1966 United States House of Representatives election in Delaware

none related races 1966 United States House of Representatives elections February 2026 January 2025 1966 United States House of Representatives election in Delaware Delaware presidential no 1964 United States House of Representatives election in Delaware 1964 1968 United States House of Representatives election in Delaware 1968 November 8, 1966 File:Senator William V Roth.jpg 150x150px William Roth Republican Party (United States) 90,561 55.77% File:Harris B. McDowell, Jr..jpg Harris McDowell Democratic Party (United States) 72,142 44.23% File:Delaware House Election Results by County, 1942.svg 110px County resultsRoth: #e27f7f 50–60% U.S. Representative Harris McDowell Democratic Party (United States) William Roth Republican Party (United States) The 1966 United States House of Representatives election in Delaware took place on November 8, 1966, to decide who would represent Delaware's at-large congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. Incumbent Representative Harris McDowell ran for re-election to a sixth term but lost to Republican challenger William Roth by 11 percentage points. Prior to the election, the seat was regarded as being a safe Democratic seat. With the loss, Harris McDowell became the last Democrat to represent Delaware in the House until Tom Carper in 1982. The election was held during Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson's second term; his party lost 47 seats in the House. Roth and McDowell both ran again in 1968 with Roth increasing his margin of victory. Background Incumbent Harris McDowell was a veteran Democrat and was expected to easily hold the seat.November 9, 1966 How the Nation voted-State by state https://www.newspapers.com/image/765681641/?match=4&terms=Harris%20B.%20McDowell%20reelection%20%28D-DE%29 March 27, 2025 United Press International Evansville Press 4 Newspapers.com In 1964, he had won reelection by 13 points and over 26 thousand votes.Guthrie Benjamin J. August 16, 1965 Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election https://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1964election.pdf March 27, 2025 Clerk of the United States House of Representatives 8 McDowell had previously lost a re-election bid in 1956 before returning to the House of Representatives in 1958. The election was held during the midterm election cycle of Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson second term.Rennent Leo October 26, 1988 Elections to shape national future https://www.newspapers.com/image/694040776/ March 28, 2025 The Modesto Bee 1, 10 Newspapers.comLahr Raymond November 9, 1966 Great Society endangered by major Republican gain https://www.newspapers.com/image/738441724/ March 28, 2025 The Sault Star 1–2 Newspapers.com Primaries and candidates Harris McDowell (Democrat), incumbent representative seeking a sixth termMcDowell, Harris Brown, Jr. https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/17851?current_search_qs=?PreviousSearch=Search%252cLastName%252c%252c%252c%252c%252cFalse%252cFalse%252cFalse%252c%252cState&CurrentPage=99&SortOrder=State&ResultType=Grid&Command=100 2025-03-19 Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress en William Roth (Republican), attorney and unsuccessful candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Delaware in 1960January 3, 1967 State bigwigs in '66 shuffle https://www.newspapers.com/image/163474534/?match=7&terms=Harris%20McDowell March 19, 2025 The News Journal 21 Newspapers.comLiberman Cy October 18, 1966 William V. Roth tackles opponent and LBJ https://www.newspapers.com/image/154757409/ April 20, 2025 The Morning News 23 Newspapers.com James M. Tunnel Jr. (Democrat), former member of the Delaware Supreme Court, defeated in the primaryAugust 11, 1966 Boggs is mum on race plans https://www.newspapers.com/image/283140887/ April 24, 2025 The Daily Times 13 Newspapers.com George W. Cripps (Republican), defeated in the primary Democratic primary There was some effort from the Delaware Democratic Party to get McDowell to run against Republican Senator J. Caleb Boggs in the concurrent Senate election. McDowell declined, opting to instead seek another term in the House.Carpenter Leslie August 14, 1966 Washington Beat https://www.newspapers.com/image/270576223/?match=2&terms=Harris%20McDowell March 26, 2025 Honolulu Star-Bulletin 21 McDowell was challenged by James M. Tunnell Jr., a former judge on the Delaware Supreme Court. Republican Primary The first person to announce their candidacy for the Republican nomination was George W. Cripps. Following the death of his son in the Vietnam War, Cripps called for further US engagement in Vietnam.Clements Nan January 17, 1966 Short shell kills Dover G.I. in Viet https://www.newspapers.com/image/162290737/ 2025-04-23 The News Journal 1 en Newspapers.comMartin Larry K. March 29, 1966 GOP hopeful urges tougher Viet policy https://www.newspapers.com/image/154737934/?match=1&terms=George%20W.