The 1960 United States Senate election in Alaska was held on November 8, 1960. Despite Republican Presidential candidate Richard Nixon defeating John F. Kennedy in the state by a close margin, popular incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Bob Bartlett was re-elected to a full term in office, defeating Republican dentist Lee McKinley.
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 Results by election district Bartlett: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% McKinley: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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Bartlett was considered unbeatable within the state, having support from both Democrats & Republicans. Dentist Lee McKinley defeated Lawrence Brayton, a leader in the minor Alaska Party before the race, in the primary, with Brayton endorsing McKinley and becoming a campaign manager for the south-central district. The party did not provide much support to McKinley, who also did not campaign personally. McKinley pledged to stand against socialism and excessive federal intervention and spending. McKinley was unable to spark interest, except for one incident where his campaign plane, which fit in with his reputation as the "Flying Dentist", was downed, and McKinley was left stranded for a day before being found by a bush pilot.
McKinley later took Secretary of State Hugh Wade to court over irregularities with the ballot, including the inability to inform voters that they could cross party line to vote and that the option to vote for a straight-party ticket had been designed as a circle rather than a square. Spending remained low, with the highest budget coming from Bartlett's campaign, who self-admittedly raised only $13,000.[1]
Republican primary
editCandidates
edit- Lawrence M. Brayton
- Lee McKinley, dentist and Territorial Representative 1953–1955
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Lee McKinley | 8,867 | 68.22% | |
| Republican | Lawrence M. Brayton | 4,131 | 31.78% | |
| Total votes | 12,998 | 100.00% | ||
General election
editResults
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Bob Bartlett (inc.) | 38,041 | 63.43% |  20.40
| |
| Republican | Lee McKinley | 21,937 | 36.58% |  21.63
| |
| Total votes | 59,978 | 100.00% | |||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Slotnick, Herman E. “The 1960 Election in Alaska.” The Western Political Quarterly, vol. 14, no. 1, 1961, pp. 300–04. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/443850. Accessed 11 Apr. 2023.
- ^ "Our Campaigns - AK US Senate - R Primary". www.ourcampaigns.com.
- ^ "Our Campaigns - AK US Senate Race - Nov 08, 1960". www.ourcampaigns.com.
- ^ Clerk of the United States House of Representatives (1961). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 1960" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office.
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