From an Irish Pat to a Dixy Lee

LOCAL RACES

There were, of course, plenty of other races besides the big one, and in many communities interest in them ran high. The Democrats went into the election with overwhelming majorities in the Senate, the House of Representatives and the nation's statehouses. Some faces changed, but when the votes were counted, those majorities stayed firm.

The Senate

The political novices included a 70-year-old semanticist in California, a former astronaut in New Mexico, a rancher in Wyoming and a tax lawyer in Utah. All are conservative Republicans, and all unceremoniously ousted liberal Democratic Senators--including two three-termers--from their seats. But the Senate's only Conservative, James Buckley of New York, was swamped by a left-of-center Democrat. So were right-leaning Republicans in Maryland and Tennessee, and Nebraska elected its first Democratic Senator in four decades.

Nonetheless, when the crazy-quilt pattern woven by 33 individualistic state electorates is stitched together next January, the 95th Senate will probably not differ much in ideology and not at all in party makeup from its predecessor. Though winning seven seats from the Democrats, the Republicans dropped seven of their own. Thus the 62%-to-38% Democratic margin remains as lopsided as before the 1976 campaigns.

Some hardy Democratic perennials bloomed again at the polls. Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota, Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, Edmund Muskie of Maine, Scoop Jackson of Washington, New Jersey's Harrison Williams, West Virginia's Robert Byrd and Mississippi's John Stennis all won easily. So did Lowell Weicker of Connecticut, the Watergate committee's Republican hair shirt. But one of the Senate's most famous names will be missing. In a stunning defeat, Robert Taft Jr., son and namesake of Ohio's "Mr. Republican," lost to Millionaire Businessman Howard Metzenbaum, whom he had defeated six years ago in another close battle.

The Republicans who picked up Democratic seats included ex-Astronaut Harrison Schmitt over Joseph Montoya in New Mexico, Rancher Malcolm Wallop over Three-Term Veteran Gale McGee in Wyoming, Tax Lawyer Orrin Hatch over Frank Moss in Utah and former Navy Secretary John Chafee over Richard Lorber in Rhode Island. Among the Democrats who gained Republican seats: Tucson Attorney Dennis DeConcmi over Sam Steiger in Arizona, Congressman Spark Matsunaga over former Governor William Quinn in Hawaii, Congressman Paul Sarbanes over Incumbent Glenn Beall in Maryland and Omaha Mayor Edward Zorinsky over John McCollister in Nebraska. Some of the most intriguing races that produced new faces:

NEW YORK: ELOQUENT CHERUB

"You'll know I'm there." That was the pitch for Daniel Patrick Moynihan's TV spots, and it is the campaign pledge most certain to be kept. Making his presence felt has never been a problem for the blustery onetime bartender who lived in New York City's Hell's Kitchen, made his way to Harvard, became one of the nation's leading urbanologists, served four Presidents, and fulminated against the Arabs and the Third World as U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Democrat Moynihan won over softspoken, engaging Republican-Conservative James Buckley, who leaves the Senate after one competent but unremarkable term, by a solid 54%-46% majority. That was because the suicidal tendencies of the faction-ridden state Democratic Party were largely overcome, hostility from blacks diminished, and a shortage of money (for more than a month Moynihan was unable to air radio and TV commercials) proved not to be a major factor. Even though Moynihan banged his head and wrenched his neck when his small plane hit an air pocket, and had to spend three precious days recuperating, he easily made up the lost time. For his part, the normally couth and courteous Buckley turned tiger, depicting Moynihan as a fuzzy-minded liberal professor whose wild spending schemes would cost wage-earning families of four $63 a week in new taxes.

But New York is hospitable ground for Moynihan's New Deal-ish stands on unemployment, national health insurance and other social legislation. Buckley was never able to shake his image as a far right winger so wedded to an anti-Government philosophy that he even opposed federal aid to financially strapped New York City in the early stages of its fiscal crisis.

As for Moynihan--with his long forelock that seems forever (and designedly) askew, his cherubic face, well-upholstered 6 ft. 4 in. frame and congenital inability to resist controversy--he can be counted upon to enliven the Senate with rhetorical flourishes worthy of such famous orators as Daniel Webster or even Everett Dirksen.

