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Morris Udall's 1976 Democratic presidential campaign
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Race
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| Contributor | Chronicler |
| Last Edited | Chronicler Jun 16, 2024 06:43am |
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| Category | News |
| Author | Chronicler |
| News Date | Saturday, June 15, 2024 07:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Morris Udall was one of the primary Democratic contenders for the presidential nomination in 1976, eventually placing second.
Udall had represented Tucson, Arizona in the US House since 1961 and had developed a liberal voting record, particularly on the environment and energy issues. A former basketball player, Udall stood 6'5" tall. He was a frequent critic of the Nixon administration, and when Nixon held a rally in Phoenix on May 3, 1974, DNC Chairman Robert Strauss chose Udall to give the rebuttal. In his speech, Udall explained how Nixon was dragging out the Watergate investigation unnecessarily, then pointed out that the Democrats needed to identify areas of difference as well as a vision for the future (Arizona Republic, 5/4/1974, p. 6).
House Democrats were impressed with Udall. A group of 27 House members approached Udall about running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1976. At that time, most Democratic presidential contenders were Senators, with none from the House. On May 18, 1974, Udall launched an exploratory committee and gave speeches in Milwaukee and Madison WI, followed by speeches in St. Louis and Florida (Miami News, 5/17/1974).
As Udall campaigned nationwide, he shared his campaign strategy with a Florida reporter. Since the Democratic rules eliminated winner-take-all primaries, Udall believed he could win some congressional districts, then maintain the support of colleagues in the US House, he would arrive at the national convention "in a good bargaining position... There'll be no first ballot victory. I think there will be as many as four to eight candidates going to the convention with a chunk of delegates" (Miami Herald, 9/29/1974).
Right after the 1974 midterm election, Louis Harris conducted a poll of the presidential race. At that time, Udall was the preference of just 1% of Democrats (Lincoln Star, 11/26/1974).
At the time the poll was being released, Udall officially entered the race. He made his announcement in Bedford NH on 11/23/1974, saying that he was entering his name in the first in the nation presidential primary in NH (Atlanta Constitution, 11/24/1974). Udall was the first Democrat to enter the 1976 presidential primary race. His overall goal was to get moderate-liberal Democrats to coalesce behind him. At this stage of the race, Udall had a limited staff: 10 paid staffers and 25 volunteers (Charlottesville Daily Progress, 12/8/1974). His campaign manager was his brother Stuart Udall.
As more Democrats entered the race in early 1975, various state parties held straw polls to gauge the strength of the candidates. At a Wisconsin Democratic gathering, Udall placed first with 151 votes to 129 for Fred Harris, 79 for Ted Kennedy, 32 for Humphrey, 24 each for Henry Jackson and Jimmy Carter, 20 for Muskie, and 9 for Wallace (Oshkosh Northestern, 6/25/1975). Soon thereafter, Udall announced that he had qualified for federal matching funds, having collected $297,527 in the calendar year (Long Beach Independent, 7/3/1975). In October 1975, an Iowa straw poll showed Carter leading with 10% to Shriver 9%, Bayh 8%, Humphrey 7%, Jackson 7%, Udall 6%, Harris 6%, Church 3%, and 21 other candidates with less than 3% (Sioux City Journal, 10/9/1975). The Massachusetts Citizens for Participation in Political Action, an association of liberal activists, held a straw poll in December 1975; Harris placed first with 38.7%, then Udall with 25.7% and Church with 23.7% (Boston Globe, 12/8/1975).
The first Democratic contest was the Iowa caucus on 1/19/1976. Uncommitted came in first with 37%, then Carter with 28%, Bayh with 13%, Harris 10%, Udall 6%, and all others with 6%.
The second Democratic contest was the New Hampshire primary. On the night before, five Democratic contenders attended a forum in Boston. Udall's standout moment came on an economic question when he stated that "stable prices and high levels of employment" could be achieved by price controls and "the vigorous use of our taxing power" (Boston Globe, 2/24/1976). The primary result in New Hampshire came as a surprise. Carter placed first with 28%, with Udall second with 23%, Bayh with 15%, and Harris with 11%. Udall was satisfied with his second place finish, believing that liberal Democrats were lining up behind him (Boston Globe, 2/25/1976).
Udall contested three of the five states holding Democratic presidential primaries in March 1976, winning none and earning his nickname "Second Place Mo." In Massachusetts, where the key issue was how to deal with busing of high schools, Udall presented a moderate alternative to Jackson and Wallace's opposition to busing; Jackson placed first with 22% to Udall's 18%, Wallace 17%, and Carter 14%. Later in the month, Udall only won 2% in Florida and North Carolina.
In April 1976, Udall contested two primaries. He had led polls in Wisconsin earlier, but a poll in late March showed a tight four-way race there. On primary day, Carter edged Udall in Wisconsin 37-36%. Then in Pennsylvania, where Udall made a major effort, Carter placed first with 37% to Jackson 25%, and Udall 19%.
May 1976 was critical, with 13 primaries, but Udall was only actively campaigning in five. Early in the month, the delegate estimates were Carter 598, Udall 205, Jackson 202, and Wallace 138. Udall won only 21% in DC, then 6% in MD. The Michigan primary was critical. Polls indicated Carter was running ahead of Udall. On primary day, however, thousands of Democrats voted for Ford in the Republican primary; Udall got his supporters to the polls and only lost by 2,400 votes (a spread of 0.3%). Udall won 11% in Kentucky and 4% in Tennessee.
Finally in June 1976, Udall recognized Carter was on his way to the nomination. Carter won the Ohio primary, expected to be close, by 52-21% over Udall. Then Udall's Michigan delegates began to inquire about whether they could abandon Udall at the national convention. Finally on June 14, Udall dropped out of the race and endorsed Carter. The delegate count: Carter 1,118; Udall 332, Brown 229, and uncommitted 470.
At the Democratic National Convention a month later, Archibald Cox placed Udall in nomination. Udall then took the podium, released his delegates, and promised to begin working for the Carter campaign the next day. Udall received 329 delegate votes (11% of the total) for president, still placing second to Carter who received 74% of the delegate vote.
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