Oldiesfreak1854
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« on: April 05, 2016, 07:22:42 AM » |
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« edited: April 05, 2016, 08:00:49 AM by Oldiesfreak1854 »
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Whoever holds the GOP's candy desk seems to have a bad habit of being defeated for reelection after one term (or in some cases, multiple terms).
George Murphy (1965-1971) - defeated for reelection, first Senator to hold the desk
Paul Fannin (1965-1977) - retired
Harrison Schmitt (1977-1983) - defeated for reelection
Roger Jepsen (1979-1985) - defeated for reelection
Steve Symms (1981-1993) - reelected
Slade Gorton (1981-1987, first term) - defeated for reelection
John McCain (1987-present) -reelected four times, current reelection bid TBD
Slade Gorton (1989-2001, second and third terms) -defeated for reelection
Jim Jeffords (1989-2007) - reelected
Bob Bennett (1993-2011) -reelected; won second and third term, but defeated for nomination to a fourth
Rick Santorum (1995-2007) - defeated for reelection
Craig Thomas (1995-2007) - died in office, while holding the desk
George Vionovich (1999-2011) - retired
Mel Martinez (2005-2009) - resigned
George Lemieux (2009-2011) -retired, did not run for full term
Mark Kirk (2011-present) - TBD
Pat Toomey (2011-present) -TBD
NOTE: Dates list the term in office, not the period occupying the desk.
As you can see, the curse has been broken several times, only to return with a vengeance on some unlucky Senator later. Bennett and Santorum both held the desk during their first terms and won reelection, but were defeated in later reelection bids. Slade Gorton held the desk in his first term and was promptly defeated for reelection; after he returned to the Senate two years later, he occupied the desk again and won reelection in 1994, but was narrowly defeated in 2000. Mel Martinez resigned before completing his first term. And one Senator, Craig Thomas, died in office while holding the desk. However, Jim Jeffords, Steve Symms, and John McCain all held the desk during their first terms and never lost a reelection bid, although McCain well may lose this year.
In total, four freshmen Senators have lost their bids for a second term after holding the candy desk. Two more Senators (Gorton and Santorum) have been defeated after two consecutive terms after holding the desk. In total, ten Senators have either lost reelection, died in office, or resigned in their first term after holding the candy desk. And now that Kirk and Toomey (both first-term Senators) have got close reelection battles on their hands, they could well become the next victims. And John McCain, a longtime Senator, has another close fight this year, so the candy desk may even claim him as one of its next victims. Beware, beware, the candy desk will get you if you don't watch out.
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