Sig, Wayne, & Mark

1962 Unander for Senate Button

Sig Unander is probably not a household Oregon name to any. When I first found this pin several years ago, I didn't even know it was an Oregon item. Coming to political prominence during the post war years in the late 40s and was active in statewide politics in the 1950s and 60s. Unander, like many Oregon politicos of his era, got his start in the young Republican organizations that existed in the state at that time.

The biggest reason why Unander is not a household name is because he never became Governor of Oregon. He was beat out by fellow Republican Mark Hatfield in the 1958 Republican primary. Hatfield of course became the famous young Republican that beat Governor Robert Holmes. 1958 was also unusual in that every member of the state board (Governor, State Treasurer, and Secretary of State) were all running for governor at the same time.

Unander probably felt a little slighted by the challenge in the GOP primary by Hatfield. Unander had just a little more seniority in the Republican ranks than Hatfield. People at this level in politics have long memories. The campaign got a little rough towards the end and Hatfield bested Unander in the primary and went on to serve two terms as Governor. Unander would continue to serve as State Treasurer (as he had been elected in 1952 and 1956). It is hard to determine if Hatfield and Unander were ever on the same page again. Hatfield had clearly knocked the wind out of Unanders political sails.



As early as 1960 there was constant speculation in the Republican Party of Oregon of sending its 'young governor' to face Senator Wayne Morse in the 1962 elections. After months of speculation Hatfield announced he would not seek a campaign against Morse. The job fell to Sig Unander, again the reliable and ready second choice to Hatfield.

Newspaper Ad from 5/17/62

Unander faced five opponents in the primary. The biggest challenge came from Republican Congressman Edward Durno who feared an election defeat in his congressional campaign and jumped into the senate race instead. The ad clipping is from the Eugene Register Guard.

Finishing with 50% of the vote Unander was ready to take on Morse. He probably did not anticipate getting as little to no help as he did get from the popular Republican governor. Hatfield stayed out of the senate race for the most part.

This is probably due to the growing professional relationship between Hatfield and Morse during those years. They were not 'friends' by any means. Just a few years prior during Hatfield's first campaign for governor, Morse brought up the unfortunate details about Hatfield's role in a deadly car accident when he was 17. Still, both men understood that they would be around for some time and decided to make their positions work for themselves and for one another.

In 1966, Morse returned the favor of 1962 and did not get involved in the Oregon Senate race between Bob Duncan and Hatfield. Both Morse and Hatfield shared similar positions on the war in Vietnam. Morse had even predicted that Duncan would be defeated because of his advocacy of continuing the Johnson administrations policies in Vietnam.

For Unander, 1962 and the lack of help from Hatfield would stick with him. In 1966 he found himself endorsing Robert Duncan! He admitted that he and Hatfield agreed on a lot of lower level issues, but that the war was the clear issue the campaign was about. He made a string of campaign stops all on his own dollar in support of Duncan throughout the state. Financially, he admitted that he was not donating any money directly to the Duncan campaign.

1962 Senate Campaign Bumper Sticker

For most of campaign '62 Unander did the job that was expected of any challenger. He would bring up an issue and see if he could get it to stick to the incumbent. Nothing really seemed to stick. He spent a lot of time attacking Morse and the Kennedy administration on Cuba. These attacks, while they were sure to rally his base did little to expand the map in November. Unander would win only six counties and take nearly 46% of the vote.

Morse and Unander raised similar campaign cash during the 1962 race. Morse raised $179,000 and Unander raised $132,000.

We've only been able to uncover a few items from the Unander Senate campaign of 1962. The above button is fairly common and should be easy to get for under $5 dollars. The bumper sticker is about the same $2-$5 dollar range.

The next two items are about postcard sized hand outs. One features just Sig and the other features both him and his wife Vivian.

Card #1 Front and Back

Card #2 Front and Back

Unander never backed away from his style of conservatism and if it meant he had to endorse a Democrat over a Republican than he did so. He held many roles in the Oregon Republican party of the post war years. He was state party chairman, delegate to national conventions and always a candidate who seemed to just have bad timing against folks like Mark Hatfield and Wayne Morse.

It is interesting to speculate about what would have happened if recently elected Governor Mark Hatfield in 1958 had appointed Unander to Secretary of State. It would have given Unander the ability to run for statewide office in a fairly good time Oregon Republicans holding those spots. A letter campaign had been taken up shortly after Hatfield had won, but it did not sway Hatfeild from appointing Harold Appling Jr.

Would he have been a contender in 1968? Who knows.

Sig Unander suffered a heart attack at age 64. He passed away in 1978.