THE DEMOCRATIC and REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS ASSOCIATIONS and the NATIONALIZATION of AMERICAN PARTY POLITICS Anthony Sparacino Doctor
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
THE DEMOCRATIC AND REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS ASSOCIATIONS AND THE NATIONALIZATION OF AMERICAN PARTY POLITICS Anthony Sparacino Doctoral Candidate The Woodrow Wilson Department of Politics University of Virginia [email protected] TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements 3 List of Tables and Figures 4 Introduction: Governors in a Nationalized Party System 5 Chapter 1: A Theory of National Gubernatorial Party Organizations 25 Chapter 2: Governors and National Politics Before the National Gubernatorial Party Organizations 54 Chapter 3: Beyond a Decentralized Party System: Origins of the Republican Governors Association, 1960-1968 91 Chapter 4: The Republican Governors Association in a Nationalizing Party System, 1969-1980 134 Chapter 5: Republican Governors as National Programmatic Partisans, 1981-2000 179 Chapter 6: The Seeds and Stunted Development of the Democratic Governors Conference, 1961- 1980 226 Chapter 7: The Democrats Catch Up: The DGA and the Integration of the Democratic Party, 1981-2000 279 Conclusion: Partisan Governors Associations in a Polarized Era, 2000-Present 325 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project would not have been possible save for a tremendous amount of support, encouragement, and feedback. First, I wish to thank my family. Dad’s interest in politics inspired my own from an early age. Mom always was willing to listen and offer support and encouragement. Both of them provided reassurance in my decision to attend graduate school and were there for me every step of the way. Second, I wish to thank my outstanding dissertation committee. Sidney Milkis, James Ceaser and James Savage have been outstanding, compassionate, and able advisors and have offered more support and inspiration, through their scholarship and personal interactions with me, than I could have ever expected or hoped for. Ray Scheppach has been a tremendous outside reader whose knowledge of the NGA and the role governors play in state and national politics is unparalleled. His connections also added a significant wrinkle to the research presented here. It has been an honor and a pleasure to work with all of them and to get to know them personally. Third, I wish to thank a number of colleagues that have been instrumental in helping me to think through this project as it has developed over the last few years. In particular, I wish to thank Nicholas Jacobs who has read through significant chunks of this manuscript, offered insightful, penetrating, and indispensable commentary, and has, through his own scholarship, inspired some of my thinking on the subject matter covered herein. Nick’s friendship has been invaluable and I could not ask for a better colleague. Boris Heersink has also been an incredible mentor since I first started in graduate school and has offered insightful and deep commentary on chapter drafts, including as a discussant at the 2018 Midwestern Political Science Association meeting. Kal Munis and Richard Burke have also been supportive and insightful during American Politics Writing Group meetings and elsewhere. Likewise, Carolyn Coberly, Aycan Katitas and Alexis Yang have been incredibly supportive through our “accountability” group meetings and have also been great friends. Fourth, I wish to thank the Institute for Humane Studies, the Mercatus Center, the Bradley Foundation, the Charles Koch Foundation, the West Virginia University Library, and the University of Virginia Arts Humanities and Social Sciences Grant Program for funding that made this dissertation possible. Fifth, I wish to thank the archivists who made my research across the country as streamlined as satisfying as possible. Finally, I wish to thank Barry Van Lare, Governor Charles Robb, Chuck Dolan, Mark Gearan, Katie Whelan, Nathan Daschle, Chris Henick, and Paul Butler for taking the time to speak with me and share their perspectives on the DGA and the RGA. I dedicate this work to all of these individuals and offer my sincerest thanks to each and every one of them. 3 LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES TABLES 1.1 Motivations for, Causes of, and Potential Effects of Partisan Governors’ Associations 29 1.2 RGA and DGA Chairmen and Later National Political Careers 48 2.1 Governors and Reform: Developments Leading to the Creation of Partisan Governors Associations 55 3.1 GOP Conditions and Effects Present, 1960-1968 93 4.1 GOP Conditions and Effects Present, GOP The Nixon Years 138 4.2 GOP Conditions and Effects Present, GOP The Ford Years 159 4.3 GOP Conditions and Effects Present, GOP The Carter Years 168 5.1 GOP Conditions and Effects Present, 1981-1988 181 5.2 GOP Conditions and Effects Present, 1989-1992 198 5.3 GOP Conditions and Effects Present, 1993-2000 210 6.1 Democrats Conditions and Effects Present, 1960-1968 241 6.2 Democrats Conditions and Effects Present, 1969-1976 258 6.3 Democrats Conditions and Effects Present, 1977-1980 272 7.1 Democrats Conditions and Effects