The Democratic campaign
In January 1971, McGovern announced his candidacy for the 1972 presidential election. Initially, most political observers believed the party’s nominee would be senator. Edmund Muskie of Maine. But McGovern’s team hoped to mount a serious challenge in New Hampshire, which would hold its first primary on March 7, 1972. A victory there, they hoped, would provide the momentum needed to win the nomination.
From the beginning, Muskie aligned himself with leading Democratic politicians to approve him, including the governor. John Gilligan of Ohio; Leonard Woodcock, president of the United Auto Workers; Iowa The senator Harold Hughes; and the governor of Pennsylvania. Milton Shapp. Muskie fought a grueling campaign that taxed his energies and resources. In January and February 1972, he shuttled between New Hampshire, Florida, Wisconsin and any other necessary stops. On February 26, at New Hampshirethe pressure was starting to be felt. Assembling the platform of a truck parked in front of the offices of the conservative Manchester Union leaderthe state’s largest newspaper, Muskie launched an attack on the paper’s publisher, William Loeb. As he spoke about Loeb’s unflattering remarks about Ms. Muskie, the senator’s voice cracked and the crowd saw tears forming in his eyes. The spectacle seriously dented the image Muskie had tried to present all year – that of a calm, trustworthy and collected candidate. When New Hampshire voted on March 7, Muskie had the narrowest victory, with 46 percent of the vote, well below the expected 65 percent. McGovern, benefiting from his early start and vigorous organization, was close behind with 37 percent.
In Florida, the Democratic battle revolved around the question of bus. In January 1972, a U.S. district court judge merged school districts in Richmond, Virginia, and ordered that students be bused to meet their goals. racial balance. Governor. George Wallace of Alabamaopponent of federal orders integrationentered the Florida primary and directly focused on the issue. The governor of Florida. Rubin Askew campaigned statewide against the Florida Legislature’s inclusion of an anti-busing referendum on the presidential primary ballot. Lack of votes in the legislature to exclude the anti-busing question from the ballot, Askew succeeded in having another question added: “Are you in favor of providing a equal opportunities for quality education for all children, regardless of race, creed, color or place of residence, and oppose the return to a dual system of public schools?
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Askew’s campaign focused the anger of many of his constituents on him, and the Democratic presidential candidates, 11 of them, found themselves discussing busing far more often than they otherwise would have liked. Mayor John Lindsay from New York CityRep. Shirley Chisholm of new Yorkformer senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesotaand Senator McGovern, all liberal candidates, spoke in favor of busing when asked. The senator Vance Hartke IndianaRep. Wilbur D. Mills Arkansasand the mayor Sam Yorty Los Angelesalthough registered on the ballot, were not actively campaigning. Senator Muskie and Senator. Hubert H. Humphrey of Minnesota moved and weaved on the issue. Only Wallace and the senator. Henry M. Jackson of Washington came out squarely against busing.
As the race became more intense, political observers began to doubt that with 11 names on the Democratic ballot, anyone could achieve a clear victory. George Wallace proved them wrong by winning 42 percent of the statewide vote in Florida and almost all of the 81 delegates at the Democratic National Convention. Senator Humphrey came in second, with 18 percent, and secured the few remaining delegates. Senator Jackson received 13 percent, just enough to convince him not to withdraw from the race. Muskie, with 9 percent, lost his favorite status. McGovern, who had written off Florida earlier, finished with 6 percent. The anti-busing referendum was passed by 75 percent and the equal opportunities issue was approved by 79 percent.
The Muskie campaign headed to Wisconsin for its April 4 primary. The bus losing its importance, property tax became central, particularly for the campaigns of Wallace and McGovern. McGovern’s year-old campaign organization paid off as he finished first with 30 percent of the popular vote. Surprisingly, Wallace finished second with 22 percent, buoyed by the fact that about a third of the state’s Republican voters crossed party lines to vote for him. Humphrey, who had worked 19-hour days in the state where he was supposed to be beloved as “our third senator,” finished third with 21 percent. Muskie finished a distant fourth with 10 percent. The Wisconsin vote ended Lindsay’s candidacy.
Humphrey decided to focus his attention and decline resources on from Pennsylvania primary. Humphrey’s decision suited the McGovern forces. Their plan then called for intensive work Massachusettsconsidered the most liberal state in the country, where they could expect civility, if not outright public support, from the senator. Ted Kennedy. On April 25, Humphrey and McGovern’s strategies bore fruit and Senator Muskie’s hopes were dashed between them. He finished fourth in Pennsylvania, behind winner Humphrey, Wallace and McGovern, and finished far behind McGovern in Massachusetts. Muskie then withdrew from the campaign.
On May 15, while Wallace was campaigning Marylanda state he was expected to win, he was shot four times by 21-year-old Arthur Bremer. Wallace survived, but he was paralyzed from the waist down. Maryland voters rallied on Election Day to give Wallace a huge victory, his last of 1972. Wallace received numerous visits from Democratic and Republican politicians, and many wondered if he would approve someone else for the presidency. As he recovered, many of his supporters began to mobilize in overwhelming numbers behind Nixon’s candidacy.
In the primaries that followed, McGovern continued to lead in the number of convention delegates. He had even more success in non-primary states, where his dedicated supporters ensured that delegate selection caucuses voted his way. But this success took precedence over the much more fundamental process that was underway: the Democratic Party was tearing itself apart. One reason lies in the work of the commission that bore McGovern’s name. Founded following the disastrous and violent Democratic National Convention of 1968the McGovern Commission propose guidelines for the selection of delegates. They were designed to open the party’s deliberations to more young people, African Americansand to women. The guidelines worked, but they also had the effect of diminishing the turnout of many longtime Democratic Party workers. In some cases, prominent national Democrats found themselves unable to find a place in their own states’ delegations.
McGovern’s rise has made many Democrats nervous. Some were concerned about his anti-war views, while others believed he went against traditional Democratic principles. To many, unfairly or not, McGovern came to symbolize a candidacy of radical kids, rioters, potheads, draft dodgers and hippies. With the California As the primaries approached, Humphrey attempted to marshal all objections to McGovern in a final attempt to save the nomination for himself. He skinned his old friend in the Senate for his expensive ideas on social protection and his desire to reduce the defense budget. It almost worked. Humphrey closed its doors quickly in May and early June, but the McGovern organization held on. McGovern won the entire giant California delegation and beat Humphrey 44.3 to 39.1 percent in the popular vote. The margin was not as great as McGovern had hoped, and the bitterness of the fight, as well as the effectiveness of the accusations against Humphrey, were not lost on the silent observers of the President’s Re-election Committee (which became later widely known). known as FLAGE).
