Len E. Blaylock
Encyclopedia
Len Everette Blaylock, Sr. (born December 8, 1918), is a retired farmer
, educator, small businessman, and Republican
politician
from tiny Nimrod in Perry County in northwestern Arkansas
. He was state welfare commissioner under Governor
Winthrop Rockefeller
, the GOP
gubernatorial nominee (1972), the U.S. marshal for the Eastern District of Arkansas (1975–1978), the appointments secretary for Governor Frank D. White
(1981–1983), and the chairman of the Arkansas Republican Party (1985–1986).
High School
. He served three stints in the Civilian Conservation Corps
between 1936 and 1939, having been based in Idaho
, Camp Robinson in Arkansas, and Cody
, Wyoming
. His life has been depicted as a Horatio Alger story in sharp contrast to his benefactor, Winthrop Rockefeller, the epitome of family wealth and power.
Blaylock entered the United States Army Air Corps
, served in World War II
, and completed 20-years of service in 1959. During part of the war, he was based in Great Britain
with the Eighth Air Force. He was later with the Strategic Air Command
. He was an enlisted man for the first ten years and then an Air Force officer, having reached the rank of major. At various times, he was stationed in Alaska
, Spokane, Washington
, Baylor University
in Waco
, Texas
, and the Little Rock Air Force Base
. He is a charter member of the Air Force Memorial Foundation
Blaylock, while working with Captain Bruce K. Holloway
at Duncan Field in San Antonio
, was introduced by Holloway to Melba Wright of San Antonio. In 1941, the couple married; they have four sons and a daughter: David Blaylock (born 1942) of Phoenix
, Len Blaylock, Jr. (born 1944), of Maumelle
in Perry County, Melvin Blaylock (born 1949) of Russellville
, the seat of Pope County, Betty Louise Freeze (husband Mike) of Keo
in Lonoke County, and Dale Blaylock (born 1960) of Greenbrier
in Faulkner County.
Len, Jr., is the state executive director of the United States Department of Agriculture
Farm Service Agency
. Dale is a member of the security staff of the Arkansas governor's office. Len, III (born 1974), one of ten Blaylock grandchildren, is a United States Army
officer who has already done one tour of duty in Iraq
. There are also three step-grandchildren.
Blaylock began work on a college degree while he was in the military. Some coursework was taken at Baylor, but he finally obtained his bachelor's degree
in 1962 from Arkansas Tech University
in Russellville. At times, Blaylock has been a storekeeper, a teacher
, a principal, a cattle
man, and a government administrator as well as a farmer and a politician.
as a Democrat
. He was defeated in the primary
-- by the incumbent
Democrat Paul Van Dalsem (1907–1983), an associate of Governor Orval Eugene Faubus
, who won his sixth and final term as governor that year by defeating Rockefeller. Arkansas political reformers in both parties often cited Van Dalsem as an example of objectionable "machine" politics. In time, Blaylock, who had originally been anti-Faubus, became personally close to Faubus, and the two frequently visited. It was Blaylock who recommend that Governor White in 1981 name Faubus to head the scandal-ridden Arkansas Veterans Affairs Department, much to the consternation of many earlier Rockefeller Republicans.
In 1965, Blaylock became one of eight "field representatives" for Rockefeller at a salary of $300 per month. He handled the Arkansas River
Valley region. In 1966, Rockefeller became the first Republican to have been elected governor since Reconstruction. He defeated Democrat (later Republican convert) James D. Johnson
of Conway
, the seat of Faulkner County near Little Rock.
Blaylock later became friends with Jim Johnson and Johnson's wife, Virginia Morris Johnson
, though, as with Faubus, they were partisan rivals at the time. Rockefeller invited Blaylock into the new administration to reorganize and head the welfare department. At first the welfare board tried to block Blaylock from making appointments, but Attorney General
Joe Purcell
, a Democrat, issued a ruling that empowered Blaylock, as the department head, to make the personnel selections.
