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, was Bush's choice for the Supreme Court. Conservatives were horrified that Bush would take a huge political gamble risk rather than with a reputable judge with conservative credentials. Torruella, however, was said to be chosen for another factor------appealing to Latinos with the 1986 Midterms bearing down and the Republican Party slowly anticipating a backlash due to the Contra Scandals. Even though Bush was seeking reelection in 1988, he wanted a feather on his cap to have appointed the first Latino to the United States Supreme Court as one of his legacy items, and no Senator wanted to be seen voting against the first Hispanic appointment, and so he passed the Senate unanimously, which was something unthinkable for today's standards......"
-Battles for the Judicial Bench: The Politics of Judicial Nominations from Fortas to The Present.

 

[Sergeant Foley]

​

....."In the meantime, I will continue to ask Congress for appropriate levels of economic and military assistance above and beyond existing US base-related commitments. The latest installment of our current aid effort------a $100 million grant of economic support funds, which I'm pleased to announce will be signed by our respective Cabinet members in a few moments, a $50 million grant of military assistance, along with a $20 million package of medical supplies and services------has been approved. In the future, to the largest extent possible, future US aid will be designed to provide the greatest benefit without exacerbating the country's debt problem.

And one last thought: Today governments, businesses, financial institutions, and individuals are dealing with a new kind of government in the Philippines. We're dealing with a noble and honest people------people with ideals, people we can trust. And we place a high value on character and hope everyone appreciates this and take it into account. A great Filipino hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, once wrote, "God is justice: He cannot abandon His cause, the cause of liberty, without which no justice is possible." Well, Jose Rizal, like President Aquino's husband, died for freedom and inspired his nation.

President Aqunio and I reaffirmed the commitment of our two peoples to the ideals which so many Americans and Filipinos have given their lives, and we also reaffirm the bonds of friendship and affection between the United States and the Philippines. It was truly an honor to have her here. Thank you, and God bless you."
-Opening Remarks of President George Herbert Walker Bush following the Welcoming Honors Ceremony
at the South Portico of the White House in red carpet State Visit of Philippine President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino
Wednesday, 17 September 1986: 1:35 PM EST

 

[Sergeant Foley]

......"by late September, the ugly fighting inside South Africa had rippled into an all-out fight between the government military forces and ANC militant forces, an asymmetric battlefield resulted in South African military intelligence agents successfully assassinating Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda, which caused the Zambian Defence Force to take over the government, which further escalated the South African Border War (which had been ongoing since 1966). General Steven Mbuekelma, the Commander of the Zambian Army, ascended to the Presidency and deployed additional military personnel troops in fighting the South African Defence Force, whose violent and deadly military and intelligence operations continued to cause more international isolation against South Africa even more. Anti-Afrikaner and anti-South African violence bursts wide open in several cities in parts of the world, and lurid rumors of Botha sending sleeper intelligence agents to carry out another Operation Exterminate on American soil with the intention of kidnapping South African exiles including anti-apartheid activists including killing them. Bush, sensing more international demands to do something, signed off on a top-secret CIA operation, called Operation Clean Sweep, which was escalating "more CIA-backed intelligence operations" inside the Western Hemisphere at its discretion. They should've called it Cash My Check......"
-Former Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley.

......"dos Santos sensed an opportunity in turning the tide against South Africa in the Border War. With backing from the Cubans and Soviets, the People's Armed Forces of Liberation of Angola (FAPLA) continued stepping up their operations due to fears of the South African Defence Force were aiming at capturing Angola's capital city, Luanda and overthrowing the Angolan government and rumors of killing dos Santos and his family in the process. There were both Soviet and Cuban advisors behind every bush, and hearing Langley talking about it. There was debate on whether or not to put some US military boots on the ground as part of some "peacekeeping force". However, the decision was made not to do so and continue with the controversial "Constructive Engagement Policy", which began under Reagan and continued under Bush. Operation Clean Sweep was our way of taking off the guardrails and taking the gloves off, giving the Central Intelligence Agency the go ahead to really go on the offense....."

"You mean to say giving the death squads inside the South African Intelligence Agency the go ahead to go further?"