TENNESSEE: ANTI-CANDY POPULIST

Too shrewd to rely totally on Jimmy Carter's coattails, Democrat James Sasser decided to run hard against incumbent Bill Brock and win their Senate race largely on his own. The genial Sasser tormented his rich opponent for refusing to make a full disclosure of his finances, for paying only $2,000 in federal taxes on his 1975 income of $51,000, and for refusing to make his 1974 tax return public. Starting out 30 points behind in the polls, Sasser scored a stunning upset over a highly regarded conservative who had hopes for the 1980 Republican presidential nomination.

Sasser, 40, a successful lawyer with a folksy campaign style, was Democratic state chairman when he decided to try to win back the seat Brock had wrested from Albert Gore in 1970. Sasser backed Jimmy Carter for the presidential nomination; when he won it, Sasser's chances improved markedly, since Carter quickly established an enormous lead in Tennessee. Brock still led narrowly in the polls when Sasser attacked his failure to disclose his finances; heir to a candy fortune, Brock was described by Sasser as "the candy man from Lookout Mountain." Fighting back, Brock tried to link Sasser to miniscandals in the administration of Governor Ray Blanton, but the ploy flopped.

A low-key, stiff campaigner, Brock, 45, never managed to shake off his challenger, even though he spent $1 million--nearly twice as much as Sasser. The Democrat's big break came when the State Labor Council at a press conference compared Brock's extraordinarily low 1975 tax payment to that of a steel worker, a railroad engineer and an auto worker--who earn far less. Brock claimed that business expenses, charitable contributions and operating costs for a blind trust reduced his tax liability. Lapel buttons with the claim "I paid more taxes than Brock" began to sprout all over, and Brock remained on the defensive.

As a Senator, Sasser will vote most often with the moderates. He claims to be a Carter-style populist and a disciple of Gore and the late Estes Kefauver. Sasser's manner, Kennedy-esque good looks and ready wit mark him as an attractive Senate newcomer worth watching--particularly since he will have a close, and grateful, friend in the White House.

MISSOURI: LAWYER IN THE VAN

It was, well, like Notre Dame v. Slippery Rock. In his race against former Democratic Governor Warren Hearnes, 53, popular Attorney General John Danforth, 40, had youth, money, an unsullied reputation (in addition to his law degree, he holds a bachelor of divinity degree from Yale). He also had a usefully ambivalent image as both a liberal and a conservative. As it turned out, Danforth won the support of an impressive 57% of the voters, and thus will become the first Republican Senator from Missouri in almost 25 years.

That Hearnes was even running was the result of a tragedy: the attractive, popular Democratic primary winner, Rep. Jerry Litton, died with his family in the crash of a small plane carrying them to a victory celebration. As a fillin, Hearnes, who had been a distant second in the primary, looked like a loser from the start. He had only about $151,000 in campaign funds for the battle with Danforth, who spent $600,000. Forced to scrimp, Hearnes served as his own campaign manager, advance man, and even driver.

All the while, Danforth crisscrossed the state in a red-white-and-blue Chevy van. The candidates took similar stands on several important issues--against school busing, abortion, handgun registration and public works projects to reduce unemployment. But from the beginning, the campaign focused on character. Scarred by a grand jury investigation into corruption during his governorship (he was never indicted), Hearnes was on the defensive much of the time. Danforth can be a tough political infighter on issues he cares about--notably, the curse of Big Government. He has vowed to go to Washington "and be somewhat of a pain in the neck."

INDIANA: EAGER EAGLE SCOUT

He promised more boodle from Washington--which enhanced seniority would enable him to produce. His themes were the same ones that had won him three Senate elections in the past: jobs, schools, increased Social Security. But during his nearly 18 years in Washington, Democrat Vance Hartke had acquired a well-deserved reputation as a junketeering, always-on-the-make politician. In a race in which integrity was the hot issue, that image was fatal. Hartke, 57, was swamped by Richard Lugar, 44, who served two successful terms as mayor of Indianapolis.

A Republican moderate, Rhodes scholar and onetime Eagle Scout, Lugar preached fiscal conservatism, strong national defense, tax cuts for individuals and business. He was so confident of victory that he spent the day before the election teaching at Indiana Central University, where he is a visiting professor of political science. The subjects of his courses: government and ethics.

