Legacy of ’94: Part 2: The Retirees

Part 2 of the 1994 legacy.  These representatives just happened to retire, either to run for another office (which they won, otherwise they will be in Part 3) or to spend more time with their family.  Let’s see how many of them you remember.

Sen. Bill Frist, TN—I remember him, as I’m sure you do.  He led the GOP in the Senate during Bush’s terms.  He is a doctor and a conservative through and through.  I don’t know of any scandals with him; he just stuck to his two-term Contract With America promise, which many congressmen broke.  He easily defeated three-term Senator Jim Sasser in 1994, winning by an astounding 14 points.  I guess Sasser got Santorum’ed, although I’m not sure why he lost by such a margin.  Anyone (wtndem?) wanna help me out here?

Sen. Fred Thompson, TN—It’s rare for a party to pick up two Senate seats in the same state in one year, but it happened here. Appointee Harlan Mathews, occupying Al Gore’s seat, retired, and Nashville-area Blue Dog Rep. Jim Cooper, who seems a good fit for Tennessee, lost to Thompson by over twenty points. Since his retirement in 2002, he has been on Law and Order and tried running for president.

Sen. Craig Thomas, WY—Thomas easily won this open GOP seat and was a well-liked senator until his tragic death from leukemia a few years ago.  

Rep. John Shadegg, Phoenix—Shadegg is retiring this year after being a very conservative Rep.  He plans to fight for freedom in a different venue.  Can anyone say lobbying?  His worst showing was 2008, when he won 54-42.

Rep. George Radanovich, Fresno—Radanovich is also retiring this year.  His opponent, incumbent Richard Lehman, was Hostettler’ed by nearly twenty points in this red district.  How Lehman was elected to begin with, idk.  His son is named King, and tragically, his wife died soon after his retirement announcement.  This probably explains his retirement, as she had cancer (I’m not sure the reasons were ever discussed before this).

Rep. Sonny Bono, Inland Empire/Coachella Valley—The former music star and Palm Springs mayor ran for this open seat and easily won.  In 1998, he died in a tragic skiing accident, and his wife still holds the seat.

Rep. Joe Scarborough, Pensacola—Morning Joe won this open Democratic seat by over 20 points after incumbent Dixiecrat Earl Hutto retired.  He tried to get the US to leave the United Nations, among other things, before resigning to go have a show on MSNBC, although he claimed it was to spend time with his kids.

Rep. Dave Weldon, C. Florida—When incumbent ConservaDem Jim Bacchus, retired, Weldon took the plunge and won a rather close race.  He retired and returned to medical practice in 2008, and was succeeded by Bill Posey.  

Rep. Charlie Norwood, Augusta GA—Dentist Norwood crushed incumbent Don Johnson by over 30 points, a Hostettlering of epic proportions that we probably haven’t seen since.  He barely survived in 1996 and cruised in every other election.  He died of cancer a few years ago as well, around the time Craig Thomas did.

Rep. Helen Chenoweth, Boise—Chenoweth was one of the most conservative members of the entire House.  She defeated incumbent Larry LaRocco by double digits in an upset and promised to limit herself to three terms, a promise she kept.  She barely won in 1996.  In 2006, she died in a car crash; she wasn’t wearing a seat belt.  

Rep. Jerry Weller, C. Illnois/Chicago Exurbs—Weller easily won an open Democratic seat by over 20 points, something unexpected anywhere but the South, but that tells you what type of year 1994 was for us.  He retired to spend more time with his family in 2008, as a daughter was born in 2006.  He is married to a former Guatemalan congresswoman.  

Rep. JC Watts, Oklahoma—When Dave McCurdy ran for the open Senate seat David Boren had resigned, JC Watts stepped in to become one of two recent Black Republicans in Congress, with a third on the way.  He narrowly squeaked by in the primary runoff and barely won election in the historically Democratic district.  Watts easily won subsequent elections until 2002, when he retired and became a lobbyist, helping people get free money with JD Hayworth.  He served four terms rather than the three he had promised.  

Rep. Tom Davis, NoVA—One term Rep. Leslie Byrne lost by eight points to Fairfax Co. Supervisor Davis, who was a moderately conservative Republican (a la Steven LaTourette, George Voinovich) throughout his time in Congress.  He’s considering challenging Jim Webb in 2012 after his 2008 aborted Senate run and retirement, and is CEO of the Main St. Partnership and is also an auditor.  

Rep. Jack Metcalf, Seattle Suburbs—Langley won an open seat in the election, although he was nearly 70.  He honored his six years in Congress promise, and was a strong conservative with libertarian tendencies.  He was a Goldwater conservative.  