"Well, I meant, now look. Lots of heinous shit happened, ok? We were trying to avoid another Suez Canal 2.0 and seeing Africa desolving into total and outright chaos and anarchy wasn't going to happen on our watch. We were determined to push for diplomatic measures on ending this long-dragged out conflict. Look, sometimes international diplomacy is an ugly business. But it is what it is....."
-Interview with former White House Chief of Staff Donald Regan
Spring 1999

......"there was no greater gift than being given to our revolutionary brothers and sisters than the behavior of the United States and their CIA programs escalating in the mid 1980s......"
-Surinamese President Lieutenant General William Hendricks
Spring 2002

 

[Sergeant Foley]

......"Al-Fayheed's response to the flooding in Abudeen City, which killed 1,384 people back in late June, was considered by many as anemic and incompetent; it further agitated the demonstrators, who poured out into the streets. Al-Fayheed's response was that of typical dictators: sending out military tanks in patrolling Riyadh's city streets including other major cities, further fortifying the capital city and aggressively beating and rounding up dissidents. When this extended to clerics, there was outrage, especially those lingering in Syria......"
-Saudi Arabia: On the Precipice of Chaos

......"Al-Fayheed was quite the smoothest politician, he was the perfect pitchman for his regime. Super excellent fluent English including fluency in Spanish, Korean, and Portuguese; charismatic and with his popular wife and extra-large family of children, some of whom serving in the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces including serving in some Ambassadorships. He helped justify and paper over the obvious atrocities going on in Saudi Arabia at the time, and was a key part of the maximum pressure campaign to keeping those Ayatollahs stuck in Syria, pressuring Western governments not to accept any of those Ayatollahs. He also leaned hard on Saddam Hussein, the dictatorial President of Iraq at the time, to keeping those Ayatollahs under close guards. He also pressured Assad of Syria with similar lobbying threats as well......"
-Former US Ambassador to the United Nations Anne Armstrong
Middle East: Foreign Policy of the George Herbert Walker Bush Administration (1983-1993)

 

[Sergeant Foley]

......"car bombs exploded at the Colombian Army Headquarters, where Colombian President General William Najera was addressing cadets of the Colombian Army this afternoon and senior military officials expressed serious concerns, off the record, on whether the assassination attempt on President Najera was part of some leftist group avenging the coup against former President Quintero two years earlier. With the possibility of American troops being stationed into Colombia, there is no end in sight of an explosive full-out war in the Americas......"
-Ted Koppel
"ABC World News Tonight"
Monday, 29 September 1986

....."at some point, you needed to define what victory looks like, and I think that's what we struggled with. How do we know that we can bring troop levels down, when you've got those damn Sandinistas wreaking havoc in Nicaragua followed by Mbuekelma sweeping to power in Zambia, who was threatening to invade South Africa in avenging Kaunda's controversial assassination as the Border War was spreading with no end in sight. When the likes of FARC starts escalating its campaign and targeting Americans and other foreign nationals? We knew, really knew, we did know this, that Cuban and Soviet operatives across the region more aggressively than ever before. Everyone forgot about Angola and Ethiopia. Nicaragua and South Africa were the big ballgames in town, any other foreign policy was put on the backburner."
-Former US Secretary of State George P. Shultz
Leadership in Crisis: Exclusive Interview
Summer 2002

 

[Sergeant Foley]

......"the stupidity from FARC and those drug lords such as Pablo Escobar and the like in the botched assassination attempt against Najera, galvanized the Junta's support amongst the populace. Pinned the whole attempt on FARC and Escobar, who was killed in a US-backed law enforcement raid. FARC and their cliques fled to the jungles, where the belonged. Najera skillfully used that attempt as a political benefit and Colombians voted overwhelmingly to keep him in the Presidency, with an overwhelming 73 percent of the nationwide vote in the 1986 Colombian presidential election on 25 May 1986: keeping Najera in the Casa de Narino, which was still undergoing major repairs due to the violent 1984 military coup d'etat......"
-Former Colombian President Misael Pastrana Borrero
23rd President of Colombia
7 August 1970 to 7 August 1974

....."having been inaugurated for a full four-year term in his own right on August 7th, Najera was now emboldened in continuing his own version of the Dirty War, the Colombian version. He helped lots of bruised egos within the Junta, who incorrectly thought they would have the Presidency rotated to them, but Najera made it clear that he was the sole Commander-in-Chief of the Republic of Colombia. To the Najera-rites, he was seen as someone with strong, aggressive crackdown measures in keeping Colombia smooth sailing while the world keeps spinning. He was someone that the Military Forces of Colombia looked upon following the chaotic Quintero years, with Quinteroism banned forever, Najera began implementing trickle-down economic policies and other conservative policies throughout Colombia.:
-William Najera: The Military Strongman that Colombia Needed"

 

[Sergeant Foley]

BREAKING NEWS ALERT: REYKJAVIK SUMMIT TALKS IMPLODE IN THE FINAL STAGES
*President Bush refuses to compromise on the SDI testing.
*Gorbachev counters with desire of strengthening the ABM Treaty.
*Plans underway for another summit between Bush and Gorbachev sometime next year.

