Evening star., 1952-02-21
The Political Mill
Fight for Senate Control
Is Likely to Be Close,
Horrimon Urged to Enter
New York Election Race
The Political Mill
By Gould Lincoln


By Gould Lincoln
The fight for control of the Senate
In the $50 Congress is likely to be close,
and both Republicans and Democrats
are looking about. for strong candidates.
Retention by the Republicans of the
Ives seat, for example, Is of intense in.
tereSt to the G.. o. p. and the Demo-
Gratis in New York already are fishing
for senatorial candidate with some
chance Of upsetting the senior Senator
from the Empire State. w. AvereIl Har-
riman, former ambassador and now Di-
rector for Mutual Security. is the caliber
Of man deSired-but whether Mr.. Har-
riman would look with favor on SEN
atorial race remains to be learned. It
is worthy of note that the New York
Democrats are now planning to give
Mr.. Hartman big testimonial dinner
at the Waldorf Astoria April II, and
have invited President Truman to at
tend. Such party could prove a spring.
board for announcement of q Hartman
candidacy.
Mr.. Hartman held many important
offices in the Franklin D. Roosevelt ad-
ministration and he has been one of
the stronger men In the Truman admin
lstration. The New York Democrats
badly need lift. and perhaps Mr.. Har-
rlman may accommodate them. Three
times running the Democrats have lost
the election for Governor In 1946 they
lost Senate seat, now occupied by Re-
publican Senator Ives. In 1850, the
Democrats elected % members of the
House to % for the Republicans. And
now. in special election, the Republi-
cans have taken one of these House
seats away from the Democrats, and the
count stands % Republicans and %
Democrats.
Waged as Anti-Truman CAMPAIGN.
The campaign was waged as an anti
Truman campaign, and the Republican
candidate, former Representative Robert
Trip Ross. won over his Democratic
opponent, City Councilman Hugh Quinn.
by nearly 5000 votes. The district, the
fifth, had previously been carried three
times by Democrats and once, in 1916,
by Mr.. Ross. The Ross election Is no
encouragement to the Democrats.
Senator Ives defeated the present
Senator Lehman, former Governor Of
New York, in 1946 by 250.000 votes. He
WILL be no pushover for any Democratic
candidate. Mr.. Hartman or another He
has made his mark in the Senate, and
a very considerable mark The Demo-
Gratis in New York have been shot to
pieces by repeated Republican victories
at the hands Of Gov. Dewey. They
came up with weak candidates for Gov
ernor and Mayor of New York in 1885,
and Senator Lehman was able to win
against discredited Republican candi-
date only, former 1t. Gov. Joe Hanley,
One Of these days there will be talk,
too. Of Representative Franklin D.
Roosevelt, jr. as a candidate against
Senator Ives.
Truman unpopularity in the South is
giving flavor to senatorial candidates.
in that section. Not that a Republican
has chance there, but Democratic can
didates again are vying with one an
other to get away from Truman flavor.
Senator Tom Connally of Texas, for ex-
ample, is being challenged for the Demo-
cratic nomination by the attorney gen.
eral Of the Lone Star State, Price Dam
ielS. who has announced he would never
support Mr.. Truman. Senator Connally,
veteran Of many political battle, is
seeking to show that he and the PreSi-
dent have differed on important issues.
MIR. Connally, chairman Of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee. has had
a wide following in his State, and Is
a hard hitter in any mans campaign.
KEN Active I'm Missouri.
Republican Senator KEN is making an
active campaign already in Missouri
where he is up for reelection. There
has been much talk Of President Tru-
man himself as a candidate against
Senator KEN in the event Mr.. Truman
decides not to run for another term
in the White House. Senator Kem's
fortunes are likely to depend in great
part on whether the President retains
his popularity in his home State. II Mr..
Truman is renominated for the presi-
dency and carries Missouri as he did
in 1s48. he probably would take the
Democratic senatorial candidate along
with him to victory. This Missouri seat
is one the Democrats are confidently
claiming-but it may turn out to be
a real race. At present. Democrats are
talking Of nominating w. Stuart
Symington, who has recently given up
his job as head OF the Reconstruction
Finance Corp. Mr.. Symington, too, has
held many important jobs in Washing
ton in recent years.
Out in Wisconsin the Democrats had
hoped that Gov. Kohler, In the Repub-
lican senatorial primary, would take the
measure Of Senator Joe Mccarthy, and
the hope was not limited to Wisconsin
Democrats. Senator Mccarthy is more
strongly detested by Truman Democrats
everywhere than any other Republican
Senator Gov. Kohler, however, appar-
emily is not going to play the Democrats
game for them-and split the COP.
wide open in the Badger State. And so
far the Democrats have not come up
with any probable senatorial nominee
who would have chance to defeat
Mccarthy. ...