When looking at the potential for success for Biden challengers Marianne Williamson and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., history can serve as a key guidebook. We previously discussed the visible campaigns of George Wallace in 1964, challenging Lyndon Johnson, and Estes Kefauver in 1952, knocking Harry Truman out of the race. RFK Jr. or Williamson could make waves in the same way that those candidates did.
Or they could end up like Reps. Pete McCloskey and John Ashbrook, who ran hard against Nixon in the primary but barely made a dent.
In 1972, Nixon had GOP detractors from both his right and his left. Of course, that probably made him look better in the general election, proving his middle of the road bonafides.
Congressman Pete McCloskey of California was the first to announce his challenge. He said Nixon’s plans to wind down the Vietnam War were far too vague. He also opposed his detente with China.
Then followed Congressman John Ashbrook of Ohio. He was challenging Nixon from the right, saying that Nixon was acting as a big government president, and especially took his creation of the Environmental Protection Agency to task. He also opposed Nixon’s detente with China.
“In 1968 as a delegate to the Republican Convention I cast my vote for Richard Nixon. I did this on the basis of his record and the pledges he made during the campaign. He said that we must put an end to the huge inflationary deficits which pick the pockets of every American. He warned against the dangers of a regimented economy. He opposed any scheme for a guaranteed annual income,” Ashbrook said, noting that Nixon had renegged on all those things.
He got a bit of momentum, garnering the endorsement of famed conservative activist William F. Buckley.
New Hampshire was the only slightly competitive primary. Nixon got 68% of the vote, while McCloskey got 19% and Ashbrook got 10%.
Those are numbers that imply some bit of momentum, but it never arrived. The candidates competed in four more primaries, before reluctantly dropping out in the name of party unity.
So, will RFK Jr. go the way of McCloskey and Ashbrook, or he will he catch fire like Estes Kefauver and convince Biden to reverse course and not run? The answer probably lies somewhere in the middle.
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