​

*Sunday, 11 October-Monday, 12 October 1986: The Reykjavik Summit between US President George Herbert Walker Bush and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, which took place at the Hofdi House. The meeting was a major important step of ending the Cold War. The Associated Press reported that Gorbachev was pushing for banning all ballistic missiles within the decade, but President Bush was determined in continuing the Strategic Defense Initiative (which began under the late President Reagan).

The Reykjavik Summit included among the topics of discussion: Human rights, emigration of Soviet Jews including dissidents as well as the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan (which occurred during the Holton administration); Gorbachev wanted to specifically limit the talks to just arms control. However, the Americans countered with a detailed proposal: the elimination of all ballistic missiles within 10 years, but that they required the right in deploying strategic defenses against remaining threats afterwards. Former US Ambassador to the Czech Republic Jack Matlock, Jr., who was among the American dignitaries attending the Reykjavik Summit, believed that SDI testing wouldn't have that much effect on research because it was in the early stages.

Gorbachev and the Soviets expressed skepticism about the purpose of the negotiations: they felt that the Americans wouldn't be fulfilling their promise on sharing technology of the SDI. Because of several roadblocks, the talks stalled, and President Bush was reportedly asking General Secretary Gorbachev "Are you willing to turn down a historic opportunity because of a single word?", in reference to Gorbachev's insistence on laboratory testing; Gorbachev responded it was a matter of principle including Soviet pride and with that, the Reykjavik Summit ended with a whimper.

Photographs were taken showing Bush and Gorbachev departing the Hofdi House: Bush's body language was that of being visibly angry while Gorbachev's body language was that of being solemn.

 

[Sergeant Foley]

MIDTERMS OUTLOOK: BOTH PARTIES WAITING TO SEE THE IMPACT

With 2.4 growth being reached due to the extension and popularity of Bushnomics, the unemployment declined to 3.6% and the budget deficit being down has both Democratic and Republican strategists alarmed respectively. Democratic operatives hotly discussed whether to change strategy in the final month of the 1986 Midterms campaign or stay the course and continue attacking the Bush administration on disastrous foreign policy debacles such as the Nicaraguan Crisis and the South African Border War. There's also reports of some infighting inside the Republican Party: with conservatives wanting a more aggressive agenda in the likes of former US Secretary of State General Alexander Haig, US Rep. Jack Kemp (R-NY State 31st) and US Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-KS) all appearing likely to launching primary challenges against the incumbent President in two years when Bush is expected to seek reelection to a second full four-year term; while Moderates associated with Ford, Rockefeller and Holton circles increasingly warn their party could be on the precipice of a weak showing in the upcoming Midterms next month. "It's important that we must return to the Rockefeller Centrism and having the conservative wing just as a wing of the party, and not becoming the entire sole face of the party," one of the operatives was quoted.

Of course in public, Republicans are eager to appearing united, especially since both President Bush and Vice President Howard Baker including Senator Dole and other high-profile Republicans have been campaigning for a large host of candidates for the United States Senate and several key US State/Territory Governorships; especially, State Rep. Tommy Thompson, who is the Republican Party nominee for Governor of Wisconsin: the Wisconsin gubernatorial election is one of the many nationally-watched Governorships among both political parties. Gallup showed the race going neck-and-neck between Thompson and incumbent Wisconsin Governor Tony Earl with both tied at 45% each. It's expected that President Bush will be holding rallies for Thompson in the final days before the election in early November.

Democrats are growing increasingly optimistic about their prospects in the 1986 Midterms. "Republicans told us that Bushnomics is the way of the future of America and they told the American people that Democrats cannot lead," Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter (who's campaigning for reelection himself) told a crowd in Atlanta, "they were wrong in 1982 when Democrats picked up 37 seats in the House of Representatives including flipping several Governorships and Senate seats. And they will be wrong again on November 4th!" Nonetheless, sources are reporting that Democratic operatives don't expect much gains in the House of Representatives (since the Democrats have controlled the lower chamber since 1955), and several of the up-and-coming Democratic Party contenders for the 1988 Democratic Party presidential nomination, have been on the campaign trail for several months during the Summer and Fall: campaigning for fellow Democrats while increasing their national profiles.

Gallup Polling Survey: 31 October 1986
President George HW Bush Job Approval Rating:
Approve: 41%
Disapprove: 57%

COMING UP IN THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC: Highlights of the 1986 Midterms (It will be LONG! Be patient folks!)

