Michigan Five Fluke Freshmen
Encyclopedia
The Michigan Five Fluke Freshmen is term given to five members (Raymond Clevenger
, Billie Farnum, John Mackie
, Paul Todd, and Wes Vivian) of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan
that were elected in the Democratic
landslide of 1964 and subsequently defeated just two years later by a Republican
resurgence. All of the five were one-term congressmen. It was the last time that a state would have five freshmen members of Congress defeated for reelection.
taking over 67% of the vote in Michigan, the Democrats were able to win five districts and change the delegation from 12 to 7 Republican to 12 to 7 Democratic. 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.
, rising crime, radical campus protests, and racial riots coupled with the coattail effect of popular Governor George W. Romney
at the top of the state ticket all led to a downturn for the Democratic Party. 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.
Raymond F. Clevenger
Raymond Francis Clevenger was a U.S. Representative from the U.S. state of Michigan.Clevenger was born in Chicago and attended schools in Oak Park, Illinois, graduating from high school in 1944. He served in the United States Army Medical Corps from July 1944 to July 1946...
, Billie Farnum, John Mackie
John C. Mackie
John C. Mackie was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.Mackie was born in Toronto and immigrated to the United States from Canada in 1924 with his parents, who settled in Detroit, Michigan. He graduated from Southeastern High School in Detroit in 1938 and attended Lawrence Institute of...
, Paul Todd, and Wes Vivian) of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
that were elected in the Democratic
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...
landslide of 1964 and subsequently defeated just two years later by a 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...
resurgence. All of the five were one-term congressmen. It was the last time that a state would have five freshmen members of Congress defeated for reelection.
1964 LBJ landslide
With President Lyndon B. JohnsonLyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
taking over 67% of the vote in Michigan, the Democrats were able to win five districts and change the delegation from 12 to 7 Republican to 12 to 7 Democratic. 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
Flint, Michigan
Flint is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the 2010 population to be placed at 102,434, making Flint the seventh largest city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Genesee County which lies in the...
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.
1966 The Republican Resurgence
The unpopularity of President Johnson's Great SocietyGreat Society
The Great Society was a set of domestic programs in the United States promoted by President Lyndon B. Johnson and fellow Democrats in Congress in the 1960s. Two main goals of the Great Society social reforms were the elimination of poverty and racial injustice...
, rising crime, radical campus protests, and racial riots coupled with the coattail effect of popular Governor George W. Romney
George W. Romney
George Wilcken Romney was an American businessman and Republican Party politician. He was chairman and CEO of American Motors Corporation from 1954 to 1962, the 43rd Governor of Michigan from 1963 to 1969, and the United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 1969 to 1973...
at the top of the state ticket all led to a downturn for the Democratic Party. 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.