Old Frontiersman

The 71 names on the ballot included those of a woman who was under the impression that Harry Truman was still President, a man who wanted to use the Texas shrimp fleet to invade Cuba, and Bing Crosby's father-in-law. Of the six serious candidates, at least two offered as their main credential their wholehearted support of Democrat John F. Kennedy. But when the voting ended last week for the U.S. Senate seat vacated this year by Lyndon Johnson, the result was a repudiation of the New Frontier. The top two, who will soon be matched in a runoff: Conservative Republican John Tower, 35, with 326,400 votes, and Conservative Democrat William Blakley, 62, the interim incumbent, with 191,000 votes.

Much alike in their conservatism, Tower and Blakley differ vastly in almost every other way. A former assistant professor of government at Wichita Falls' Midwestern University, Republican Tower is articulate and youthfully energetic.

Last November he ran for the Senate against Johnson (who was also on the ticket as the Democratic vice-presidential candidate) and got 926,000 votes, far more than any Republican candidate for state office in Texas history. This time he barnstormed in a Beechcraft Bonanza, campaigned with a conservative verve that brought Conservative Leader Barry Goldwater into the state on his behalf.

His showing was remarkable. Example: he easily won Harris County (Houston), a labor stronghold.

Democrat Blakley has served in the Senate since January, when he was appointed to fill Johnson's seat. A craggy-faced Dallas businessman, he is a major stockholder in Braniff Airways, owns huge hunks of real estate, three insurance companies, a cattle-and-oil ranch, a bank and a shopping center; his net worth runs about $200 million. In the Senate, Blakley bucked the Administration by voting against Kennedy's depressed-areas bill and emergency feed-grains program.

Despite his impressive plurality, John Tower faces trouble aplenty in the runoff. Last week he had the benefit of being the only authentic Republican among the serious candidates; Blakley suffered from the split Democratic vote. Next month the chances are strong that enough Democrats will combine behind Blakley to send him back to Washington. But in any event, Texans can be certain that their next Senator will be an Old Frontiersman through and through.

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