Richard Nixon: Difference between revisions

In 1949, Nixon began to consider running for the [[United States Senate]] against the Democratic incumbent, [[Sheridan Downey]],{{sfn|Gellman|p=282}} and entered the race in November.{{sfn|Morris|p=535}} Downey, faced with a bitter primary battle with Representative [[Helen Gahagan Douglas]], announced his retirement in March 1950.{{sfn|Gellman|pp=296–297}} Nixon and Douglas won the primary elections{{sfn|Gellman|p=304}} and engaged in a contentious campaign in which the ongoing Korean War was a major issue.{{sfn|Gellman|p=310}} Nixon tried to focus attention on Douglas's liberal voting record. As part of that effort, a "[[United States Senate election in California, 1950#Debut of the Pink Sheet|Pink Sheet]]" was distributed by the Nixon campaign suggesting that Douglas's voting record was similar to that of New York Congressman [[Vito Marcantonio]], reputed to be a communist, and their political views must be nearly identical.{{sfn|Morris|p=581}} Nixon won the election by almost twenty percentage points.{{sfn|Gellman|p=335}} During the campaign, Nixon was first called "Tricky Dick" by his opponents for his campaign tactics.{{sfn|Gellman|p=303}}

In the Senate, Nixon took a prominent position in opposing global [[communism]], traveling frequently and speaking out against it.{{sfn|Nixon Library, Senator}} He maintained friendly relations with [[Joseph McCarthy]], his fellow [[Anti-communism|anti-communist]], controversial U.S. Senate colleague from [[Wisconsin]], but was careful to keep some distance between himself and McCarthy's allegations.{{sfn|Ambrose|1987|pp=211, 311–312}} Nixon criticized President [[Harry S. Truman]]'s handling of the Korean War.{{sfn|Nixon Library, Senator}} He supported statehood for [[Alaska]] and [[Hawaii]], voted in favor of civil rights for minorities, and supported federal disaster relief for [[India]] and [[Yugoslavia]].{{sfn|Black|p=178}} He voted against price controls and other monetary restrictions, benefits for illegal immigrants, and public power.{{sfn|Black|p=178}}