Advertisement

The Liberal Challenge: State by State

Can They Take Control?

Blacks mounted several congressional campaigns this spring and showed some voting strength. The New Democratic Coalition has no contacts yet with liberal forces within the conservative state.

South Dakota

Sen. George S. McGovern's organization is the liberal group at this point. They have strong influence in party affairs.

Tennessee

Liberals from a minority of the party and probably will for some time to come. McCarthy forces under Charles Stevenson '64 ran a strong campaign for so conservative a state with concentrated support in Nashville, Knoxville, and Oak Ridge. They developed strong ties with black moderates and militants; the Negro power structure, while sympathetic, is still aligned with the old guard machine led at this time by Gov. Buford Ellington. With constant work liberals can have a serious influence on the party stance and elect progressive local and legislative officers.

Advertisement

Texas

About the best strategy liberals can follow in this conservative state is to elect a Republican governor. With the conservative party power structure out of power, there might be a chance for the factionalized liberal chronic minority to take over the party in primary elections. Blacks and browns have excercised little voting power in the past, though in a new coalition with the white liberals here is hope that this can be changed by registration drives and progressive local candidates. This group, the Texas Democratic Coalition, primarily McCarthyite, is setting up a parallel party structure across the state. Other liberals are actively working for the GOP gubernatorial nominee, setting up the New Texas Party with a McCarthy-Lindsay ticket, and working to keep the only important liberal in office when he comes up for re-election in 1970--Sen. Ralph Yarborough.

Utah

Liberal forces have a lot of building to do at a very basic level if they are ever to challenge the moderate party organization. They put together a fairly strong organization for McCarthy this year. The state party chairman A. Wally Sandack voted for McCarthy in Chicago.

Vermont

With Gov. Phillip A. Hoff, a McCarthy supporter, at the head of the party and the only significant Democratic office-holder in the past few years, liberals have played an important part in the decision-making. The 7000-member McCarthy organization--with a heavy dose of academicians--will probably go for a Democratic Coalition like the CDC after the election. Affluent McCarthyites have increased their control by giving generously this fall to moderate party candidates. If Hoff runs for the U.S. Senate in 1970, the liberal Coalition will most likely provide his base of support.

Virginia

With the state growing rapidly the conservative Byrd-machine which ruled it for several decades has steadily declined during the '60's. In its place three distinct factions have risen. Though the Byrd-machine placed Gov. Mills E. Godwin in office, he has gradually shifted over to the moderate faction of the party; the moderates under Sen. William B. Sprong's leadership are a swing group who now have widespread electoral support; the liberals led by Henry Howell of Norfolk have significant organizational and electoral support in black urban areas and white suburban communities around the District of Columbia as well as in Norfolk. If the moderates and conservatives don't unite behind moderate gubernatorial candidate William Battle in the 1969 party primary, then Howell, the liberal choice, may win the nomination--although probably lose the general election to a strong GOP candidate. In either case, the liberal faction, while now just a strong minority, will gain power as the state continues its de-Southernization campaign.

Washington

"The state has a relatively simple organization to crack," said one McCarthy operative. The McCarthyites were brutally put down in party caucuses last summer and they are mad. They are mad enough to form a Washington Democratic Council (WDC) along the lines of the CDC to try to take over the party. "A lot of people are determined to stick around the party and do some homework; the only real question is how easy it is to change the people into long-term politicians," Ed Voris said, a Seattle McCarthyite.

Advertisement