Present, 1981-1988 282 7.2 Democrats Conditions and Effects Present, 1989-1992 305 7.3 Democrats Conditions and Effects Present, 1993-2000 311 8.1: DGA and RGA Fundraising and Expenditures, 2004-2016 343 FIGURES 2.1 Republican Governors at RNC, 1900-1976 83 2.2 Democratic Governors at DNC, 1900-1976 84 3.1 Governors in the States by Party (1960) 100 3.2 Governors in the States by Party (1964) 108 3.3 Governors in the States by Party (1968) 131 4.1 Governors in the States by Party (1972) 156 4.2 Governors in the States by Party (1976) 160 4.3 Governors in the States by Party (1980) 172 5.1 Governors in the States by Party (1984) 195 5.2 Governors in the States by Party (1988) 199 5.3 Governors in the States by Party (1992) 210 5.4 Governors in the States by Party (1996) 214 5.5 Governors in the States by Party (2000) 223 4 INTRODUCTION: GOVERNORS IN A NATIONALIZED PARTY SYSTEM In late November, 2018, Republican governors held their annual conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, the first major gathering of leading figures of the Republican party since the midterm elections. President Trump had hailed the midterm results as a vote of confidence in his administration. The Republican governors assembled were, contrarily, generally not enthralled with their party’s performance or its electoral prospects leading into 2020. While the GOP expanded their majority in the Senate, the party lost control of the House of Representatives and had a net loss of six governorships. The Republican Governors Association’s (RGA) retreat was quite busy. The governors elected a new chairman, Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts. Texas Governor Greg Abbott, fresh off his own reelection, was elected the organization’s vice-chairman. A team of governors and members of their staffs engaged in a series of interviews to hire a new Executive Director for the organization to replace the outgoing Paul Bennecke. Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb was chosen to lead the group’s Policy Committee.1 The RGA also announced it was to begin a “post-2018 autopsy” including an examination of voter files from their respective states to ascertain how the party, and gubernatorial candidates in particular, could perform better in 2019 and 2020.2 The conference also featured a number of governors speaking before a slew of RGA donors who were invited to the meeting. Doug Ducey of Arizona, for instance, noted that “It was the RGA that was the firewall for me that allowed me to make the case on what we had accomplished, what we were going to accomplish into the future and create that separation to 1 Carden, Da, 30 November 2018. “Holcomb to lead policy planning for Republican Governors Association.” NWITimes. <https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/holcomb-to-lead-policy- planning-for-republican-governors-association/article_78f9e044-7a7c-5d16-b584-b1868707d8be.html.> 2 Isenstadt, Alex. 30 November 2018. “GOP governors call out Trump after midterm drubbing.” Politico. <https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/30/trump-midterms-republican-party-governors-rga-1034609>. 5 keep Arizona red.”3 The RGA spent approximately $8 million in Arizona on behalf of Ducey, mostly on attack ads against Democratic nominee David Garcia. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan spoke before the group concerning his campaign and how he felt he was able to outperform a number of his colleagues among women, particularly suburban women, who many within the party feared were being isolated by President Trump’s rhetoric and policies.4 A great deal of attention by the media and many of the governors was given to the effect that President Trump was having down-ballot, particularly on the elections of Republican gubernatorial candidates. This was especially true in states in the Southwest, where Hispanics have been making up an increasing share of the electorate, and in the Northeast where Republicans have, especially over the past few decades, found it increasingly difficult to win elections. Utah Governor Gary Herbert, for instance, expressed frustration at Trump’s “incendiary tone.”5 Drawing a sharp distinction with the president, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker said he “relished being ‘called the most boring governor in the history of Massachusetts.’”6 Ricketts, however, as incoming chairman, was less antagonistic toward the President, noting that the incumbent’s party typically loses seats in midterm elections. A few thousand miles away in New Orleans, Louisiana, the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) held its own conference. The Democratic meeting was similar to that of the Republicans in a number of ways. At that meeting, they elected Rhode Island Governor Gina 3 Fischer, Howard. 28 November 2018. “Gov. Ducey credits help from GOP governors association for election win.” <https://tucson.com/news/local/gov-ducey-credits-help-from-gop-governors-association-for- election/article_8bd252f5-5c0b-5e89-891b-dcec6466118b.html>. 4 Hohmann, James. 29 November 2018. “The Daily 202: ‘We won women.’ GOP governors who survived the blue wave in blue states share advice.” The Washington Post.