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From Colson to Magruder and Harry Fleming RE: inside information on Illinois politics. 4 pgs. [Subject: Campaign] [Memo], 12/9/1971
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From Colson to Magruder and Harry Fleming RE: inside information on Illinois politics. 4 pgs. [Subject: Campaign] [Memo], 12/9/1971
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Richard Nixon Presidential Library
Contested Materials Collection
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46
20
12/9/1971
Campaign
Memo
From Colson to Magruder and Harry
Fleming RE: inside information on Illinois
politics. 4 pgs.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Page 1 of 1
[Item N-1] 1]
FU
has
December 9, 1971
MEMORANDUM FOR:
JEB MAGRUDER
HARRY FLEMMING
FROM:
CHARLES COLSON
SUBJECT:
Illinois Political Situation
I have just had an interesting report from a Democrat in Illinois
who I regard very highly. He tells me the following with respect
to the Illinois state ticket. He prefaced his remarks by saying
that he has known all candidates except one, the new position of
Comptroller, for 15 to 20 years so has had relatively good exposure
to the situation.
Doesn't think Roman Pucinski who
the Democratic ticket
can beat Percy, but that he will probably give him a better race
than anybody else. They are each going to be eating into the other
and they're going to cause a lot of crossing back and forth. Obviously
Percy is going to be able to eat in to certain liberal elements over on
the Democratic side; on the other hand, Pucinski, both in his voting
record and in a lot of things he's done back here, is going to get over
and eat into the Republican side, on the conservative, because that's
about where he's been. Pucinski's been kind of somewhat of a Percy
to the Democratic side of the fence, but he's doing a very low key
job as far as remarks go SO far as television, playing it very smart.
First keep in mind that he's a former newspaper man, having worked at
one time with the Chicago Sun Times, so he's probably going to get
all the newspapers, even possibly the Tribune, because he's been in
very good shape with them. But secondly, he knows how to handle the
press and he's been getting good press lately and coming on television
with a very subdued, underdog approach which is coming over very well
out here.
Paul Simon, who's the Lt. Gov, is the guy that will probably beat Ogilvie
badly. The Sun Times poll in Chicago, taken about a month ago, shows
Ogilvie way under him everywhere, including the 30 townships which are
so important in Cook County. He is a very strong candidate.
2.
Noil Hardlan, who'n the candidate for It. Gov. is a very youthful
guy. He unud to be ^^ to Daly, he in now the ward committeeman
in the 49th Ward on the Northaide of Chicago. Ile's a very affable
guy, young, he handlon himself well. He's on the ticket because
obviously Simon in not really a Daly man and Daly has put Hardigan
in Paul's back pocket to watch the store down in Springfield and,
keep him advised of the premises. Hardigan is a good candidate.
The Attorney General slot went to a guy by the name of Tommy Lyons.
Lyons is a State Senator. He was first elected in about '64 out in
the Northwest side, was defeated the next time out, came back again
and was reelected. He's done a good job in the Senate, is the son of
a former well-known police captain in Chicago and is an affable guy
and a reasonably good lawyer. It is doubted very much that he can
beat Bill Scott. Assuming that Scott is told to run for Attorney General,
and doesn't go up and run for Congress in the new 10th District.
But, Scott is strong, he's got the ecology issue, he's used it well,
hasn't made any mistakes and Scott's strong point is that he knows he's
not a good lawyer and he's hired in good talent. As it stands now, Scott
would certainly beat him.
At the Secretary of State level is Mike Howlett. Howlett is in his 50s
he's been 3 terms auditor of Illinois on the Democratic side, he is
probably one of the best known politicians this state has ever had. The
day he was first elected in 1960, the next day he started out downstate
making speeches and he's never stopped. He wanted to be Governor,
he knew he wasn't going to get it and he's a very, very strong candidate.
It is doubted whether any Republican could beat him for Secretary of
State. Now they are talking about putting Kohorski up which is probably
a bad mistake, but that's the way Ogilvie's going; Howlett ought to take
him easy. Allen Dixon and Kohorski ran against each other for Illinois
State Treasurer and Dixon beat him, but by a small margin. Howlett
is very well known in Cook County because he's originally from Chicago,
but after a term and a half or two terms he moved to Springfield, so he's
got both the upstate and downstate side covered very well and Howlett
has probably talked in every Veterans of Foreign Wars, gymnasium and
YMCA in the state of Illinois. Very strong candidate.
The guy for the new Comptroller position was put on for Illinois strictly
to give some downstate balance because they are heavy top-side in Cook.
County. It is a very heavy Catholic ticket and the balance probably won't
really mean much one way or the other.
3.
J would may that Percy and Scott would survive. I would think the rest
of the ticket would 80 down the drain. But, I think Tom Houser who is
Nixon's campaign manager, is a very bad mistake. IIc's a nice guy but
definitely not heavy enough to pull all of the strings together. Others
were pushing John Aldorfer who is assistant to Secretary Stans, for the
Secretary of State spot. Ogilvic wouldn't go for him. Aldorfer would
definitely have helped Nixon, helped the ticket. Aldorfer withdrew
and they then turned around and immediately named him downstate
chairman for Nixon which was a mistake because Bob Blair, who was
the Speaker of the House of Representatives out there and Henry Hyde
who is the majority leader in the House, would have taken a co-chair-
manship with Houser and would have run the downstate campaign.
Bob Blair would have because he's from downstate, Henry Hyde is
from Chicago and we would then have them lead in to all of the House
and Senate districts which would have been the way to go. Blair now
feels he wants to sit on his hands out here and I don't blame him.
All of the candidates on the ticket are well liked. There's going to be
a good deal of harmony in there. No pluses at all. Hopefully the
economy will be in such a condition that Nixon in no way has to tie
himself to Ogilvie. It will be a disaster if he does. Hopefully also,
Percy will need him and he won't need Percy. If that happens it
or
will be a utopia for everybody and, of course, it indicates what his
strength will be in other states. The ticket is a strong one. There
hasn't been a stronger one put together in a long time.
We must remember, on ticket splitting, that Paul Simon is a Democratics
Lt. Gov. He's the only one who survived in the Ogilvie race and
strangely enough he's the first time they have ever had a Republican
Governor and a Democratic Lt. Gov, so obviously he had one helluva
lot of cross-over votes to him. I think there will be a lot of people
that will vote for Nixon who will then cross over and vote for Simon
and I don't know whether if they vote for Simon they will cross over
and vote for Nixon. It used to be a state where they didn't split; it
splits very heavy now; the machine S are prone for that, they're con-
structed for that and this time there is going to be a helluva lot of
ticket splitting.
For instance, that's why people who vote for Paul Simon for Governor
will cross over and vote for Bill Scott for Attorney General. They will
then cross over and vote for Mike Howlett for Secretary of State over a
guy like Kohorski and anybody else that the Republicans would pick up.
4.
One of the big things the President's got going for him is that Daly
liken him and Daly doesn't take any pop shots at him. He likes
him and that's a plus.
Pucinski on the other hand will be interesting. Apparently he swears
up and down that he doesn't want to lose his seniority from his district
and probably what they've told him is that they will put somebody in
to hold it and he can get the district back if he loses, but then he's
lost his seniority. But it will depend on who the Democratic Presidential
candidate is as to how he picks what tact be will use and it may very
well be a plus for Nixon because Pucinski is very, has been very,
conservative out in the district.