The Michigan Five Fluke Freshmen is the name given to five members of the U.S. House of Representatives who were elected in the Democratic landslide of 1964 and were subsequently defeated just two years later by a Republican resurgence. They included Paul Todd,[1] Raymond Clevenger, Billie Farnum, John Mackie, and Wes Vivian of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan. All of the five were one-term congressmen.[2] It was the last time that a state would have five freshmen members of Congress defeated for reelection.

1964: LBJ landslide

Wes Vivian of Ann Arbor
Paul Todd of Kalamazoo
John C. Mackie of Flint
Ray Clevenger of Sault Ste. Marie
Billie Farnum of Drayton Plains

With President Lyndon B. Johnson taking over 67% of the vote in Michigan, the Democrats were able to win five districts formerly represented by Republicans, and change the Michigan Congressional delegation from 12 to 7 Republican to 12 to 7 Democratic. Three of the defeated Republicans had significant seniority.[3] The Democratic gains took place in District 2 (based in the Ann Arbor area), District 3 (set around Kalamazoo and Battle Creek), District 7 (Flint and its surrounding region), District 11 (northern lower Michigan and the Upper Peninsula), and District 19 (suburban Detroit). Nationally Democrats gained 36 seats from the Republicans in the House.

1964 U.S. House Michigan Congressional District 2 Election.
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Wes Vivian 77,806 50.5
Republican George Meader (Inc) 76,280 49.5
1964 U.S. House Michigan Congressional District 3 Election.
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Paul Todd 85,001 52.7
Republican August Johansen (Inc) 76,350 47.3
1964 U.S. House Michigan Congressional District 7 Election.
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic John Mackie 104,115 65.7
Republican Claude Sadler 54,307 34.3
1964 U.S. House Michigan Congressional District 11 Election.
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Raymond Clevenger 86,557 53.3
Republican Victor Knox (Inc) 75,955 46.7
1964 U.S. House Michigan Congressional District 19 Election.
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Billie Farnum 88,441 53.4
Republican Richard Kuhn 77,204 46.6

1966: Republican Resurgence

Richard Nixon took an active interest in the 1966 midterm elections in Michigan, especially these five races.[3] He personally persuaded Donald Riegle to leave academia and run against Mackie, and appeared at a fundraiser for Riegle's campaign early in the primary season.[3] Nixon campaigned for the five Republican challengers during the whole campaign, and played them up to reporters.[3] Political analyst Rhodes Cook wrote that "no politician had used the midterm election year more effectively than former Vice President Richard Nixon, who with his young aide-de camp, Pat Buchanan, took to the 'rubber chicken circuit' on behalf of Republican candidates across the country."[4] None of the Democrats had run as strongly as Johnson in 1964, indicating their potential weakness.[3]

The unpopularity of President Johnson's Great Society, rising crime, radical campus protests, and racial riots coupled with the coattail effect of popular Republican Governor George W. Romney at the top of the state ticket all led to a downturn for the Democratic Party. Growing dissatisfaction with the war in Vietnam was also a factor.[5]

The Republicans succeeded in recapturing the five districts they lost in 1964 and returned the delegation to a 12 to 7 Republican majority. Nationally the Republicans gained 47 seats from the Democrats in the House.

In 1973, Riegle switched from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party, and went on to serve three terms in the United States Senate as a Democrat.[3]

1966 U.S. House Michigan Congressional District 2 Election.
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Marvin Esch 65,205 51
Democratic Wes Vivian (Inc) 62,536 49
1966 U.S. House Michigan Congressional District 3 Election.
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Garry E. Brown 68,912 52.2
Democratic Paul Todd (Inc) 62,984 48.8
1966 U.S. House Michigan Congressional District 7 Election.
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Don Riegle 71,166 54
Democratic John Mackie (Inc) 60,408 46
1966 U.S. House Michigan Congressional District 11 Election.
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Philip Ruppe 70,820 51.8
Democratic Raymond Clevenger (Inc) 65,875 48.2
1966 U.S. House Michigan Congressional District 19 Election.
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Jack McDonald 76,884 57
Democratic Billie Farnum (Inc) 57,907 43

References

  1. ↑ Nann Burke, Melissa (October 26, 2017). "3 Kalamazoo College alums running for Congress". Detroit News. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  2. ↑ Zelizer, Julian E. (2015). The Fierce Urgency of Now: Lyndon Johnson, Congress, and the Battle for the Great Society. Penguin Publishing Group. p. 182. ISBN 978-1-101-60549-3.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Li, Victor (2018). Nixon in New York: How Wall Street Helped Richard Nixon Win the White House. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. ISBN 978-1-68393-001-3.
  4. ↑ Cook, Rhodes (April 29, 2010). "Midterms Past: The '66 Parallel". Sabato's Crystal Ball. University of Virginia Center for Politics. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  5. ↑ Daniel, Dominique (March 1, 2015). "Billie S. Farnum Papers(1957-1967)". OU Libraries. Oakland University. Retrieved August 28, 2022. However, Farnum failed to be re-elected in 1966, losing to Jack McDonald. It is likely that the backlash against the Vietnam War and civil rights contributed to his defeat, as Farnum was an ardent advocate of both causes. Four of his fellow Michigan freshman Congress members – known as the Five Fluke Freshmen – were also defeated.
  • The Almanac of American Politics 1972
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