Evening star., 1936-07-13
THE POLITICAL
MILL
BY C. GOULD LINCOLN.

Deal supporters whom the President has
failed so far to persuade to become
candidate for office in order to strengthen
the Democratic national ticket. Many
predictions have been made that the
veteran Progressive finally would permit
himself to be drafted for the Senate race
in Nebraska. He will agree to make the
race, in the opinion of many observers.
He declined to go into the senatorial
primaries in his home State. So the Re-
publicans have nominated former Rep
resentative Robert G. Simmons and the
Democrats have nominated former Rep
reSentative Terry Carpenter Carpenters
nomination did not suit a lot of the
Democrats. Norris, If he runs, will have
to run as an independent. He has always
been great vote getter in Nebraska, and
in the past he has always run as
Republican. If he enters the race, and
an appreciable number of Democrats
stick to Carpenter, Simmons should have
good chance to win.
~ ~
Senator Norris is an ardent Roosevelt
man. 1t was he who called for another
Roosevelt" in the White House during a
conference of Progressives held here in
AooA' LAC obPPOA tCu ACoANChb AsoOcSFSAt
actively during the campaign OF 1882.
He Is planning to campaign for the
President again this year. Whether his
entrance actively into the campaign, with
place on the ticket, will help the
Democratic national ticket is question.
Many of the Democrats think that it
would help, even though he would not
be running as a Democrat. The job for
the Roosevelt Democrats would be to
persuade the voters to cast their ballots
for Roosevelt, the Democratic nominee
for President, and for Norris, the inde-
pendent candidate for the Senate. 1t
might be tough job. Gov Landon, the
Republican presidential candidate, has a
very considerable following in Nebraska
to start with.
There is draft Norris" bipartisan
committee at work getting petitions
signed. They will be filed with the secre-
retary of State of Nebraska, and Norris
name will 60 on the ballot as an inde-
pendent candidate, unless he files
declination to make the race. Norris has
claimed in the past that he could do
more for the Presidents reelection If he
did not himself become q candidate. But
that is not the thought of the Roosevelt
Democrats.
The President and the Democratic high
command, in their campaign, are gam
bling on the proposition that the country
Is growing more radical-they might call
it more liberal. That has been the tenor
of the Presidents own speeches UP to
the present time. If they keep along the
same line Of campaigning, they must
compete with the Lemkes, the Coughlins
and the Townsends. 1t may be a diff
cult task to convince the radical fol-
lowers of these gentlemen that they
should really support Roosevelt. At the
same time. such maneuvers may ALLEVIATE
conservative Democrats, many of whom
seem willing enough now to break away
from the Roosevelt ticket.
1t is 20 years since this country has
row Wilson, running on the slogan He
kept US out of war" defeated Charles
Evans Hughes, now Chief Justice, by q
margin Of 23 electoral votes. Wilson's
plurality in the popular vote that year
was only 1891. Four years later,
Warren G. Harding. Republican, ran
away from James M. Cox of Ohio, his
Democratic opponent, leaving him far
behind. Harding had 4o4 electoral votes
to 104 for Cox, and his popular vote
plurality was more than 1000, 900 votes
In 1924 Calvin Coolidge received 1872
electoral votes to 1856 for John w. Davis.
Democrat, and l3 for the late Senator
La Toilette of Wisconsin. Progressive.
Coolidge's plurality over Davis in the
popular vote was more than 1900 900.
La Follette's popular vote was 4,801 ,258.
Herbert Hoover's electoral vote in 1928
was IA to 81 for AL Smith, and his lead
in the popular vote was 6,375,747. Four
years ago President Roosevelt received
472 electoral votes to So for Hoover, and
his popular vote plurality was 7,060,016.
*+*
Is the election to be another landslide
this year, or will 1t be neck -and-neck
race until all the votes are counted, as it
was in 1916? Both propositions have
their supporters. The claims made by
Chairman James A. Farley of the Demo-
cratic National Committee and by Chair
man John Hamilton of the Republican
National Committee are made more or
less for political effect. Farley claims
everything in sight and so does Hamil-
ton. 1t would be an amazing thing If
either one of them proved correct in his
present estimates OF victory. For the
voters seem far more evenly divided in
their allegiance than they have been for
q long time.
The popular vote for President need
not necessarily determine the election.
The Democrats start with a big advan-
tage in the popular vote because of the
"solid South" where the great mass of
the population votes Democratic and few
votes are cast for the Republican ticket.
Going back into history. it is found that
James A. Garfield of Ohio, Republican,
won from Winfield S. Hancock of Penn
sylvania, Democrat, by 214 electoral votes
to 155. although his lead in the popular
vote was only 7,018. In 1876 the popular
vote for Samuel j. Tilden of New York,
popular vote for Rutherford B. Hayes of
Ohio, Republican. Hayes was finally de-
clared elected, although the matter was
bitterly fought in Congress and in an
electoral commission. In 1888 Benjamin
Harrison of Indiana, Republican, de-
feated Grover Cleveland of New York,
Democrat, with an electoral vote of 233 to
1853, although Cleveland'S popular vote
was the larger by 98,017. 1t is therefore
perfectly possible that the President may
have larger popular vote this year and
still lose to Gov. Landon, depending upon
how the vote is apportioned among the
States, or vice versa.
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