%20Cripps March 20, 2025 The Morning News 2 Newspapers.com Cripps was challenged for the nomination by attorney and former Republican State Committee of Delaware (GOP) chairman William Roth.Sapienza Jerry January 17, 1966 Roth says he is interested in House run https://www.newspapers.com/image/162290745/ April 23, 2025 The News Journal 3 Cripps and Roth did not run negative campaign advertisements and avoided attacking each other. Roth explained that since Republicans were the minority party they "cannot afford the luxury of disunity".May 10, 1966 GOP candidates blast Johnson https://www.newspapers.com/image/283094693/ April 23, 2025 The Daily Times 1 Newspapers.com At the GOP state convention, Cripps withdrew from the race and endorsed Roth's campaign, describing him as "The kind of man we need in the Republican party." He subsequently won the nomination for Delaware's Auditor of Accounts.Frank William P. August 31, 1966 Roth gets House Bid; Cripps auditor's nod https://www.newspapers.com/image/154728019/?match=1&terms=William%20Roth March 20, 2025 The Morning News 1, 3 Newspapers.com General election Throughout the campaign, Roth appeared alongside his wife, Jane, and their dog, Ludwig. Roth stated that he hoped to shake hands with 50 thousand voters. He frequently wore a yellow button reading "I am Bill Roth", Roth had previously worn the button during his unsuccessful 1960 campaign for Lieutenant Governor of Delaware.Frank William P. October 29, 1968 Roth still establishing identity https://www.newspapers.com/image/155933346/ April 30, 2025 The Morning News Newspapers.com During the campaign, Roth aggressively criticized then-President Lyndon B. Johnson, particularly his foreign policy. Cy Liberman of The Morning News joked that Roth was "running against the President of the United States in addition to the Democratic Congressman." McDowell made a similar comment saying that Roth was "running against President Johnson, the Department of Defense and all the liberal legislation passed in the past six years." He further criticized Roth, saying that his political positions were unclear.October 27, 1990 Federal rent aid urged by Tunnell https://www.newspapers.com/image/163648094/ April 21, 2025 The News Journal 3 Newspapers.com On October 28, 1966, Roth and McDowell participated in a debate at the University of Delaware. The debate was sponsored by the Student Government Association. Questions were written by students of the university's political science department.October 28, 1966 Roth, McDowell at U. of D. tonight https://www.newspapers.com/image/154763118/ April 29, 2025 The Morning News 24 Newspapers.com Allegations of voting irregularities During the campaign, John J. Smith, a Republican candidate for the state legislature, claimed there were irregularities with voting registration. Smith asked the United States Department of Justice to investigate and monitor the election, but was rejected due to a lack of legal basis for the request.October 16, 1966 1965 act cited by Smith for U.S. poll watch https://www.newspapers.com/image/163572103 March 28, 2025 The News Journal 3 Newspapers.com A report by the grand jury of New Castle County found that there was some evidence of illegal activity, including voters participating in primaries for parties they were not registered for and allowing them to vote without proper voter identification.October 13, 1966 Terry to get vote findings https://www.newspapers.com/image/163548664 March 28, 2025 The News Journal 1–2 Newspapers.com A list of absentee voters was made available to select Democratic candidates, including McDowell. No Republicans received the list, Delaware GOP chairman Clayton S. Harrison criticized this decision, referencing the findings of the grand jury report. Reportedly, McDowell used the list to send