Doloris Bridges
Encyclopedia
Doloris Bridges widow of a 25-year U.S. Senator
, was the first woman to seek election to the U.S. Senate from New Hampshire
. Considered as an example of staunchly anticommunist women who emerged as leaders during the Goldwater
era of the Republican Party
in the mid-1960s, she died of cancer
before the decade was over, without ever winning office.
, the daughter of Dr. Charles Casper Thauwald and Clara (Frediani) Thauwald. She was educated in St. Paul, Minnesota public schools and graduated from the University of Minnesota
in 1935. She attended Strayer Business College
at Washington D.C., and the Foreign Service School
of the U.S. Department of State. She entered government service in October 1937 in the U.S. Department of Internal Revenue
, and later became an administrative assistant in the State Department's world trade intelligence division.
of softness toward communism and of absenting himself from the Senate when anticommunist legislation reached the Senate floor.
Although many assumed that Governor Wesley Powell
would either appoint himself, or Mrs. Bridges, to the Senate seat, instead Powell appointed 34-year-old Maurice J. Murphy Jr., whom Powell had chosen as the state’s attorney general just one month earlier. Loeb broke with Powell because he appointed Murphy over Mrs. Bridges. Powell lost his bid for renomination in the next Republican primary, a loss that Powell would attribute to Loeb and to the Murphy appointment.
, and Congressman Chester Merrow, all of whom except Bridges incurred the wrath of Loeb’s editorials. During the campaign, she advocated an invasion of Cuba to overthrow the Castro regime. She finished a close second in the primary, less than 2,000 votes behind Bass, but ahead of Murphy and Merrow. Bass lost in the general election to Democrat Thomas J. McIntyre
.
, she was an early and prominent supporter of Barry Goldwater
, who in 1962 had criticized Powell’s failure to appoint her to the Senate. Had Goldwater earned the most votes, she and the others on the Goldwater slate would have represented New Hampshire at the 1964 Republican National Convention
. Instead, relatively more New Hampshire Republican primary voters wrote in the name of a non-candidate who had not even entered the state—former Massachusetts Senator Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., who was then the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam
.
, who was a strong supporter of continuing U.S. offensives in the Vietnam War
. On the eve of the filing deadline, Bridges became a surprise candidate for the nomination. Distancing herself from Loeb’s editorials and Thyng’s position on the war, Bridges urged a peaceful solution to the conflict, to be found by a blue-ribbon committee of Americans. Yet in the same interview she would add, "I don't want my position to be misunderstood. I am for winning this war in Vietnam and getting out." She finished in fifth place in the primary, well behind Thyng, who then lost in the general election to McIntyre.
In their wills, Mr. and Mrs. Bridges left their East Concord home (known as Bridges House) to the state for use as the New Hampshire Governor's Mansion
.
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, was the first woman to seek election to the U.S. Senate from New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
. Considered as an example of staunchly anticommunist women who emerged as leaders during the Goldwater
Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. An articulate and charismatic figure during the first half of the 1960s, he was known as "Mr...
era of the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
in the mid-1960s, she died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
before the decade was over, without ever winning office.
Personal background
Doloris May Thauwald was born in Gibbon, MinnesotaGibbon, Minnesota
Gibbon is a city in Sibley County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 772 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land.-Demographics:...
, the daughter of Dr. Charles Casper Thauwald and Clara (Frediani) Thauwald. She was educated in St. Paul, Minnesota public schools and graduated from the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
in 1935. She attended Strayer Business College
Strayer University
Strayer University, formerly Strayer College of Baltimore, Maryland, is a private, for-profit educational institution. The Strayer University campuses are owned by Strayer Education, Inc. , headquartered in Herndon, Virginia....
at Washington D.C., and the Foreign Service School
Foreign Service Institute
The Foreign Service Institute is the United States Federal Government's primary training institution for employees of the U.S. foreign affairs community, preparing American diplomats and other professionals to advance U.S. foreign affairs interests overseas and in Washington...
of the U.S. Department of State. She entered government service in October 1937 in the U.S. Department of Internal Revenue
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
, and later became an administrative assistant in the State Department's world trade intelligence division.
Wife
In February 1944, at age 29, she married U.S. Senator H. Styles Bridges of New Hampshire, a widower then in his second term. Mr. Bridges would continue to serve in the U.S. Senate for seventeen more years. In 1955, during Senator Bridges’ fourth term, the New Hampshire Sunday News, a newspaper owned by conservative editor William Loeb III, suggested that Mrs. Bridges should be elected to New Hampshire’s other U.S. Senate seat. Late in the 1960 presidential campaign, she accused Senator John F. KennedyJohn F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
of softness toward communism and of absenting himself from the Senate when anticommunist legislation reached the Senate floor.