 

[Sergeant Foley]

Chapter 22: The '86 Midterms and the Backlash
​

Though the famed "Six Year Itch" elections were typically more brutal for an incumbent President's party, the first midterm nonetheless usually sees a large deal of heavy losses in Congress including several Governorships, and for George HW Bush, a student of history and deep knowledge of foreign policy and international affairs as well as political instincts-especially as a former Congressman himself before serving in multiple roles as US Ambassador to the United Nations, then Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Chief Liaison to the People's Republic of China, then Director of Central Intelligence before getting elected to the Vice Presidency and then ascended to the Presidency as the 42nd President of the United States following the shocking horrific assassination of then-President Ronald Wilson Reagan on 13 November 1983, Bush had to carry out Reagan's legacy and finishing up the Reagan legacy before winning his first full four-year term in a massive landslide victory in 1984: being his own man.

However, with the Republican Party controlling the White House since 1969, there were some signs of fatigue and Bush, who was facing his first midterms as President, was bracing for some type of backlash.

Nonetheless, the Republicans had a good story to tell for the upcoming Midtems: Bushnomics was popular amongst several segments of American society. Unemployment was still coming down throughout 1985 and faster throughout 1986; inflation was also down by a nice sized fair amount, though the decline had seemed to be cresting by late Summer. Oil prices jumped upward notably thanks to the Spring 1986 Revolutions in Haiti and the Philippines, which brought down the Duvalier's and Marcoses respectively. And then, came the explosive 05.17.86 Incident: Operation Liberation, which resulted in the overthrow of then-Mexican President General Oscar Robles, forcing Robles and his family to flee the country; the bombshell revelations of senior members of the White House Security Council being involved in the escalating Nicaraguan Contras Scandal, also became a political noose on the Bush administration's necks.

The Bush administration had passed the ambitious Economic Stabilization Act of 1985, in order to continue extending Bushnomics and the Trickle-Down Economics policies during 1985, even though the Chaotic Decade of the 1970s and early 1980s were over. Bush continued pushing more deregulatory reforms in all sectors of society including loosening government bureaucratic red tape in allowing businesses and industries to become more successful, which annoyed liberals while conservatives cheered. The Silent Majority Act including the Family Assistance Program, were both appealing to culturally conservative blue-collar voters in Middle America with downsized welfare programs, which were consolidated and sent back to state and local governments. Taken together, it was one of the most ambitious economic agendas since Rockefellernomics, and skillfully marketed by Republican campaign professionals as the second coming of Reaganomics, a comparison that Bush wasn't quite comfortable of entertaining. To the advantage of Republicans, the President still retained his popularity, which skyrocketed to the 90s during the height of Operation BootStick in December 1983, Bush's approval ratings continued being quite high throughout 1984 all the way throughout 1985, where it faded quite a bit from the post-Inauguration highs, and the Democratic opposition was in its largest, especially in the Congress and the State level. However, Fall 1985 provided a blueprint for the Democratic Party as it looked to move beyond the disappointment of the Babbit campaign, with a laser-focus on government transparency and international quagmires (in reference to the Nicaraguan Contra Scandal).

The Nicaraguan Contras Scandal and the ugly violent South African Border War both became super sensitive issues, and Bush acknowledged to his White House "War Room" that was coordinating a national campaign with local candidates that it was one of the major wedge issues for a Democratic Party, who had been in the wilderness for almost 20+ years since LBJ left the White House in 1969. Democrats found other weak spots in the Bush administration's armor, however.

In 1986, job losses had led to population losses, compounded by decaying tax bases: forcing many major American cities and States/Territories to cutting budgets to services, vicious cycles which hit many major cities and States the hardest. In order to avoid being tagged as soft on crime, moderate-to-conservative Democrats such as Alabama Governor George Wallace (the 1976 Democratic Party presidential nominee) aggressively hammered the Bush administration's ineptness on the deteriorating economic crises, especially the lingering Economic Recession which hampered the Gulf Coast in several Southern States. Arkansas Governor (and future 43rd President) William Jefferson Clinton deployed a balanced third way approach: appealing to suburbanites by being aggressively tough on crime with heavy prison sentences on criminals and building more prisons as well as enforcing the death penalty non-stop. Texas Governor (and future 45th President) Mark Wells White, Jr., attacked the Bush administration on massive budget deficits by blowing up the Federal budget with economic gimmicks such as Bushnomics, which White viciously mocked and slandered in his reelection campaign. Democratic candidates, in addition to "sending the Whimp Ass President" a message in the 1986 Midterms by campaigning against Bushnomics, zeroing in on their focus of being viciously tougher on enforcing the death penalty and cracking down on crime as they sought to partially digging their way out of the political wilderness in their common goal of winning the Presidency, including flipping back control of the United States Senate (in order to block Bush judicial nominees) as well as flipping back Governorships. DSCC (future Senate Majority Leader) George Mitchell (D-ME), regarded as one of the key figures of the Democratic Party's resurgence in reclaiming control of the Senate, noted in a confidential memorandum to Democratic Senate candidates that while the Democratic Party wasn't giving up on 1988, no incumbent President had been defeated for reelection since Herbert Hoover in 1932 under considerably worse circumstances than Bush was likely going to face a barring an ugly nuclear holocaust in South Africa in their vicious military operations against their neighbors, and that the goal in 1986 was moving the Democratic Party's bench ahead of what was seen as a "credible campaign for 1988 in the turn of the new decade". While controversial and frustrating to many progressives and liberals at the time, moderates and conservative Democrats believed after seeing the party losing five consecutive presidential elections, the Blue Dog Democrats believed it was time to move the party further to the center and in a hurry before it was too late, and the 1986 Midterm elections were going to be key to one of the first tools of their comeback.

