Posted on 03/16/2012 9:36:58 PM PDT by Texas Fossil
A Senate runoff election between Lyndon Johnson and Coke Stevenson in 1948 was a fierce contest. For five days after the election, Stevenson believed he had won the closest senatorial election in American history. Out of nearly a million votes cast, he had a 112-vote lead.
(Excerpt) Read more at caller.com ...
This was at a time when Texas as solidly Democrat.
Sadly this is a story that is true, but reflects what we face at this time approaching the November elections.
In John B. Connally's biography, he had been LBJ's campaign manager in 1944 and thought they had won that year's race when one last precinct box from South Texas came in a few days later with just enough votes to steal the race from LBJ. So, in 1948, Connally and LBJ knew they had to do two things if the election were close - find out how many votes they needed to win and own the last box that came in.
That race was also how Johnson got the mocking nickname "Landslide Lyndon" which was revised after thrashing Goldwater in 1964 for president.
The precinct captain for Box 13 went public in the late 70's, and admitted that he had stuffed the ballot box with votes for LBJ, on the orders of George Parr. The guy waited until everyone else involved had passed away.
More interesting is a story from someone that wrote a book about LBJ after he retired to the ranch. The author had extensive access to LBJ, and conducted many interviews at LBJ's home. In LBJ's study, there was a picture of LBJ and another man posing together. The author asked LBJ who the man was, and LBJ just smiled and said nothing.
When the precinct captain for Box 13 went public, his picture was on the news, briefly. The author recognized him -- it was the guy in the picture in LBJ's study.
Frightening what lasting influences that one fraudulent contest had on the country. Had Gov. Stevenson properly been seated, LBJ might never have reached the Senate (or at least not until later on). Absent LBJ as Majority Leader and VP candidate, JFK would never have been able to steal the 1960 elections and the country’s history from that point on would’ve been far different today. All because of one corrupt county in Texas.
Indeed. No Great Society. It’s been said that LBJ’s victory in 1964 was assured in Dallas in 1963. It’s amazing how seemingly small things like that county in southern Texas can have such a huge impact later on. When the Chicago Trinune hounded Jack Ryan from the U.S. Senate race in 2004, did any of us suspect what it would lead to?
Yep. lasting stain indeed.
thanks for the additions.
I shutter to think what might have happened had Nixon been in the Whitehouse during the '62 missile crisis.
There wouldn’t have been any crisis. A 1961-69 Nixon Administration would’ve removed the Cuban Communist Cancer early on. Vietnam would’ve been handled differently as well.
Khrushchev sized up JFK as an inexperienced pretty boy airhead to be tested to the limit.
Nixon was a hardened cold warrior and Nikita knew he was not to be flucked with.
Yes! The 2004 Democrat convention put a spotlight on Obama similar to the spotlight put on Clinton at the 1988 convention. The DemocRATS were obviously grooming him to be the next presidential candidate for their party.
Was Coke Stevenson a conservative democrat?
Kennedy still would won without Texas. Illinois still would have been stolen. But maybe Kennedy would have lost the Carolina’s and NM too without Johnson on the ticket.
Lots of what ifs based on close elections.
Kennedy himself only narrowly beat superRINO Lodge.
Harry Truman won reelection to the Senate in 1940 by only 51-49.
FDR was elected Governor in 1928 by only 26,000 votes, 0.6%! Al Smith would have gotten a rematch with Hoover if he had lost.
A good chunk of the TX Democrats were Tories. Stevenson was one of them. After his loss to fraud, he supported Republicans. One wonders what LBJ would’ve done had he been properly declared the loser in 1948. Unless he managed to persuade his ally, Homer Thornberry, to step aside from the House seat nomination, he’d have been shut out. The only other opportunity would’ve been to run for Governor in 1950 against Tory Dem Allen Shivers (and Shivers was quite popular and delivered the state in 1952 to Ike). Otherwise he’d have had to wait until 1952 for the open Senate seat (which was won by Atty Gen Price Daniel, who became a protege of LBJ’s in the Senate).
Absent LBJ, JFK would’ve had more difficulty with the South (ostensibly, he would’ve had MO Sen. Stuart Symington as his VP, but the question is how would that have helped him). Of course, an even bigger question would be what the Senate would’ve been like without an LBJ as party leader. He succeeded within 2 years of reaching the Senate to Majority Whip (partly as a result of the GOP knocking off weak Dem leaders Scott Lucas (to Everett Dirksen) and Francis Myers of PA) and outright leader within 4 (because Barry Goldwater knocked off Dem leader Ernest McFarland in 1952). I’d only be guessing who would’ve filled that vacuum (doubtful that a Senator Coke Stevenson would have).
Sticking with weaker Dem leadership, would there have been such a total collapse of the GOP by the end of the ‘50s ? Maybe. Perhaps the players would’ve ended up in different jobs. Absent beating Lodge in 1952, JFK might’ve decided to go after the MA Governorship and run against Christian Herter in 1954 (or against Sen. Leverett Saltonstall, for whom Dem Foster Furcolo held to a small margin, which gave him visibility to win the Governorship in 1956). So imagine 1960 would’ve featured perhaps a Gov. Kennedy facing off with Nixon and Sen. Lodge (presuming Lodge survived the 1958 massacre, he might’ve lost to a Furcolo, who would’ve opted for the Senate with JFK in the way). Interesting in that instance that Teddy wouldn’t have ended up in the Senate (unless JFK appointed Furcolo to some office).
As for Truman, his most serious problem going into 1940 is that Gov. Lloyd Stark almost beat him in the Dem primary, losing by 1% (had it not been for a 3rd candidate, Stark would’ve received most of those votes and ousted Truman). A weak Truman, as you cited, barely prevailed over another KC politician, Manvel Davis, in the general. Had Truman lost, unquestionably the primadonna liberal Justice Bill Douglas would’ve ended up FDR’s running mate in 1944. Douglas probably would’ve been only a smidge better than Henry Wallace.
Lastly, as for FDR’s close victory in 1928 over GOP Attorney General Albert Ottinger, had Ottinger prevailed, he still would’ve been up for reelection in 1930. Now that begs the question... would FDR have sought a rematch or Al Smith have tried for a Gubernatorial comeback (Smith did so in 1922 after he lost in the Harding blowout) ? If it had pitted the two of them in the primary, they might’ve damaged one another enough to have given Ottinger a second term.
1932 then might’ve featured a different Dem Pres. nominee had that occured (perhaps Cactus Jack Garner, Gov. Huey Long, Newton Baker (former Sec of War), Banker Melvin Traylor or OH Gov. George White). But if Smith had prevailed to return to the Governorship in 1930, it would’ve assuredly went to him (and likely this time, he’d have won, Catholic or not — and Garner would’ve still ended up as VP). Would a President Smith have gone as far to the left as FDR did (for which Smith, who was a liberal, ended up criticizing and breaking with FDR over) ? He might very well have. He’d also have had populist demogogues like Huey Long threatening him for ‘36 (as FDR did).
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