Eugene Started to Think Mink

The race for the Democratic nomination of 1972 saw one of the largest field of candidates to enter a modern day presidential primary at that time (15 candidates). The McGovern–Fraser Commission, also known as the Commission on Party Structure and Delegate Selection reformed the process in response to the 1968 Democratic primaries/convention help generate such a large selection of candidates. 

One of those candidates was Hawaii Congresswoman Patsy Mink. She helped usher in a lot of firsts.  

• She was the first Asian American woman ever elected to Congress
• She was the first woman of color ever elected to Congress
• She was the first woman ever elected to Congress from Hawaii
• She was the first Asian American ever to seek the nomination of the Democratic Party
• She was the first Democratic woman to deliver a State of the Union response
• She was the first person of color appointed as Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs
  

The first that we here in Oregon are most involved with was her being the first Asian American to ever seek the nomination of the Democratic Party. She may also be the first Asian American to appear on a presidential ballot in the State of Oregon and possibly the first person of color to be placed on the Oregon ballot for a presidential nomination (still doing research to verify that). Eugene, Oregon was the birthplace of her often forgotten presidential campaign.

MINK for President Bumper Sticker from 1972

APIC member Richard Rector had a wonderful interview with Congresswoman Mink and her Oregon Campaign Manager Gretchen Kafoury. You can read it here. In the interview she explains that she told supporters she would only run for President if they could get her on the ballot by petition. So a group of young, liberal women sought to gather signatures. They were successful and Mink kept her word and traveled to Oregon over the course of 8 weeks to campaign. She spent 8 weekends traveling the state and campaigning. 

Here is a story from Henry Willis of the Eugene Register Guard (that helps explains the origins of the campaign). "Patsy Mink's name may go on ballot". Erica Hovet, was named as the unofficial chairwoman of the Mink for President Committee in Oregon. She explains to the Register Guard that Mink could provide a 'real choice' to Oregon Democrats. She believed that Mink could unify Democrats in an election year coming up that saw many differing voices coming forward within the party. 

Not many Mink for President items have come up. There is a very nice button made here in Oregon that you can often find if you look for it. I have found several online and in Oregon. A bumper sticker and at least one flier are also known to exist and you can see them in the Rector interview. 

Oregon issued Mink for President buttons

While there was great energy in the Mink for Oregon effort, in a field of 11 candidates on the Oregon ballot in May of '72 the Congresswoman finished in a distant 8th place. Mink beat only Shirley Chisholm, Wilbur Mills and John Lindsay. She was even defeated by Ted Kennedy, who was not himself a candidate in the 1972 nomination battle. Her final vote count in Oregon was 6,500 and nationally she reached 8,282 votes or 0.05% of the vote from all votes cast in the primary. 

Here is an image I found on facebook searching for a photo of the Mink button. The photo is of Patsy Mink and Democrat Al Konishi attending the 1972 Democratic National Convention.

While she did not win the Oregon primary, she did help inspire other Asian Americans and women to run for office. Gretchen Kafoury, who served as a campaign coordinator would go on to serve the public for many years in various elected positions in Oregon. If you have a Patsy Mink item we would love to see it and will add it here to the blog. 

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Update 1/13 
Oregon member Jim Heir sent us these photos of a handout he was sent from Patsy Mink's office. 

 After this post was published, I came across another Patsy Mink handout from her Oregon '72 effort

Pretty cool stuff from a very small campaign. Now we just need to find a lawn sign!