As such, candidates fanned out across the country. Bush parked himself in the South including the Rocky Mountains, where he heavily campaigned on the recent anti-Japanese and anti-Hong Konger tariffs, conservatives like Jesse Helms headed to North Carolina to campaign with fellow North Carolinian, United States Senator Jim Broyhill (R-NC) in a hotly-contested reelection campaign against former North Carolina Governor Terry Sanford, a decision that in hindsight was being questioned when other Senate Republican incumbents needed Helms' support in other States. Vice President Howard Baker, for his part, was dispatched to the Midwest in campaigning for Senate and gubernatorial candidates. Countering him there was, outgoing Arizona Governor Bruce Babbitt, who returned off the sidelines from Phoenix to stumping on behalf of moderate Democrats across the Midwest including in the South, where Babbitt had surprisingly gotten strong showings in his unsuccessful 1984 presidential campaign.

As 4 November 1986 was looming, both sides expected Republicans to lose some seats in the US House of Representatives and United States Senate including some Governorships------but the only question was how big of a pushback or setback would the Bush administration be facing, and even the most bullish political strategists for both Republicans and Democrats were usually unsure exactly how the 1986 Midterms being set against falling unemployment and low inflation and with Democrats targeting seven incumbent Republican United States Senators in a Senate map for them would look like.

 

[Sergeant Foley]

Chapter 22: Election Night in America!
Tuesday, 4 November 1986

BREAKING NEWS ALERT: DEMOCRATS MAINTAIN CONTROL OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
*Democrats flip 16 House seats in maintain control of the lower chamber.
*US House Majority Leader Jim Wright (D-TX 12th) likely to become the next Speaker of the House of Representatives on 6 January 1987.
*Outgoing US House Speaker Tip O'Neill (D-MA 08th) retiring after five terms as Speaker and 34 years in Congress.
*US House Minority Leader Robert H. Michel (R-IL 18th) to remain as House Minority Leader as Republicans are in the minority.

1986 United States House of Representatives elections:
Democrats: 273 Seats (+16)
37,673,019 (56.16%)
Republicans: 165 Seats
26,533,183 (42.83%)
DEMOCRATIC HOLD

COMING UP IN CHAPTER 22 OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC: Analysis on the 1986 Midterm Elections: The United States Senate and election results.
​

 

[Sergeant Foley]

Analysis on the 1986 United States Senate Elections (Part I)

*Alabama
Incumbent United States Senator and Vietnam War veteran Jeremiah Denton (R-AL) rode to the United States Senate in 1980 on the coattails of the Reagan Revolution that year, making history as the Yellowhammer State's first Republican elected United States Senator since Reconstruction. Alabama was continuing its trend of becoming more Republican in recent years, so it was assumed that Denton would coast to reelection in 1986. However, Democrats won a recruiting coup in arch conservative US Rep. Richard Shelby (D-AL 07th), who was much more conservative and super conservative than Denton was. Benefiting from having popular four-term incumbent Alabama Governor (1976 Democratic Party presidential nominee) George Wallace on the ballot, Shelby was carried over the finish line by less than one percentage point.

