Let's Talk Sense...
Saturday, September 9, 2000 Volume XXV, No. 26
Roswell, New Mexico
In this issue:
Senator Pete Domenici
New Mexico's Longest-Serving Senator
· Classes 1, 2 and 3 in the US Senate
· The Election of Pete Domenici, 1972
· Domenici's Predecessors
· Breaking the Record
Classes 1, 2 and 3 in the US Senate
Following the first federal elections in 1788, and in compliance
with Article I, Section 3, of the Constitution, the United States
Senate was divided into three "classes." Members of Class
1 served for two years, those in Class 2 served for four years,
and those fortunate enough to be assigned to Class 3 received full
six-year terms. There- after of course, six-year terms were fully
implemented for all classes.
[On a personal note, I use the term "fortunate" because
I know from personal experience that is the way elected politicians
view it. I learned this when I tried to muster support for a constitutional
amendment to "stagger" terms in elections for the New
Mexico Senate. The reason being the same as the US Constitution's:
so that the people might be able to effect change in the body every
two years. A few senators were interested at first, but, as they
thought about it, only if they could somehow be guaranteed they
would be among the half running for a four-year term at the outset,
instead of a two-year term.]
Each state has memberships in two of the three classes, with 33
senators in Classes 1 and 2, while 34 senate seats belong to Class
3.
In January 1912, New Mexico's senators were assigned to Classes
1 and 2. A month later, Arizona's were made members of Classes 1
and 3.
The Election of Pete Domenici, 1972
By 1972 New Mexico had not elected a Republican senator in 38 years.
That last victory, remarkably, had come in a terrible Republican
year, 1934, when the GOP had won only 8 senate races while losing
28. Bronson M. Cutting, a nominal Republican, supporter of FDR,
and owner of the Santa Fe New Mexican, had been narrowly re-elected
in a hard-fought campaign, defeating Congressman Dennis Chavez by
1,284 votes. That was the Class 1 seat.
The Class 2 seat had been in Democrat hands even longer, since 1925.
In late 1971, it was being held by four-term incumbent, Clinton
P. Anderson. He then announced his retirement and, ultimately, 33
candidates entered the race to succeed him.
In 1970 Pete Domenici had suffered his first and only defeat, losing
the race for governor to Bruce King. Entering the 1972 senate, he
crushed former Governor David F. Cargo by an astounding 3 to 1 margin
in the Republican Primary. He then faced Democrat Jack Daniels of
Hobbs in the general election. Daniels had won a bizarre 25-candidate
primary with just under 30% of the vote.
All the built-in advantages were with Daniels, as they still are
with Democrats in New Mexico today, but the Domenici campaign was
simply better---and it didn't hurt that McGovern was losing the
state by 26 points. Domenici won by 8. The rest is history.
Domenici's Predecessors
Pete Domenici was sworn in on January 3, 1973 as the sixth member
of the New Mexico senate seat in Class 2. Most of his predecessors
had achieved some degree of recognition outside the borders of the
state.
The very first occupant, Albert B. Fall, sworn in in 1912, served
until 1921 when he was appointed Secretary of the Interior by his
former senate buddy, the newly elected President Warren G. Harding.
Secretary Fall went on to sell oil leases at Teapot Dome in Wyoming
for $409,000. He became quite famous in his time as a result.
Fall was followed by another Republican, and the last GOP senator
to hold this seat prior to Domenici. Holm O. Bursum (ancestor of
Holm III and Holm IV of Socorro) was appointed to succeed Fall,
then won election on his own.
Democrat Sam G. Bratton followed Bursom. In 1933 Carl A. Hatch was
appointed to succeed Bratton. He was subsequently elected, and served
until 1949. Hatch became the author of the Hatch Act, which limits
the political activities of civil servants and members of the US
Armed Forces.
Next came LBJ's close ally, the aforementioned Clinton P. Anderson,
elected in 1948. He had served as a congressman and as Secretary
of Agriculture in the Truman Administration.
Breaking the Record
When Senator Bronson M. Cutting died suddenly in a plane crash on
May 6, 1935, 63 days into his second term, it fell to Governor Clyde
Tingley to appoint his successor. Tingley, a Democrat, gave the
nod to Dennis M. Chavez, the man Cutting had just defeated the previous
November.
Chavez served until his death on November 18, 1962, a total of 27
years, six months and seven days.
On July 11th of this year, Senator Pete Domenici became the longest-
serving United States Senator in New Mexico history.
Both Chavez, and Clinton Anderson served longer in congress than
Domenici has to this point. Chavez had two full terms in the House
of Representatives. Anderson was elected to three terms, but stepped
down in his fifth year to take a cabinet position.
Domenici will pass Anderson in the late winter of 2002, and, after
winning his sixth term, will become the longest-serving member of
congress in the history of the Land of Enchantment on July 11, 2004.
Domenici is easily the most successful political leader in state
history and is one of the most effective members of the US Senate
in the history of that august body.
It is difficult to imagine where our state would be without Pete
Domenici. New Mexico brings home more than 1.8 dollars for every
dollar going into the federal treasury from our state, and Senator
Domenici plays a major role in that. Given our poverty, our dependence
on government to start with, and the resolute unwillingness on the
part of legislative leaders to change numerous state policies, we
need to pray that Senator Domenici is able to serve another 27 years.
In the next issue....
· Who's going to win?
The Electoral College final forecast 55 days out
· Man Bites Dog
LTS...endorses Lieberman (an archival story)