Democrats retain Congress

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33069, 9 November 1972, Page 15

Democrats retain Congress

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) WASHINGTON, November 8. President Nixon failed to translate his massive victory into control of Congress as election returns late last night indicated the Democrats would maintain comfortable majorities in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Republican efforts had concentrated on the Senate, focal point of Congressional opposition to President Nixon’s foreign and domestic programmes, where Democrats have a 55 to 45 majority. Early today, returns indicated that the margin would remain the same, each party winning five from the other. In the House of Representatives, where Democrats hold a 255-to-177 margin with three vacancies, Republicans appeared likely to pick up about 14 or 15 seats. This was about the same figure predicted privately by Republican congressional sources before the balloting began. In a major upset, Senator Margaret Chase Smith of Maine, the most prominent woman in American politics, was going down to defeat at the hands of a popular Democratic member of the House, Mr William Hathaway. Mrs Smith, senior Republican on the Armed Services committee, apparently was hurt by her age, 74, as she sought a fifth six-year-term. In another major surprise, Senator Jack Miller, of lowa, an influential behind-the-scenes figure, was losing to Mr Richard Clark, an aide to a Democratic member of the House.

Republicans lost the Senate seat in Kentucky being vacated by Senator John Sherman Cooper, former Ambassador to India, who is retiring at the age of 71. A Democrat, Mr William Huddleston, a state senator, became the first Democrat to win a Kentucky senate seat in 18 years by narrowly defeating a former Republican governor, Mr Louis Nunn.

President Nixon campaigned in the state nearly three weeks ago to help Mr Nunn. But in two other states where President Nixon campaigned last week, Oklahoma and North Carolina, the Republicans were leading in closely-fought contests for Senate seats.

In Virginia, Senator William Spong, a Democrat and a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, was trailing Mr William Scott, a con-

servative member of the House. Senator Spong was under a heavy attack on the grounds that he was too liberal. The Democrats appeared on their way to picking up a Senate seat in South Dakota, the home state of Democratic Presidential candidate, Senator George McGovern. Mr James Abourezk, a member of the House and son of a Lebanese immigrant, was leading Mr Robert Hirsch, a former state senator. The former PostmasterGeneral, Mr Winton Blount, a Republican, conceded defeat to Senator John Sparkman, of Alabama, second senior member of the Foreign Relations Committee. Senator Claiborne Pell, of Rhode Island, a Democrat member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who had the support of Mrs Jackie Kennedy Onassis, led the former Navy Secretary, Mr John Chaffee, a Republican. New Mexico was electing its first Republican senator since 1928. Mr Peter Domenici was leading the Democratic candidate, Mr Jack Daniels, by a 54 to 46 percentage margin. President Nixon campaigned in the state on Saturday in an attempt to win for the Republicans the seat formerly held by Senator Clinton Anderson, a Democrat, chairman of the Senate Space Committee, who is retiring after 24 years. In other close races, the assistant Senate Republican leader, Mr Robert Griffin, of Michigan, and Senator John Tower, of Texas, a Republican, were holding narrow leads. In Delaware, a Democrat, Mr Joseph Bidden, aged 29, claimed a Senate victory over Senator J. Caleb Boggs, a Republican, on the basis of nearly complete returns. In the House, where Republicans hoped a heavy Nixon win would sweep in a large number of Republican candidates, the President’s party was falling well short

of the 39-seat gain needed to win control. In a major House race, Mr William Anderson, the Democratic incumbent who skippered a Nautilus nuclear submarine under the North Pole, lost to Mr Robin Beard, a Republican, in Tennessee. Mr Anderson came under fire in his conservative constituency for criticising the late director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, J. Edgar Hoover, and alleged atrocities by South Vietnamese officials against political prisoners.