*Arizona (OPEN)
Following his close call in 1980, legendary five-term incumbent United States Senator and 1964 Republican Party presidential nominee Barry Morris Goldwater, Sr., (R-AZ) declared his fifth term was likely going to be his last after 30 years in the United States Senate (1953-1965; 1969-1987). Republicans quickly coalesced behind Vietnam War veteran, POW and two-term US Rep (future 2008 Republican Party presidential nominee) John Sidney McCain (R-AZ 01st), who got the strong support of Senator Goldwater, President Bush, Vice President Baker and majority of Republicans, who viewed him as one of the rising stars. Meanwhile, Democrats saw their recruiting hopes crash in flames when popular two-term incumbent Arizona Governor and 1984 Democratic Party presidential nominee, Bruce Babbitt announced he would be retiring from politics altogether and not running for the United States Senate or even seeking reelection to a third full four-year term as Governor in 1986. Former Arizona Corporation Commissioner Richard Kimball, whose campaign was quite chaotic and weird. Arizonans overwhelmingly elected McCain to replace Senator Goldwater in a landslide.

*California
Despite his disastrous and embarrassing campaign for the 1984 Democratic Party presidential nomination, three-term incumbent United States Senator Alan Cranston (D-CA) had been assumed by many political analysts to have an easy path to reelection to a fourth term as the Golden State's Senior United States Senator. Republicans had a wild and out of control primary with plenty of different politicians and who's who of who would be brave taking on Cranston; In the end, former US Rep. Barry Goldwater, Jr., (R-CA 20th), whose name recognition and lone position as the "real conservative for California" managed to get him the nomination in the June primary election, setting up a classic battle royal inside the Golden State. For much of the year, Cranston was thought to have an advantage due to winning five statewide elections (California State Controller in 1958 and 1962; United States Senator in 1968, 1974 and 1980). However, Goldwater Jr., had been buyoed by the strong popularity of incumbent California Governor George Deukmejian, whose strong massive landslide victory carried Goldwater to the finish line in one of the major upsets of the 20th Century: Goldwater, Jr., would continue his family legacy by winning the Senate race by less than one percentage point.

COMING UP IN CHAPTER 22: Part II of the Analysis on the United States Senate: 86 Midterms.


​

 

[Sergeant Foley]

Analysis of the United States Senate Elections (Part II)

*Colorado
Many were surprised when two-term incumbent United States Senator Gary Hart (D-CO) announced his reelection campaign in 1986, which many suspect is really about launching another campaign for the Presidency. Republicans nominated US Rep. Ken Kramer (R-CO 05th), whose campaign had gained some momentum early during the year; However, as the campaign continued throughout the year, Senator Hart's polling numbers surged ahead in the later months and he cruised to a landslide victory with 59 percent of the statewide vote, easily securing his third term to representing the Centennial State as their senior United States Senator. This all but set Hart up for the 1988 Democratic Party presidential nomination.

*Florida
The Sunshine State continued their slow descending trend of becoming more Republican, and in spite of all this, popular two-term incumbent Florida Governor Bob Graham announced his campaign for the United States Senate in 1986 against incumbent United States Senator Paula Hawkins (R-FL), who was seeking reelection. Despite the Republicans flipping the Governorship, Democrats were cheering that Graham ultimately defeated Hawkins quite easily without much difficulty.

*Georgia
Inside the Peach State, Republicans were slowly gaining steam quite fast in recent years, but Georgians stuck to their traditional Democratic roots by electing US Rep. Wyche Fowler (D-GA 05th) to the United States Senate defeating incumbent United States Senator Mack Mattingly (R-GA) narrowly avoiding a December runoff by less than a percentage point.

COMING UP IN CHAPTER 22 OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC: Part III of the Analysis on the United States Senate in the 1986 Midterms.​

 

[Sergeant Foley]

Analysis on the United States Senate Elections of 1986 (Part III)

*Idaho
Inside the Gem State or the Potato State, Idahoans got to watch a battle royal of the Gem State's two prominent politicians: two-term incumbent Idaho Governor John Victor Evans versus incumbent United States Senator Steve Symms (R-ID). Symms' reelection campaign faced onslaught of bombshell allegations of extramarital affairs with women, who weren't his wife; The Informer (known for its salacious slandering and expose specials) newspaper company exposed videotapes of Symms having sex with prostitutes including female staffers. These revelations derailed his reelection campaign, and Governor Evans ran a skillful, disciplined campaign throughout the entire year. Evans defeated Symms by less than two percentage points, giving Democrats the fourth pick-up of the night.

*Indiana
Democrats were unsuccessful in recruiting former United States Senator Birch Bayh (D-IN) in seeking a 1986 rematch against the man, who defeated him six years earlier: incumbent United States Senator Dan Quayle (R-IN). Instead, they settled on Valparaiso City Councilwoman (and future Congresswoman) Jill Long, whose campaign had faced difficulty gaining traction due to the fact the Hoosier State was one of the staunchest Red States in the Union. Quayle won reelection in a massive landslide victory, carrying 89 out of 92 counties with 61 percent of the statewide vote: almost immediately, Quayle was being mentioned as a future contender for the Vice Presidency amongst Republican circles.

