Patrick Lucey passed away this past week and I just realized I had one Oregon button from the Anderson-Lucey campaign.
Lucey was originally a supporter of Senator Edward Kennedy in the 1980 Democratic presidential primaries. He had served as President Jimmy Carter's Ambassador to Mexico before resigning over his qualms with President Carters lack of leadership. After Kennedy lost the 1980 Democratic presidential nomination to Carter, Lucey explained to Oregon newspaper editors that he decided to support Congressman John Anderson's independent campaign for President.
He attended a rally at Lewis and Clark and spent most of his time criticizing Ronald Reagan. He explained that Anderson and Kennedy shared many of the same views on a lot of issues. The one that Lucey and Kennedy shared, but Anderson did not was concerning a national healthcare system.Here is a pin from the Lucey visit, most likely from the Lewis and Clark rally.
The Anderson & Lucey ticket didn't win the 1980 election. Anderson did make it into a Presidential Debate with Ronald Reagan. Carter conveniently found a reason to avoid appearing in a multi-candidate debate.
This is a pin from the debate sponsored by the League of Women Voters. The chair symbolized President Carter.
The Anderson-Lucey ticket fared pretty well in Oregon. They took nearly 10% of the vote. Nationwide they pulled about 6%. It was the strongest showing of a third party candidate since 1968. No other third party candidate would do as well until Ross Perot won 19% of the popular vote.
You can get plenty of Anderson pins from 1980. There are loads of them and many can be purchased for under $5 dollars.
Here is a good article on the life of Patrick Lucey from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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