As we noted in The 1966 Game, the signature race of the 1966 off-year Republican landslide was the victory of Charles Percy, former head of Bell & Howell, over New Dealer Paul Douglas.
Other landslides had their own cover men:
- In the 1974 Watergate landslide a 24-year old kid, Thomas Downey, beat long-time incumbent James Grover on Long Island.
- In 1980 Steve Symms (pictured) upset long-time Democratic Sen. Frank Church.
- In the 1986 Iran-Contra slide, Democrat Wyche Fowler knocked out incumbent Matt Mattingly in Georgia.
- In the 1994 Contract with America landslide, George Nethercutt upset House Speaker Tom Foley.
We speculated, in that item, that James Webb might be Chuck Percy. Given recent polls, he might be.
But maybe not.
What we’re really looking for here is a signature race, one where the Democrat is given no chance, even now, but triumphs anyway.
That’s the mark of a landslide.
On the left you can see my current thinking on this. It’s based on the idea that the Mountain West is turning into the GOP’s Achilles Heel. They still seem strong in the South, they’re expected to do poorly in the Midwest and Northeast (the question is just how poorly) so by the end of the evening it’s likely that control of the Senate (and the power to investigate Bush’s crimes) will hinge on what happens out West.
Where’s your upset? Here, maybe.
But maybe not.
Keep playing The 1966 Game.