*Louisiana (OPEN)
With long-time incumbent United States Senator Russell Billiu Long (D-LA) not seeking reelection and announcing his campaign for the Louisiana Governor's Mansion in 1987, Democrats united behind US Rep. John Breaux (D-LA 07th), who had the endorsement of Senator Long and embattled three-term incumbent Louisiana Governor Edwin Washington Edwards, who announced last year that he wasn't seeking reelection to a fourth term in 1987. Republicans united behind US Rep. Henson Moore (R-LA 06th), who had led the 27 September 1986 Primary Elections with 44 percent of the vote, Congressman Breaux came in second place with 37 percent of the statewide vote. President Bush and Vice President Baker campaigned extensively for Congressman Moore inside the Pelican State two to four times. However, just two weeks before the election, US Judge of the District Court for the District of New Jersey Dickinson R. Debevoise unveiled an internal memo between Kris Wolfe, who was the regional director of the Republican National Committee and Lanny Griffith, who was the RNC's Southern regional director: in the memo, they discussed using the controversial Ballot Integrity Groups in purging 80,000 people from the voting rolls across Louisiana, with the goal of keeping the African American vote down considerably. Despite Congressman Moore's denials of being involved in the sinister scheme, the memo exposed of his campaign staffers being involved and the damage was done: Congressman Breaux blasted the Republicans of conducting a sinister Nixonian-style Watergate cover-up. And Louisianans voted to send Breaux to succeed Long in the United States Senate.

COMING UP IN CHAPTER 22 OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC: Part IV on the Analysis of the United States Senate Elections.

​

 

[Sergeant Foley]

Analysis of the United States Senate Elections in the 1986 Midterms (Part IV)

*Maryland (Open)
Inside the Old Line State, following 18 years in the United States Senate, three-term incumbent United States Senator Charles Mathias (R-MD) announced he wasn't seeking reelection to a fourth term in 1986. Democrats united behind US Rep. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD 03rd), who faced off against the Republican Party nominee, former White House Director of the Office of Public Liaison Linda Chavez, whose campaign was quite erratic with attacks on Milkulski's voting record in the House of Representatives to attacking Mikulski's personal life by tying her to "The freaks in San Francisco"------implying that Mikulski might be a lesbian. These controversial tactics backfired and Mikulski won in a landslide victory, giving the Democrats their fifth pick-up of the night.

*Missouri (Open)
Three-term incumbent United States Senator Thomas Eagleton (D-MO) announced his retirement from politics by not seeking reelection in 1986. Missourians watched the Show Me State's two high-profile statewide politicians, former Missouri Governor Kit Bond and Missouri Lieutenant Governor Harriett Woods facing off against each other. Despite some potential of a hotly-contested battle royal, Bond won without much difficulty, flipping the Senate seat in Republican hands: making it #2 for the Republicans after Goldwater, Jr., upset Cranston in California.

*Nevada (Open)
Following 12 years in the United States Senate, two-term incumbent United States Senator Paul Laxalt (R-NV) announced he wouldn't be seeking reelection in 1986. Democrats united behind US Rep (future Senate Majority Leader) Harry Reid (D-NV 01st) while the Republicans coalesced behind former US Rep. Jim Santini (R-NV At-Large). However, Nevadans chose to send Congressman Reid to the United States Senate; political analysts believe Reid was carried by the coattails of popular incumbent Nevada Governor Richard Ryan and the backlash against the Bush administration.

COMING UP IN CHAPTER 22 OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC: Part V of the Analysis on the United States Senate Elections during the 1986 Midterm elections.​

 

[Sergeant Foley]

Analysis of the United States Senate Elections of 1986 (Part V)

*North Carolina (Open)
During the Summer, on 29 June 1986, then-United States Senator John Porter East (R-NC) was found dead in his automobile via suicide and North Carolina Governor James Grubbs Martin appointed then-US Rep. Jim Broyhill (R-NC 10th) to Martin's US Senate seat on 14 July 1986: Broyhill had already won the Republican primary; the move was intended to give Senator Broyhill an advantage over the Democratic Party nominee for the United States Senate, former North Carolina Governor Terry Sanford in the November general election. Sanford ended up victorious in the end: defeating Broyhill by less than three percentage points, giving the Democrats their seventh pick-up.

