2020 Political Buttons Part 6: Minnesota State Fair

2020 Political Buttons Part 4: Kirsten Gillibrand

In our last update on 2020 campaign items, we covered a series of candidates that had dropped out of the race over the summer of 2019. It seems that as soon as we hit publish on a post there is something worthy of an update. A few days after our last post, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced she was dropping out of the race for the Democratic nomination. She decided to because of the campaign was unable to qualify for the next round of Democratic Debates. She was unable to secure higher polling numbers and the required unique donors.

This was just as her campaign, only a couple weeks before this had begun to offer buttons in her campaign store. It would be interesting to know if she would have reached the 130,000 donor threshold had she offered buttons on her website a few months ago, instead of a few weeks ago. Here is the button that was offered on her website.

 

WAGONER Who?

Ever come across a button that you have no clue about? For many years I had no idea who Wagoner was. I knew it was an Oregon pin, only because several respected Oregon collectors had it in their collections. I finally found one at the Salem Armory several years ago. I recently found another one this last weekend at a shop in Oregon City. I decided it was time to find answers to who was Wagoner. A few years ago, this wouldn't have been possible. As more and more historical databases and records become available online, more information becomes avaliable to researchers. This time, it was a quick search result of the 1938 Election and Wagoner brought me a quick result. 

The old Oregon index made by the Oregon APIC Chapter in the 1980s noted the name of Clarence R. Wagoner. The first hit was in the online database called Our Campaigns. This is where I found that Wagoner had run in the crowded 1938 Oregon Republican Primary for Governor.

Eventual winner Charles Sprague won the crowded race with 48% of the vote and Wagoner came in a distant third earning 9% of the vote. While this was important to establish the legitimacy of the button, it didn't help me figure out who Wagoner was or what he stood for.

WRITE-IN MORSE Found

It has been a really slow year for finding new Wayne Morse items. I really haven't picked up much since January. That all changed the other day. I was getting ready to leave the house for a long day of activities and I randomly decided to login to ebay and look for some political items. That's where I stumbled upon this bumper sticker.

Hart for America Oregon Poster

Advert for Marion Co. Hart Rally

As a trained political junkie (i.e a holder of a political science degree) I am constantly fascinated by the campaigns that have come and gone. One of the campaigns to set up in Oregon in the past 30 years is the 1984 Gary Hart campaign, which by the way it has been exactly 30 years since the Hart campaign came to Oregon.

Hart was running against former Vice President Walter Mondale. If you are partial to the insurgent/establishment breakdowns of political campaigns then this would be of a similar contest to the Clinton-Obama race of 2008, for those not familiar with the dynamic of the 84 Democratic primaries.

Political organizations depend on people and candidates go where they have people. In the spring of 1984 a group of Marion County, Oregon organizers got Gary Hart to appear for a rally at the courthouse in downtown Salem as apart of his swing through the state. Here is a photo from the rally.

I'm guessing that Senator Hart is just behind the big flock of hair in the photo. This photo was given to me by my friend Liz. She was one of the many dedicated organizers who ran the Marion County for Hart organization.

Wayne Morse Christmas Surprise

The year was 1959, and the Christmas season was in full swing here in Oregon. Families were gathering and preparing to celebrate the end of a busy year. President Eisenhower was entering his last year in office and candidates from all around the country had been announcing their intentions to run to replace him all year. A late entrant to the Democratic nomination came on December 22,1959 out of Oregon.

Morse Talks to Young Voters after event in Maryland

Senator Wayne Morse, a man who had been supposedly uninterested in running for President announced his candidacy. Appearing above the front page headline in the Oregonian read: "SEN. WAYNE MORSE ENTERS PRESIDENTIAL RACE". It was a Christmas surprise that some Oregon Democrats loved and other Democrats cringed at unwrapping. There were several factors that led Morse to announce and they all played a part in his campaign. Be it ego, pressure from a citizens petition drive to place him on the ballot, Jack Kennedy's unimpressive progressive credentials, a hope that Adlai Stevenson may still be willing to run at the convention and finally fears that Republicans would place him on the ballot to embarrass him for his 1962 re-election campaign.

Morse for President Bumper Sticker

Michael Landon Campaigns in Oregon

In the recent Old Politicals auction going on right now there is a special Oregon lot of items from April of 1980. While then Governor Ronald Reagan was campaigning around the country he sent out lots of his friends around the country to stump for him. One of those friends was T.V.'s Michael Landon from Bonanza and Little House on the Prairie fame. Landon and Reagan ran in the same circles from California. Here is a video from later in 1980 before the election at a fundraiser featuring Landon and several other familiar faces.