After Rockefeller's defeat for a third term in 1970, Blaylock was replaced as welfare administrator by the newly-elected Governor Dale Bumpers
. Technically, Republicans claimed that Blaylock resigned because of harassment from within the Bumpers administration. Blaylock then challenged Bumpers for reelection to a second two-year term in 1972, a most formidable undertaking. He had planned to accept a well-compensated position with the former United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in Dallas
, but Rockefeller encouraged Blaylock to run for governor.
Arkansas political scientist
James "Jim" Ranchino (1936–1978) declared that Blaylock was "not a legitimate candidate" in view of Bumpers' name recognition and general popularity. Blaylock alleged that Bumpers esoused "widely varying philosophies, depending on the audience or the occasion." Bumpers ignored Blaylock though at one point he told the media that because he was himself running for reelection as governor, he could not take an active part in U.S. Senator George McGovern
's presidential campaign. Bumpers also benefited from the tradition at the time that Arkansas governors usually were given at least a second two-year term to fulfil their promise. An exception to that tradition was former Governor Francis Cherry
, who was unseated by Faubus in the 1954 Democratic primary.
The GOP
stressed that Blaylock's career had been a success story despite his having dropped out of high school three times before graduating in order to support his family. Afterwards, he enlisted in the Army, made a military career, and began dabbling in Republican politics.
The election results were no surprise: Bumpers defeated Blaylock by a 4–1 margin, the worst GOP showing in a decade in Arkansas. Bumpers won all seventy-five counties, 488,892 (75.4 percent) to Blaylock's 159,177 (24.6 percent). Blaylock fared no better than 42.5 percent in predominantly African American
Lee County in the eastern part of the state, an area that had remained loyal to Blaylock's mentor, Rockefeller. Even in usually Republican Searcy County, Blaylock received only 40.9 percent of the vote. Bumpers outpolled U.S. President Richard M. Nixon in Arkansas by some 43,000 votes, and Blaylock trailed McGovern by nearly 38,000 ballots.
Blaylock's ticket mates were all defeated too: the veterinarian
Wayne H. Babbitt
for the U.S. Senate, Ken Coon
for lieutenant governor
, future U.S. Representative Edwin R. Bethune for attorney general
, and Jerry Climer
for secretary of state. Coon was Blaylock's successor as the gubernatorial nominee in 1974f, but he first had to dispose of the controversial Cave City
newspaper editor Joseph H. Weston
, whose work with the former Sharp Citizen led to a change in Arkansas libel law.
, named Blaylock the U.S. marshal in Little Rock
. He succeeded Lynn A. Davis
, formerly Rockefeller's choice to head the state police. Davis' reappointment was opposed by outgoing Democratic U.S. Senator John McClellan
. Blaylock held the position until 1978, when President Jimmy Carter
replaced him with Bumpers' cousin
, the late Charles H. Gray.
In 1981, White tried to return Blaylock to the federal marshal's position that Blaylock had held from 1975-1978. Blaylock was recommended for the position once again by the GOP patronage committee. However, U.S. Representative Ed Bethune, Blaylock's ticket-mate in 1972, objected to the replacement of Charles Gray on the grounds that Gray was "one of the top marshals in the country." GOP Chairman Harlan Holleman
said that the reappointment of Gray "doesn't help us to build a party . . . My business is building the party, and building strength and patronage is one of the ways to do it."
After his time as marshal, Blaylock served from 1979-1990 on the Perryville School Board, including a stint as chairman.
Blaylock's recommendation of Orval Faubus to head veterans' affairs was opposed by such Republicans as former national committeewoman Leona Troxell
, but favored by others, such as U.S. Representative John Paul Hammerschmidt
of Harrison
and former State Representative Danny L. Patrick of Huntsville
. In retrospect, Blaylock told an interviewer that White's later hesitancy iregarding the appointment hurt him with long-time Faubus supporters. Blaylock said that the Faubus selection was appropriate because Faubus was exceptionally qualified to hold the position.
Blaylock said that White made several errors in his unsuccessful reelection bid in 1982 against Bill Clinton
. First, the appointment of a Little Rock physician to the Arkansas Racing Commission was unpopular because the nominee was perceived as "too close" to the racing industry. Secondly, White failed to explain how he had helped truckers with higher weight limits, a particular benefit to the timber
industry but opposed by highway safety advocates.
