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UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Thursday, March 28, 1968
Favorite sons can sway delegates
(Editor's note: This article is part of a series dealing with the 1968 presidential race and the election process.)
By Pat Crawford Kansan Staff Reporter
Less than a month ago it appeared as if the Republican favorite sons may have had considerable influence in the party's choice for the presidential nomination.
Seventeen favorite sons representng 688 delegates votes, made a convention stalemate a very real possibility.
To win that nomination a candidate needs 667 delegate votes—half the total delegate votes plus one.
Now, George Romney has withdrawn his candidacy and Nelson Rockefeller has "unequivocally" reiterated his stand that he is not a candidate at the very time political pundits expected him to formally declare his intention to run.
Thus the possibilities of a wide open convention, with the final outcome probably decided by back room cousing of favorite son delegations and frantic courting of those delegations by major candidates, now seems a. Nixon walkaway.
Yet the favorite sons may not be entirely powerless. The National Observer of March 25 published a "GOP box score" showing Nixon with 699 delegate votes—32 more than he needs for the nomination—but said much of his support was "soft and vulnerable." At least three states which the National Observer showed as favoring Nixon and which have strong favorite sons could, merely by voting for their favorite sons on the first ballot, singlehandedly deny Nixon the nomination.
Florida, with 34 votes present shown in the Nixon column, has, in Gov. Claude Kirk, a favorite son with vice-presidential ambitions. Kirk could use his delegation as a bargaining point.
Even then Nixon could do worse. Having Kirk as a running mate could help offset some of the damage George Wallace will do to the GOP campaign in the South.
The other two states which could stymie Nixon are Illinois, with Sen. Charles Percy leading a 58-vote delegation, and Michigan, Gov. Romney's delegation, controlling 48 votes.
In all likelihood, Nixon will get the Michigan votes. Romney is reportedly piqued by what he believes to be subtle undercutting of his candidacy by Rockefeller. There is also doubt whether Romney could control his delegation even if he wanted to hold it away from the Nixon bandwagon.
Percy, on the other hand, may be able to deliver Illinois' votes. The popular freshman senator, although often mentioned as a presidential possibility, has neither announced nor denied his candidacy for either the number one or two positions on the GOP ticket. Should he be harboring ambitions for a place in the next administration he also may find himself in excellent bargaining position in August.
Not all of the favorite sons, however, carry such national influence. Many are political lightweights such as Kansas' Sen. Frank Carlson, fronting a 20-vote delegation, or Hawaii's Sen. Hiram Fong, with 14 votes behind him.
Sometimes the favorite sons are chosen as a gesture of respect for the man or to help promote his political future. More often a delegation will gather behind the
favorite son to secure the delegation's freedom to vote as they see fit at the convention. Such is the case with both Carlson and Fong.
Favorite son delegations become significant forces at political conventions when there is close competition for the presidential nomination. If a stalemate is reached a flurry of wheeling and dealing begins between candidates and delegates to induce delegations to change their vote to a different man.
At this point favorite son delegations have helped nominate presidential candidates who had not been seriously considered before. Past Presidents such as James K. Polk, James Garfield and Warren G. Harding won their nominations from staleated conventions.
The political position the favorite sons again hold in 1968 is an important one. Pennsylvania's favorite son, Gov. Raymond Shafer, will influence 64 votes at the convention and he has favored Rockefeller. According to a recent Newsweek article, Nixon recently announced that, if he receives the number one spot on the Republican ticket, he wants a running mate from the East—and Shafer is one of his favorites. This could be a piece of political strategy to try to swing Shafer and his 64 votes over to Nixon's team.
Until his recent announcement that he is not a candidate for the presidential nomination, Rockefeller had several favorite son delegations strongly behind him. According to Earl Nehring, KU associate professor of political science, these delegations will undoubtedly stay as they are now. They can stay with Rockefeller or keep their options open
until the convention. Then if Nixon appears to be the likeliest candidate, they can give their votes to him.
The big GOP states, such as Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York—with a total of 208 votes—could form a nucleus powerful enough to completely upset the first ballot and throw the second ballot to whomever they pleased.
Ohio's favorite son, Gov. James Rhodes, favors Rockefeller and his delegation is strongly behind him. In spite of Nixon's strategic move, Pennsylvania's Shafer is a staunch Rockefeller supporter. New York is definitely committed to its governor at least through the third ballot.
See Convention, page 16
According to a March issue of Newsweek, he's taking his record of "progressive conservatism" to the convention as credentials.
Another favorite son, Massa-
chusets Gov. John Volpe, is also
In the other GOP states with favorite sons, the support for the presidential hopefuls is split. In Arkansas, where Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller, Nelson's brother, is the favorite son, the delegation is split between Rockefeller and Nixon. Although Winthrop favors his brother and would like to sway his delegation in that direction, his state is conservative and his own re-election hopes force him to subdue his support.
Texas' delegation can't decide whether to give their 56 votes to Reagan or Nixon, but they are definite about wanting their favorite son, Sen. John Tower, for the vice-presidential nomination.
Class officers decide to help provide funds for May variety show
The variety show is being produced to raise money for Project Concern. The latter is the KU division of Collegiates for Concern, which is raising money for a pediatrics clinic in Vietnam.
The Board of Class Officers voted Wednesday night to have each class donate up to $250 to pay expenses of the Project Concern Variety Show, slated for May 11.
The various KU classes are handling arrangements for the show. The senior class is in charge of publicity, the junior class is handling arrangements, the sophomore class is selling tickets and the freshman class is preparing the programs.
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