Widow
Sen. Bridges died the next year, on November 26, 1961. Even before Senator Bridges was laid to rest, Loeb editorialized that Mrs. Bridges should be appointed to fill his vacancy.Although many assumed that Governor Wesley Powell
Wesley Powell
Wesley Powell was an American lawyer and Republican politician from Hampton Falls, New Hampshire.Powell was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He attended schools in Portsmouth before graduating from the University of New Hampshire. He received his law degree from the Southern Methodist College...
would either appoint himself, or Mrs. Bridges, to the Senate seat, instead Powell appointed 34-year-old Maurice J. Murphy Jr., whom Powell had chosen as the state’s attorney general just one month earlier. Loeb broke with Powell because he appointed Murphy over Mrs. Bridges. Powell lost his bid for renomination in the next Republican primary, a loss that Powell would attribute to Loeb and to the Murphy appointment.
1962 Republican U.S. Senate primary
In response to the Murphy appointment. Mrs. Bridges issued a statement that wished for Murphy “a special blessing from our Lord, because he will have great need of it in the weeks and months ahead.” But she immediately decided to run for Murphy’s seat, which was the subject of a special election in November 1962. When kicking off her campaign, she stated that she wished to win and hold the seat for “the rest of my life.” Her opponents in the primary included Murphy, Congressman Perkins BassPerkins Bass
Perkins Bass was an American elected official from the state of New Hampshire, including four terms as a U.S. Representative from 1955-63.-Biography:...
, and Congressman Chester Merrow, all of whom except Bridges incurred the wrath of Loeb’s editorials. During the campaign, she advocated an invasion of Cuba to overthrow the Castro regime. She finished a close second in the primary, less than 2,000 votes behind Bass, but ahead of Murphy and Merrow. Bass lost in the general election to Democrat Thomas J. McIntyre
Thomas J. McIntyre
Thomas James McIntyre was a U.S. senator from New Hampshire, and a member of the Democratic Party.Born in Laconia, New Hampshire, he attended the public and parochial schools of Laconia; he graduated from Manlius Military School in Manlius, New York, in 1933, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New...
.
1964 New Hampshire presidential primary
In the 1964 Republican presidential primary in New HampshireNew Hampshire primary
The New Hampshire primary is the first in a series of nationwide political party primary elections held in the United States every four years , as part of the process of choosing the Democratic and Republican nominees for the presidential elections to be held the subsequent November.Although only a...
, she was an early and prominent supporter of Barry Goldwater
Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. An articulate and charismatic figure during the first half of the 1960s, he was known as "Mr...
, who in 1962 had criticized Powell’s failure to appoint her to the Senate. Had Goldwater earned the most votes, she and the others on the Goldwater slate would have represented New Hampshire at the 1964 Republican National Convention
1964 Republican National Convention
The 1964 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States took place in the Cow Palace, San Francisco, California, on July 13 to July 16, 1964. Before 1964, there had only been one national Republican convention on the West Coast...
. Instead, relatively more New Hampshire Republican primary voters wrote in the name of a non-candidate who had not even entered the state—former Massachusetts Senator Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., who was then the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
.
1966 Republican U.S. Senate primary
The Senate seat once held by Mr. Bridges and won by Democrat McIntyre in the 1962 special election was up again for election in 1966. From the outset Loeb backed retired Air Force General Harrison ThyngHarrison Thyng
Brigadier General Harrison Reed Thyng was a fighter pilot and an officer in the United States Air Force with the rank of general. He is notable as one of only six USAF fighter pilots to be recognized as an ace in two wars...
, who was a strong supporter of continuing U.S. offensives in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. On the eve of the filing deadline, Bridges became a surprise candidate for the nomination. Distancing herself from Loeb’s editorials and Thyng’s position on the war, Bridges urged a peaceful solution to the conflict, to be found by a blue-ribbon committee of Americans. Yet in the same interview she would add, "I don't want my position to be misunderstood. I am for winning this war in Vietnam and getting out." She finished in fifth place in the primary, well behind Thyng, who then lost in the general election to McIntyre.
Her final years
Mrs. Bridges maintained a low profile in the politics surrounding the 1968 New Hampshire presidential primary, won by Richard M. Nixon. Suffering from cancer, she was hospitalized in late 1968, and died on January 16, 1969 in Concord.In their wills, Mr. and Mrs. Bridges left their East Concord home (known as Bridges House) to the state for use as the New Hampshire Governor's Mansion
New Hampshire Governor's Mansion
The New Hampshire Governor's Mansion, known as "Bridges House", is the official residence of the Governor of New Hampshire and the governor's family. Bridges House, located in Concord, the capital of New Hampshire, has served as the governor's official residence since 1969.Bridges House was built...
.