White had initially asked Blaylock to manage the 1980 campaign, but Blaylock declined on grounds that White needed a professional in the role. Instead, he agreed to become a campaign coordinator. The manager selected, Paula Unruh of Tulsa
, was not retained in 1982, and her expertise was sorely missed, Blaylock said.
of Tennessee
, who fared poorly in the struggle against Ronald W. Reagan but ran better in Arkansas than in most other states. At one point, Blaylock arranged to unite the Baker and Reagan forces to stop delegates from going to George Herbert Walker Bush of Texas
. In 2004, Blaylock donated to the Bush
-Cheney reelection campaign and to the Arkansas state GOP organization.
When William T. Kelly of Little Rock resigned as party chairman after a short period of service in 1985, Blaylock as the first vice-chairman filled the remainder of the two-year term. The period was difficult because party coffers were empty, Blaylock recalled. It was during this time that Blaylock invited U.S. Senator Barry M. Goldwater of Arizona
to meet with Arkansas Republicans in Little Rock. And 1986 was the year that one of the promising Republican leaders of the future, Asa Hutchinson
of Fort Smith
, later a member of the United States House of Representatives
, was defeated in a bid for the U.S. Senate by a wide margin by the incumbent Dale Bumpers, who secured the third of his four terms. Twenty years later, Hutchinson was crushed by the Democrat Mike Beebe in the 2006 gubernatorial race.
Blaylock and his wife, previous victims of a house fire
, reside on their now vastly reduced 6 acres (24,281.2 m²) farm at Nimrod near Perryville, a part of the Little Rock Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Blaylocks are Southern Baptist and attend the Nimrod Baptist Church.
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
, educator, small businessman, and Republican
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...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
from tiny Nimrod in Perry County in northwestern Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
. He was state welfare commissioner under Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
Winthrop Rockefeller
Winthrop Rockefeller
Winthrop Rockefeller was a politician and philanthropist who served as the first Republican Governor of Arkansas since Reconstruction. He was a third-generation member of the Rockefeller family.-Early life:...
, the GOP
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...
gubernatorial nominee (1972), the U.S. marshal for the Eastern District of Arkansas (1975–1978), the appointments secretary for Governor Frank D. White
Frank D. White
Frank Durward White was the 41st Governor of the U.S. state of Arkansas since Reconstruction. He served a single two-year term from 1981 to 1983. He is one of only two people to have defeated President Bill Clinton in an election. Frank Durward White (June 4, 1933 – May 21, 2003) was...
(1981–1983), and the chairman of the Arkansas Republican Party (1985–1986).
Early years, military, family life
Blaylock was born in Little Rock to David Penn Blaylock (1876–1927) and the former Minnie Bradford (1886–1937). Blaylock's father and mother died when he was seven and seventeen, respectively. To help support his family, he dropped out of school three times before he could obtain his diploma from North Little RockNorth Little Rock, Arkansas
the city was 62.55% White, 33.98% Black or African American, 0.41% Native American, 0.59% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.18% from other races, and 1.26% from two or more races...
High School
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
. He served three stints in the Civilian Conservation Corps
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
between 1936 and 1939, having been based in Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, Camp Robinson in Arkansas, and Cody
Cody, Wyoming
Cody is a city in Park County, Wyoming, United States. It is named after William Frederick Cody, primarily known as Buffalo Bill, from William Cody's part in the creation of the original town. The population was 9,520 at the 2010 census...
, Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
. His life has been depicted as a Horatio Alger story in sharp contrast to his benefactor, Winthrop Rockefeller, the epitome of family wealth and power.
Blaylock entered the United States Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
, served in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and completed 20-years of service in 1959. During part of the war, he was based in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
with the Eighth Air Force. He was later with the Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
. He was an enlisted man for the first ten years and then an Air Force officer, having reached the rank of major. At various times, he was stationed in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, Spokane, Washington
Spokane, Washington
Spokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...
, Baylor University
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
in Waco
Waco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, and the Little Rock Air Force Base
Little Rock Air Force Base
Little Rock Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately northeast of Little Rock, Arkansas.-Overview:...