*North Dakota
Inside the Peace Garden State, incumbent United States Senator Mark Andrews (R-ND) was seeking reelection, but was facing a strong challenge from two-term North Dakota State Tax Commissioner Kent Conrad, who gave Andrews a real, aggressive hard run for his money throughout the campaign. In one of the closest elections in state history, Conrad defeated Andrews by 0.73 percent of the statewide vote: giving Democrats their eighth pick-up of the evening.

*South Dakota
Over in the Mount Rushmore State, incumbent United States Senator James Abdnor (R-SD) faced a strong primary challenge from outgoing two-term incumbent South Dakota Governor William Janklow , who was prevented to succeed himself to a third consecutive term as Governor. Although Abdnor won the 3 June 1986 primary election, it was quite underwhelming and political analysts viewed it as one of the contributing factors of his downfall. Democrats united behind US Rep. Tom Daschle (D-SD At-Large), who won the November general election narrowly in one of the nationally-watched Senate elections: giving the Democrats their ninth pick-up of the evening.

COMING UP IN CHAPTER 22 OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC: Part VI of the Analysis on the United States Senate Elections of 1986.​

 

[Sergeant Foley]

Analysis of the United States Senate Elections of 1986 (Part VI)

*Washington
The Evergreen State featured a hotly contested showdown between former US Transportation Deputy Secretary Brock Adams and incumbent United States Senator Slade Gorton (R-WA St), which was one of the nationally watched Senate contests in the country. Washingtonians were intrigued by the campaign commercials in all 39 counties including televised debates between the two main candidates. Adams narrowly defeated Gorton by less than 1.98 percent of the statewide vote: giving the Democrats their tenth pick-up of the evening.

COMING UP IN CHAPTER 22 OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC: Full list of election results of the United States Senate Elections of 1986.
​

 

[Sergeant Foley]

Election Night in America
Tuesday, 4 November 1986

BREAKING NEWS ALERT: DEMOCRATS FLIP CONTROL OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE
* Democrats flip 10 Senate seats in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Maryland, Nevada, North Carolina,
North Dakota, South Dakota, and Washington
*Republicans flip Missouri and California: California one of the major upsets of the night.
*Senate Minority Leader Robert Byrd (D-WV) to become Senate Majority Leader on 3 January 1987
*Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-KS) will serve as Senate Minority Leader.

1986 United States Senate Elections
56 Democrats (+10)
26,347,373 (50.1%)
48 Republicans
23,127,219 (47.6%)

COMING UP IN CHAPTER 22 OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC: Full List of United States Senate Elections of 1986.

​

 

[Sergeant Foley]

1986 United States Senate Election Results (Part I)

*ALABAMA
US Rep. Richard Shelby (D-AL 07th): 50.3% Declared Winner
United States Senator Jeremiah Denton (R-AL: incumbent): 49.7%
DEMOCRATIC GAIN

*ALASKA
United States Senator Frank Murkowski (R-AK: incumbent): 54.0% Declared Winner
Glenn Olds: 44.1%
REPUBLICAN HOLD

*ARIZONA (OPEN)
US Rep. John McCain (R-AZ 01st): 60.6% Declared Winner
Former Arizona Corporation Commissioner Richard Kimball: 39.4%
REPUBLICAN HOLD

*ARKANSAS
United States Senator Dale Bumpers (D-AR: incumbent) 62.9% Declared Winner
Asa Hutchinson 37.1%
DEMOCRATIC HOLD


*CALIFORNIA
Former US Rep. Barry Goldwater, Jr., (R-CA 20th): 49.9% Declared Winner
United States Senator Alan Cranston (D-CA: incumbent): 48.4%
REPUBLICAN GAIN

COMING UP IN CHAPTER 22 OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC: Part II of the 1986 United States Senate Elections.

​

 

[Sergeant Foley]

1986 United States Senate Elections (Part II)

*COLORADO
United States Senator Gary Hart (D-CO: incumbent): 59.83% Declared Winner
US Rep. Ken Kramer (R-CO 05th): 40.73%
DEMOCRATIC HOLD

*CONNECTICUT
United States Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT: incumbent) 64.8% Declared Winner
Roger Eddy: 34.8%
DEMOCRATIC HOLD

*FLORIDA
Florida Governor Bob Graham: 54.74% Declared Winner
United States Senator Paula Hawkins (R-FL: incumbent): 45.26%
DEMOCRATIC GAIN

*GEORGIA
US Rep. Wyche Fowler (D-GA 05th): 50.9% Declared Winner
United States Senator Mack Mattingly (R-GA: incumbent) 49.1%
DEMOCRATIC GAIN

COMING UP IN CHAPTER 22 OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC: Part III of the 1986 United States Senate Elections.​