Lugar is certain to be propelled to the forefront of the thin ranks of young, attractive G.O.P. officeholders with bright futures. In 1973, during his second term as mayor, Lugar hit the Republican fundraising circuit, conceding that he was "sort of running" for his party's 1976 presidential nomination. Before 1980, he may drop the "sort of." PENNSYLVANIA: '57 VARIETIES' MAN

Early on, Republican Congressman John Heinz seemed to be in something of a pickle. His bid for retiring Minority Leader Hugh Scott's Senate seat was hurt by disclosures of illegal Gulf Oil contributions to one of his House races. To remedy that, the heir to a "57 Varieties" fortune unleashed an avalanche of greenbacks--mostly his own. It was sufficient to bury Democratic Congressman William Green, despite Green's support from organized labor and the powerful big-city machines. Heinz's campaign outlay (well over $2 million) was the largest sum spent on a Senate race this year and it kept Heinz on the tube throughout the campaign. Meanwhile, Green was forced to suspend his television commercials for ten crucial days in October for lack of money.

The two candidates--both 38 and both articulate and able--staged a Pier 6 campaign. Green's commercials carried the tagline MAN AGAINST THE MONEY--though the Democrat spent nearly $ 1 million himself. Green is a bitter enemy of Philadelphia's Mayor Frank Rizzo, but Heinz depicted Green as an unwholesome machine politician, captive of the Philadelphia Democratic organization that his late father (whom Green succeeded in Congress) controlled for years.

In the Senate, Heinz will probably continue to build on his reputation as an independent thinker and a hard worker. Like Scott, Heinz will probably tie in with such G.O.P. moderates as Illinois' Charles Percy.

MICHIGAN: SINNER BUT A WINNER

"This country doesn't elect saints to the U.S. Congress," cried a union supporter of Democratic Congressman Don Riegle, 38. Michigan voters accepted that easily supportable claim. Riegle, whose tape-recorded pillow talk with an unpaid former woman staffer highlighted the campaign (TIME, Nov. 1), will succeed the retiring Philip Hart when the Senate convenes next January. For a time, the incident that surfaced in the anti-Riegle Detroit News seemed to tip the election in the direction of Republican Congressman Marvin Esch.

But Riegle delivered an effective "Checkers"-style explanation on TV. He apologized for his indiscretion, played on a backlash against the News and obviously convinced many voters that the 1969 incident, which occurred when his first marriage was breaking up, should not be the prime issue on which to judge him. "He almost had me in tears," said William McLaughlin, state Republican chairman. "If he keeps going he'll have everybody believing it was Esch on the tapes." Riegle also produced a TV spot similar to one used by Bob Dole in his 1974 Senate race: a billboard is shown, with mud being thrown at it, then falling off as a voice extols the candidate's virtues.

The able but low-key Esch, 49, entered Congress with Riegle in 1967 when both were Republicans (Riegle switched parties in 1973). Though a former speech teacher, Esch was no match for his foe as a speaker, or in stirring interest in the issues, on most of which he is more conservative than Riegle--an activist liberal and author of an expose of Washington called O Congress. Perhaps Don Riegle's biggest plus: the support of organized labor, which had opposed him in the primary as a Donnie-come-lately.

CALIFORNIA: FRESHMAN--AGE 70

In a major victory that reflected voter frustration with ordinary politics and ordinary politicians, Republican S.I. Hayakawa ousted Democrat John Tunney from his U.S. Senate seat. When the tart-tongued Hayakawa takes the oath of office next January, he will be--at 70 --one of the oldest freshman Senators in the history of the Senate.

His age and far-right views appar-ently bothered California voters little. More troublesome was that Tunney answered every question put to him in voluble Senatorese, appeared overanxious to please, and shifted views on such major issues as natural gas deregulation and national health insurance. On TV, Tunney, despite his reputation as a swinging, divorced playboy, seemed uptight, while Hayakawa displayed a jaunty--and politically effective--cool.

Hayakawa, a teacher and a writer on semantics, had been best known for his trademark tam-o'-shanter and his boldness in quelling dissident student demonstrators during the turbulent late '60s when he was president of San Francisco State College. On the issues, he sounded more or less right wing and eccentric. Once he called for sending unarmed U.S. troops "who could be armed if necessary" to southern Africa under U.N. auspices to prevent a bloodbath there. He expressed open disdain for homosexuals and expressed misgivings about a California law prohibiting business collusion with the Arab boycott as an unwarranted interference with free enterprise. Among the more intriguing questions of the next few years: what the tradition-minded Senate will do to Hayakawa, and vice versa.

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