. He is a charter member of the Air Force Memorial Foundation
Blaylock, while working with Captain Bruce K. Holloway
Bruce K. Holloway
General Bruce Keener Holloway was an American Air Force general. A West Point graduate, he was a World War II fighter ace and later the commander in chief of the Strategic Air Command .-Early life and career:...
at Duncan Field in San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
, was introduced by Holloway to Melba Wright of San Antonio. In 1941, the couple married; they have four sons and a daughter: David Blaylock (born 1942) of Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, Len Blaylock, Jr. (born 1944), of Maumelle
Maumelle, Arkansas
Maumelle is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States and a suburb of Little Rock. Founded by Jess Odom with federal assistance from the Urban Growth and New Community Development Act, it is a master-planned community....
in Perry County, Melvin Blaylock (born 1949) of Russellville
Russellville, Arkansas
Russellville is the county seat and largest city in Pope County, Arkansas, United States, with a population of 27,920, according to the 2010 Census. It is home to Arkansas Tech University and Arkansas Nuclear One, Arkansas' only nuclear power plant...
, the seat of Pope County, Betty Louise Freeze (husband Mike) of Keo
Keo, Arkansas
Keo is a town in Lonoke County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 235 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area....
in Lonoke County, and Dale Blaylock (born 1960) of Greenbrier
Greenbrier, Arkansas
Greenbrier is a city in Faulkner County, Arkansas, United States. It is part of the Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,706 in the 2010 U.S. Census.- History :...
in Faulkner County.
Len, Jr., is the state executive director of the United States Department of Agriculture
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...
Farm Service Agency
Farm Service Agency
The Farm Service Agency is the USDA agency into which were merged several predecessor agencies, including the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service . The ASCS was, as the FSA is now, primarily tasked with the implementation of farm conservation and regulation laws around the country...
. Dale is a member of the security staff of the Arkansas governor's office. Len, III (born 1974), one of ten Blaylock grandchildren, is a United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
officer who has already done one tour of duty in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. There are also three step-grandchildren.
Blaylock began work on a college degree while he was in the military. Some coursework was taken at Baylor, but he finally obtained his bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in 1962 from Arkansas Tech University
Arkansas Tech University
Arkansas Tech University is a comprehensive regional institution located in Russellville, Arkansas, United States. The university offers programs at both baccalaureate and graduate levels in a range of fields. As of 2004, the University also operates a small satellite campus in the town of Ozark...
in Russellville. At times, Blaylock has been a storekeeper, a teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
, a principal, a cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
man, and a government administrator as well as a farmer and a politician.
Working for Winthrop Rockefeller
In 1964, Blaylock ran unsuccessfully for the Arkansas House of RepresentativesArkansas House of Representatives
The Arkansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The House is composed of 100 members elected from an equal amount of constituencies across the state. Each district has an average population of 26,734...
as a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
. He was defeated in the primary
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
-- by the incumbent
Incumbent
The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
Democrat Paul Van Dalsem (1907–1983), an associate of Governor Orval Eugene Faubus
Orval Faubus
Orval Eugene Faubus was the 36th Governor of Arkansas, serving from 1955 to 1967. He is best known for his 1957 stand against the desegregation of Little Rock public schools during the Little Rock Crisis, in which he defied a unanimous decision of the United States Supreme Court by ordering the...
, who won his sixth and final term as governor that year by defeating Rockefeller. Arkansas political reformers in both parties often cited Van Dalsem as an example of objectionable "machine" politics. In time, Blaylock, who had originally been anti-Faubus, became personally close to Faubus, and the two frequently visited. It was Blaylock who recommend that Governor White in 1981 name Faubus to head the scandal-ridden Arkansas Veterans Affairs Department, much to the consternation of many earlier Rockefeller Republicans.
In 1965, Blaylock became one of eight "field representatives" for Rockefeller at a salary of $300 per month. He handled the Arkansas River
Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas...
