Eugene McCarthy, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

    

Eugene McCarthy

American politician

Date of Birth: 29-Mar-1916

Place of Birth: Watkins, Minnesota, United States

Date of Death: 10-Dec-2005

Profession: teacher, politician, Military Intelligence Division

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Aries


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About Eugene McCarthy

  • Eugene Joseph McCarthy (March 29, 1916 – December 10, 2005) was an American politician and poet from Minnesota.
  • He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1949 to 1959 and the United States Senate from 1959 to 1971.
  • McCarthy sought the Democratic nomination in the 1968 presidential election, challenging incumbent Lyndon B.
  • Johnson on an anti-Vietnam War platform.
  • McCarthy sought the presidency five times, but never won. Born in Watkins, Minnesota, McCarthy became an economics professor after earning a graduate degree from the University of Minnesota.
  • He served as a codebreaker for the United States Department of War during World War II.
  • McCarthy became a member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (the state affiliate of the Democratic Party) and won election to the House of Representatives in 1948.
  • He served until winning election to the Senate in 1958.
  • McCarthy was a prominent supporter of Adlai Stevenson II for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1960 and was himself a candidate for the Democratic vice presidential nomination in 1964.
  • He co-sponsored the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, though he later expressed regret about the impact of the bill and became a member of the Federation for American Immigration Reform. As the 1960s progressed, McCarthy emerged as a prominent opponent of President Johnson's handling of the Vietnam War.
  • After Robert Kennedy declined the request of a group of anti-war Democrats to challenge Johnson in the 1968 Democratic primaries, McCarthy entered the race on an anti-war platform.
  • Though he was initially given little chance of winning, the Tet Offensive galvanized opposition to the war and McCarthy finished in a strong second place in the New Hampshire primary.
  • After that primary election, Kennedy entered the race and Johnson announced that he would not seek re-election.
  • McCarthy and Kennedy each won several primaries before Kennedy was assassinated in June 1968.
  • The 1968 Democratic National Convention chose Vice President Hubert Humphrey, Johnson's preferred candidate, as its presidential nominee. McCarthy did not seek re-election in the 1970 Senate election.
  • He sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1972 but fared poorly in the primaries.
  • He ran in several more races after that, but never won election to another office.
  • He ran as independent in the 1976 presidential election and won 0.9% of the popular vote.
  • He was a plaintiff in the landmark campaign finance case of Buckley v.
  • Valeo and supported Ronald Reagan in the 1980 presidential election.

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