out campaign materials.Crosland Philip F. October 17, 1966 GOP Chairman says absentee list used https://www.newspapers.com/image/163572103/ March 28, 2025 The News Journal 3 Newspapers.com Results The election took place on November 8, 1966, concurrently with various other elections. Like with most cycles the President's party struggled, losing 47 house seats along with various governorships and Senate seats. Roth defeated McDowell by around 11 percent of the vote. He received 97,268 votes, nearly 30 thousand more than McDowell's 67,281. Roth received the second highest number of votes of any Republican candidate elected at-large, behind only incumbent Insurance Commissioner Robert A. Short.Guthrie Benjamin J. March 31, 1967 Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 8, 1966 https://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1966election.pdf Clerk of the House of Representatives 8 Additionally, Roth won all three of Delaware's counties. His strongest showing was in New Castle County where he received 66,871 votes. McDowell's strongest showing was also in New Castle County where he received 49,718 votes. The closest was Kent County where Roth won by just 723 votes.Cripps George W. State of Delaware Official Results of General Election 1966 https://elections.delaware.gov/elections/resultsarchive/elect66/pdfs/1966.pdf March 19, 2025 Delaware Department of Elections 9General election results Republican Party (United States) William Roth 90,561 55.77% 12.4 Democratic Party (United States) Harris McDowell (Incumbent) 72,142 44.23% 12.3 162,703 100.00% Republican Party (United States) Democratic Party (United States) Aftermath Following his victory, Roth resigned from his position as a senior councilman at Hercules Inc. McDowell, like several other lame duck representatives, McDowell was set travel to Europe as part of a congressional delegation.Pearson Drew November 20, 1966 Washington merry-go-round https://www.newspapers.com/image/652370221/?match=1&terms=Harris%20McDowell March 26, 2025 The News & Observer 42 Newspapers.com However, he, alongside fellow Democratic representatives Ronald B. Cameron of California and Roy H. McVicker of Colorado, decided to cancel his trip. When asked why, McDowell explained that he did not believe it was fair for an outgoing congressman to go abroad.Rapoport Daniel November 27, 1966 Lame Ducks fly on world tours https://www.newspapers.com/image/70624717/?match=1&terms=Harris%20B.%20McDowell%20reelection%20%28D-DE%29 March 27, 2025 The Pantagraph 5 Newspapers.com United Press International McDowell and Roth competed again in the following election; Roth won re-election, increasing his margin of victory to seventeen points.Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 1968 https://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1968election.pdf Clerk of the United States House of Representatives 6 Following the second loss, McDowell retired from politics.Frank William P. November 6, 1968 Roth tops McDowell The Morning News Newspapers.com April 7, 2025 https://www.newspapers.com/image/155920586/ During Roth's second term, he resigned from the House to fill a vacant Senate seat.2003-12-15 Sen. William Roth, 82; Created Popular Retirement Account https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-dec-15-me-roth15-story.html 2025-03-19 Los Angeles Times en-US He was succeeded by Republican state representative Pete du Pont.2021-05-09 Pierre ‘Pete’ du Pont IV dies; ran for president in 1988 https://www.politico.com/news/2021/05/09/pierre-pete-du-pont-iv-dies-ran-for-president-in-1988-486256 2025-03-26 Politico en McDowell was the last Democrat to represent Delaware in the House until Delaware Treasurer Tom Carper's 1982 victory.Corty Susanne P. Hanson Joseph J. November 4, 1982 The Governor returns to bitter defeat https://www.newspapers.com/image/161748350/?match=3&terms=Tom%20Carper%20Harris%20McDowell 2025-03-19 The News Journal 18 en Newspapers.com After his defeat, McDowell was appointed to a position within the Government of Delaware by then-Governor Charles L. Terry Jr. Despite this, during the following election Terry endorsed candidates to run against McDowell in the Democratic primary.Frank Bill June 25, 1968 McDowell displays new political vigor https://www.newspapers.com/image/155778744/ April 1, 2025 The Morning News 20 References Delaware 1966 Category:1966 Delaware elections