Valley region. In 1966, Rockefeller became the first Republican to have been elected governor since Reconstruction. He defeated Democrat (later Republican convert) James D. Johnson
James D. Johnson
James Douglas Johnson, known as Justice Jim Johnson , was a former associate justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court, a two-time candidate for governor of Arkansas in 1956 and 1966, and in 1968 an unsuccessful candidate for the U.S...
of Conway
Conway, Arkansas
Conway is the county seat of Faulkner County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 58,908 at the 2010 census, making Conway the seventh most populous city in Arkansas. It is a principal city of the Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area which had...
, the seat of Faulkner County near Little Rock.
Blaylock later became friends with Jim Johnson and Johnson's wife, Virginia Morris Johnson
Virginia Johnson (Arkansas)
Virginia Lillian Morris Johnson , was, in 1968, the first woman to seek the office of governor of Arkansas.-Early years:...
, though, as with Faubus, they were partisan rivals at the time. Rockefeller invited Blaylock into the new administration to reorganize and head the welfare department. At first the welfare board tried to block Blaylock from making appointments, but Attorney General
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
Joe Purcell
Joe Purcell
Joseph Gregory Purcell -References:...
, a Democrat, issued a ruling that empowered Blaylock, as the department head, to make the personnel selections.
After Rockefeller's defeat for a third term in 1970, Blaylock was replaced as welfare administrator by the newly-elected Governor Dale Bumpers
Dale Bumpers
Dale Leon Bumpers is an American politician who served as the 38th Governor of Arkansas from 1971 to 1975; and then in the United States Senate from 1975 until his retirement in January 1999. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Senator Bumpers is currently counsel at the Washington, D.C...
. Technically, Republicans claimed that Blaylock resigned because of harassment from within the Bumpers administration. Blaylock then challenged Bumpers for reelection to a second two-year term in 1972, a most formidable undertaking. He had planned to accept a well-compensated position with the former United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, but Rockefeller encouraged Blaylock to run for governor.
Gubernatorial campaign of 1972
Blaylock dubbed Bumpers "indecisive" and objected to (1) a tax increase which the governor had steered through the legislature in 1971 and (2) higher state expenditures. Though he had a reputation as an "exceptionally competent administrator" and a man of great loyalty to his supervisors, Blaylock was seen as a "poor campaigner".Arkansas political scientist
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
James "Jim" Ranchino (1936–1978) declared that Blaylock was "not a legitimate candidate" in view of Bumpers' name recognition and general popularity. Blaylock alleged that Bumpers esoused "widely varying philosophies, depending on the audience or the occasion." Bumpers ignored Blaylock though at one point he told the media that because he was himself running for reelection as governor, he could not take an active part in U.S. Senator George McGovern
George McGovern
George Stanley McGovern is an historian, author, and former U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the Democratic Party nominee in the 1972 presidential election....
's presidential campaign. Bumpers also benefited from the tradition at the time that Arkansas governors usually were given at least a second two-year term to fulfil their promise. An exception to that tradition was former Governor Francis Cherry
Francis Cherry
Francis Adams Cherry was the 35th Governor of Arkansas, elected as a Democrat for a single two-year term from 1953 to 1955. He was only the second governor in Arkansas history to have been denied a second term—the first was Tom Jefferson Terral, who was defeated in 1926. After the...
, who was unseated by Faubus in the 1954 Democratic primary.
The GOP
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...
stressed that Blaylock's career had been a success story despite his having dropped out of high school three times before graduating in order to support his family. Afterwards, he enlisted in the Army, made a military career, and began dabbling in Republican politics.
The election results were no surprise: Bumpers defeated Blaylock by a 4–1 margin, the worst GOP showing in a decade in Arkansas. Bumpers won all seventy-five counties, 488,892 (75.4 percent) to Blaylock's 159,177 (24.6 percent). Blaylock fared no better than 42.5 percent in predominantly African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
Lee County in the eastern part of the state, an area that had remained loyal to Blaylock's mentor, Rockefeller. Even in usually Republican Searcy County, Blaylock received only 40.9 percent of the vote. Bumpers outpolled U.S. President Richard M. Nixon in Arkansas by some 43,000 votes, and Blaylock trailed McGovern by nearly 38,000 ballots.
