第8章
The Senate Campaign and Defeat
When Morris Sheppard, Texas's senior Senator, died suddenly of a stroke on April 9, 1941, Lyndon Johnson immediately began plotting his campaign for the vacant seat. Working with Alvin Wirtz, Johnson faced a significant challenge: outside his congressional district, most Texas voters had never heard of him. A poll showed only 5% of voters favored Johnson, compared to 33% for Governor W. Lee O'Daniel, 26% for Attorney General Gerald Mann, and 9% for Congressman Martin Dies.
Johnson's strategy mirrored his successful 1937 campaign-linking himself to Roosevelt, whose popularity in Texas remained strong. Though Roosevelt officially maintained neutrality in Democratic primaries, he orchestrated a scenario that implied endorsement, having Johnson meet with him just before a press conference. Johnson announced his candidacy from the White House steps, saying he would campaign "under the banner of Roosevelt." His campaign emblem featured the picture of Roosevelt and Johnson shaking hands at their first meeting in Galveston four years earlier, with Governor Allred airbrushed out.
Johnson's Senate campaign organization resembled his 1937 House campaign, but on a larger scale. Alvin Wirtz directed strategy from his Interior Department desk, while John Connally ran campaign headquarters in Austin. The organization consisted primarily of loyal National Youth Administration workers who had proven their dedication and competence under Johnson's leadership.
Money had eliminated two strong potential candidates before the race began. Congressman Wright Patman admitted, "I wanted to run, but I couldn't afford to run... Lyndon can be financed." Johnson, however, had ample funding from diverse sources. New Deal supporters contributed through Tommy Corcoran. New York money flowed from both labor sources and Wall Street corporations. Justice William O. Douglas regularly called fundraiser Eliot Janeway asking, "How are you doing for Lyndon?"
With unprecedented funding, Johnson could hire the best talent money could buy. Top political reporters left their newspapers to write press releases under Herb Henderson's direction. Legendary PR wizard Phil Fox of Dallas was retained for $300 weekly. Johnson influenced editorial policy at hundreds of weekly newspapers through strategic ad placements-offering $25 weekly ads to papers with "sound views."
The campaign's scale was staggering: eighty-two professional secretaries worked from the Stephen F. Austin Hotel mezzanine addressing thousands of personalized letters, supplemented by students from an Austin secretarial school addressing 7,000 envelopes weekly. Johnson saturated media with his Roosevelt connection, running expensive ads in sixty daily newspapers and hundreds of weeklies.
Everything changed when a twenty-ninth candidate entered the race: Governor W. Lee O'Daniel. Until his gubernatorial run three years earlier, O'Daniel had never participated in politics-not even as a voter. He had been a flour salesman and radio announcer who transformed himself into "Pappy" O'Daniel, beloved radio personality whose Light Crust Doughboys and later Hillbilly Boys played country music while he delivered homespun wisdom, religious messages, and sentimental tributes to mothers, Texas, and traditional values.
When Johnson learned O'Daniel was entering the race, the shock devastated him. He took to his bed for almost two weeks with what aides called "nervous exhaustion" and Lady Bird described as depression. He insisted his hospitalization at Scott and White Clinic be kept secret, throwing a "fit" when aides suggested otherwise.
Johnson emerged on May 26 much thinner, his demeanor transformed from arrogant to humble. But he came out fighting with ruthless pragmatism. He threatened communities with withholding federal grants and loans if they didn't support him, telling rural leaders they'd only get electricity if their ballot boxes showed Johnson votes. To keep dwindling crowds engaged, Johnson introduced a startling innovation-giving away money at rallies disguised as Defense Bonds and Stamps. Every attendee received a ticket for drawings held after Johnson's speech, with prizes ranging from $25 in rural areas to $175 in cities.
Johnson's "Keep Pappy in Texas" strategy proved devastatingly effective. After just one week back campaigning, he confidently incorporated the argument into statewide radio addresses, pointing out that Texas pension checks averaged only $9.50 instead of a possible $40 because the state contributed just $4.75 against the federal government's matching $20.
Election Day began promisingly, with early returns showing Johnson ahead of O'Daniel by a widening margin. After voting in Johnson City and kissing mothers and grandmothers as he had as a teenager, Johnson arrived at the Stephen F. Austin Hotel, took a sleeping pill, and napped while his mother guarded the door.
Upon waking, he made a critical error: when South Texas bosses called asking when to report their counties' votes, Johnson instructed them to report immediately. The Valley returns were overwhelmingly lopsided-Duval County, which had given O'Daniel 95% just a year before, now gave Johnson 95% and O'Daniel just 5%. By 9:30 that evening, Johnson led by more than 13,000 votes and was hoisted onto supporters' shoulders in wild celebration. With 96% of votes counted, newspapers declared him the winner.
Johnson's premature reporting of his South Texas strongholds proved disastrous. By reporting early, Johnson revealed exactly how many votes O'Daniel would need to overtake him. As Monday's "late returns" arrived, Johnson's lead evaporated through suspicious vote patterns. East Texas counties that had previously favored Dies now showed dramatic shifts to O'Daniel. Johnson tried countering by seeking additional votes from George Parr, who refused: "Lyndon, I've been to the federal penitentiary, and I'm not going back for you."
By Tuesday, O'Daniel had pulled ahead by more than 1,000 votes. The final official count gave O'Daniel 175,590 votes to Johnson's 174,279. Johnson had lost due to a political fluke-O'Daniel's foes wanted him out of the governor's office, not necessarily in the Senate. But it was Johnson's mistake that enabled them to steal his victory. He had worked meticulously for ten years, relaxed for one day, and lost.