Rep. Barbara Cubin, Wyoming—Cubin was an outspoken conservative throughout her time in Congress. She retired in 2008, and her husband died this year.  She is a “chemist.”

Part 3: Lost in other campaigns

Part 4: Lost House Elections

Part 5: Scandals

18 thoughts on “Legacy of ’94: Part 2: The Retirees”

  1. Managed to make a successful case against Sasser, who was more busy with trying to become Majority Leader than serving Tennessee. I’m not sure if that was what really contributed to the large margin for Frist, but it’s possibly one of them.

  2. Yes, “it’s rare for a party to pick up two Senate seats in the same state in one year,” but mostly because it’s rare to have two Senate elections in the same state, as New York will have this year.

    There was an interesting Q&A on this topic in Ken Rudin’s Political Junkie column in NPR.org in 2006:

    Q: Sen. Craig Thomas (R-WY), who was just re-elected to a third term, has announced that he has been diagnosed with leukemia. Not to be ghoulish, but this could result in a special election for the seat in 2008, when the term of the other Wyoming senator, Mike Enzi (R), is also up. In previous instances when a state has held simultaneous elections for both of its Senate seats (Kansas 1996, Tennessee 1994, California 1992, Alabama and Minnesota in 1978, etc.), both have gone to the same party. Has there ever been a time when a state held two Senate elections on the same day, and the winners were from opposite parties? – Harvey Hudson, Eden Prairie, Minn.

    A: Yes, but not often. The last time was 1966, in South Carolina. Sen. Strom Thurmond (R), running for the first time as a Republican, won re-election while Fritz Hollings (D) won the special election for the seat left vacant by the late Olin Johnston (D).

    Before that, it happened in 1962, and in two states. In Idaho, Sen. Frank Church (D) was re-elected, while Len Jordan (R) won the special Senate race. And in New Hampshire, Sen. Norris Cotton (R) was returned to office, while Thomas McIntyre (D) won the special.

    Since then, of course, Wyoming and Mississippi each had two Senate elections in 2008; the GOP won all four races.

  3. The only difference is that Idaho is considerably more conservative than Nevada.  Still, she was a controversial character even there.  A Democratic activist by the name of Dan Williams came within 1 point of defeating her in 1996.  

    Here are some of her ‘greatest hits’:

    During her tenure, she was referred to by her most outspoken critics as a “poster-child for the militias,” and in February 1995 she voiced the suspicion that armed federal agents were landing black helicopters on Idaho ranchers’ property to enforce the Endangered Species Act, in line with a conspiracy theory popular in Conservative circles. “I have never seen them,” Chenoweth said in an interview in The New York Times. “But enough people in my district have become concerned that I can’t just ignore it. We do have some proof.” The Los Angeles Times  editorialized that during the campaign she gained national attention by “holding ‘endangered salmon bakes’ during fundraisers, serving canned salmon to ridicule the listing of Idaho salmon as an endangered species.” She was quoted as saying in response, “It’s the white, Anglo-Saxon male that’s endangered today.”

    Yep, she’s that nuts.

    Chenoweth remained a controversial and polarizing figure in Idaho politics throughout her career. While in Congress she articulated and defended a freedom philosophy that was simultaneously cherished and derided by supporters and opponents. She was a critic of President Bill Clinton during the Lewinsky scandal  and was one of the first to call for his resignation over the affair, although she admitted that she had carried on a six-year illicit romance with rancher Vernon Ravenscroft, when she worked for his natural-resources consulting firm during the 1980s. Chenoweth claimed that her case was different from the Clinton/Lewinsky case since she was a private citizen at the time and was honest with the public when confronted with the charge in 1998, although claims were made that she had denied it in a 1995 interview.

    After leaving Congress, Chenoweth-Hage continued to make headlines. In 2003 at the Boise Airport she was selected by the Transportation Security Administration  for a hand search before they would permit her to board a plane for her Nevada home. Chenoweth-Hage requested to see a copy of the regulation granting United States Department of Homeland Security  the authority to search her without cause. When the request was denied, she refused to submit to the search and elected to make the 300-mile (480 km) trip by rental car. “Our borders are wide open and yet they’re shaking down a 66-year-old white grandmother they greeted by name,” she said of the incident. “It’s time the American people say no to this kind of invasion. It’s a question of personal privacy. There shouldn’t be that kind of search without reasonable cause.”

    Yeah, she just reeks of Sharron Angle.

Comments are closed.