Blaylock's ticket mates were all defeated too: the veterinarian
Veterinarian
A veterinary physician, colloquially called a vet, shortened from veterinarian or veterinary surgeon , is a professional who treats disease, disorder and injury in animals....
Wayne H. Babbitt
Wayne H. Babbitt
Wayne H. Babbitt was a Republican politician in the U.S. state of Arkansas, who in 1972 became the only member of his party ever to oppose the reelection of entrenched Democratic U.S. Senator John L. McClellan.-Family:...
for the U.S. Senate, Ken Coon
Ken Coon
Kenneth Lloyd "Ken" Coon, Sr. , is a Little Rock educator, professional psychologist, and counselor who was also a pioneer in the development of the Republican Party in the U.S. state of Arkansas. He was the GOP state chairman from 1988—1990...
for lieutenant governor
Lieutenant governor
A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...
, future U.S. Representative Edwin R. Bethune for attorney general
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
, and Jerry Climer
Jerry Climer
Jerome Francis Climer, known as Jerry Climer , is the founder of two Washington, D.C.-based "think tanks", the Congressional Institute and the Public Governance Institute, which were established in 1987 and 2001, respectively...
for secretary of state. Coon was Blaylock's successor as the gubernatorial nominee in 1974f, but he first had to dispose of the controversial Cave City
Cave City, Arkansas
Cave City is a city in Independence and Sharp counties in the U.S. state of Arkansas. The population was 1,946 at the 2000 census. The city was named for a large cave underneath the Crystal River Tourist Camp, which is the oldest motor court in Arkansas...
newspaper editor Joseph H. Weston
Joseph H. Weston
Joseph H. Weston was a controversial newspaper editor in Cave City in Sharp County in northern Arkansas, whose work led to a change in his state's libel law....
, whose work with the former Sharp Citizen led to a change in Arkansas libel law.
U.S. Marshal Blaylock
In 1975, U.S. President Gerald R. Ford, Jr.Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
, named Blaylock the U.S. marshal in Little Rock
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
. He succeeded Lynn A. Davis
Lynn A. Davis
Lynn Arthur Davis is a retired attorney in Little Rock, Arkansas, who lectures and writes nonfiction crime thrillers based on his past law enforcement experiences. He is a former agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, short-term director of the Arkansas State Police, and U.S. marshal for...
, formerly Rockefeller's choice to head the state police. Davis' reappointment was opposed by outgoing Democratic U.S. Senator John McClellan
John Little McClellan
John Little McClellan was a Democratic Party politician from Arkansas. He represented Arkansas in the United States Senate from 1943 until 1977. He also earlier represented Arkansas in the United States House of Representatives.-Early life:McClellan was born in Sheridan, Grant County, Arkansas...
. Blaylock held the position until 1978, when President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
replaced him with Bumpers' cousin
Cousin
In kinship terminology, a cousin is a relative with whom one shares one or more common ancestors. The term is rarely used when referring to a relative in one's immediate family where there is a more specific term . The term "blood relative" can be used synonymously and establishes the existence of...
, the late Charles H. Gray.
In 1981, White tried to return Blaylock to the federal marshal's position that Blaylock had held from 1975-1978. Blaylock was recommended for the position once again by the GOP patronage committee. However, U.S. Representative Ed Bethune, Blaylock's ticket-mate in 1972, objected to the replacement of Charles Gray on the grounds that Gray was "one of the top marshals in the country." GOP Chairman Harlan Holleman
Harlan Holleman
Harlan Harmon "Bo" Holleman was a farmer and seed merchant from Wynne, the seat of Cross County in eastern Arkansas, and a pioneer in the development of the modern Republican Party in his home state. He was the Arkansas state GOP chairman from December 6, 1980, until his death some sixteen months...
said that the reappointment of Gray "doesn't help us to build a party . . . My business is building the party, and building strength and patronage is one of the ways to do it."
After his time as marshal, Blaylock served from 1979-1990 on the Perryville School Board, including a stint as chairman.
