Oct. 27, 1964 - Political polls and observers in Houston, Tex., rate the race between Senator Ralph Yarborough, Democrat, and his Republican opponent, George Bush (pictured), as a tossup. Some give the edge to Bush.
A Houston Chronicle poll said Yarborough now has a very thin lead, 50.2% to 49.8% for Bush. However, because a poll taken a few weeks ago showed Bush further behind, the Chronicle concluded that he was still gaining and that “the race must be rated as a tossup.”
Yarborough, a long‐time leader of the liberal faction of the state Democratic party, was an antagonist of Lyndon B. Johnson until his fellow Texan assumed the Presidency. Since then, Yarborough has been a strong supporter and, early in the campaign, decided to put his reelection eggs in the President’s basket. This may prove his undoing.
Although campaigning hard for the Johnson‐Humphrey ticket, the state organization, controlled largely by Governor John Connally, has done very little for Yarborough.
The Governor, in fact, is known to be aiding and encouraging his opposition. Connally has not endorsed Yarborough, and many of the Governor’s political allies have either endorsed Bush or are telling friends that they could not vote for Yarborough on Election Day next Tuesday.
Yarborough, meanwhile, is counting on the President’s personal help.
The President, he reasons, would be embarrassed if he were to win his home state while having to watch another Texas Republican win a seat in the Senate.
Yarborough put himself in some jeopardy because, at the President’s request, he was the only Southern Senator to vote for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He has also supported every other Administration proposal.
Johnson has given Yarborough some glowing public endorsements, but the Senator expects to receive his biggest boost when he and the President campaign side by side in Texas, hopefully over the weekend.
However, it is questionable whether the President’s help would come in time.
Bush has taken advantage of conservative Democratic antipathy to Yarborough and, although he supports Senator Barry Goldwater for the Presidency without qualification, Bush has fashioned an independently financed and organized campaign to join Senator John Tower in the Senate.
Bush, a Houston oilman who is the son of former Senator Prescott Bush of Connecticut, has built an impressive county‐by‐county organization and is expected to lead the Republican ticket. Virtually every poll shows his getting a larger percentage of the vote than Goldwater.
Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s
Comments