Governor White's appointments secretary
In 1981, Republican Governor Frank White called Blaylock back to state government to be his appointments secretary. Despite the term "appointments secretary", Blaylock was not responsible for scheduling the times for those desiring to meet with the governor, but instead he screened appointments to state office.Blaylock's recommendation of Orval Faubus to head veterans' affairs was opposed by such Republicans as former national committeewoman Leona Troxell
Leona Troxell
Leona Anderson Troxell Dodd, known politically as Leona Troxell , was a native New Yorker who was a pioneer in the development of the Republican Party in her adopted state of Arkansas...
, but favored by others, such as U.S. Representative John Paul Hammerschmidt
John Paul Hammerschmidt
John Paul Hammerschmidt is an American politician from the U.S. state of Arkansas. A Republican, Hammerschmidt served for thirteen terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from the northwestern Arkansas district before he retired in 1993...
of Harrison
Harrison, Arkansas
Harrison is a city in Boone County, Arkansas, United States. It is the county seat. According to 2007 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city was 13,108. Boone County was organized in 1869, during reconstruction after the civil war. Harrison was platted and made the county seat. It is...
and former State Representative Danny L. Patrick of Huntsville
Huntsville, Arkansas
Huntsville is a city in mountainous Madison County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 2,046 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Madison County. During the American Civil War it was the site of what became known as the Huntsville Massacre...
. In retrospect, Blaylock told an interviewer that White's later hesitancy iregarding the appointment hurt him with long-time Faubus supporters. Blaylock said that the Faubus selection was appropriate because Faubus was exceptionally qualified to hold the position.
Blaylock said that White made several errors in his unsuccessful reelection bid in 1982 against Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
. First, the appointment of a Little Rock physician to the Arkansas Racing Commission was unpopular because the nominee was perceived as "too close" to the racing industry. Secondly, White failed to explain how he had helped truckers with higher weight limits, a particular benefit to the timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
industry but opposed by highway safety advocates.
White had initially asked Blaylock to manage the 1980 campaign, but Blaylock declined on grounds that White needed a professional in the role. Instead, he agreed to become a campaign coordinator. The manager selected, Paula Unruh of Tulsa
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
, was not retained in 1982, and her expertise was sorely missed, Blaylock said.
Other political activities
In 1980, Blaylock had supported the presidential campaign of U.S. Senator Howard BakerHoward Baker
Howard Henry Baker, Jr. is a former Senate Majority Leader, Republican U.S. Senator from Tennessee, White House Chief of Staff, and a former United States Ambassador to Japan.Known in Washington, D.C...
of Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, who fared poorly in the struggle against Ronald W. Reagan but ran better in Arkansas than in most other states. At one point, Blaylock arranged to unite the Baker and Reagan forces to stop delegates from going to George Herbert Walker Bush of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. In 2004, Blaylock donated to the Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
-Cheney reelection campaign and to the Arkansas state GOP organization.
When William T. Kelly of Little Rock resigned as party chairman after a short period of service in 1985, Blaylock as the first vice-chairman filled the remainder of the two-year term. The period was difficult because party coffers were empty, Blaylock recalled. It was during this time that Blaylock invited U.S. Senator Barry M. Goldwater of Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
to meet with Arkansas Republicans in Little Rock. And 1986 was the year that one of the promising Republican leaders of the future, Asa Hutchinson
Asa Hutchinson
William Asa Hutchinson is a former U.S. Attorney for the Fort Smith-based Western District of Arkansas, U.S. Congressman from the Third District of Arkansas, Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the first-ever Under Secretary for Border & Transportation Security at the U.S...
of Fort Smith
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith is the second-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. With a population of 86,209 in 2010, it is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents which encompasses the Arkansas...
, later a member of the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, was defeated in a bid for the U.S. Senate by a wide margin by the incumbent Dale Bumpers, who secured the third of his four terms. Twenty years later, Hutchinson was crushed by the Democrat Mike Beebe in the 2006 gubernatorial race.
Blaylock and his wife, previous victims of a house fire
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
, reside on their now vastly reduced 6 acres (24,281.2 m²) farm at Nimrod near Perryville, a part of the Little Rock Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Blaylocks are Southern Baptist and attend the Nimrod Baptist Church.