Big Brother Was Botching

Even his kid brother was mad at Interior Secretary Stew Udall last week (see above). Running against Republican Mac C. Matheson, 43, for Stew's old Second District congressional seat, Democratic Lawyer Morris K. ("Mo") Udall, 38, found that his big brother was costing him votes. As last week's election approached, Republicans and Democrats alike were grumbling about Stew Udall's apparent attempt to shift part of the blame for Cuba to the Eisenhower Administration; more fuss was raised by his decision at Interior to dispossess farmers who had been squatting for years along the Colorado River in Yuma County.

Though he was favored to win (TIME, April 28), Moderate Mo Udall found himself in trouble on election night when the returns gave Yuma County to Arch-conservative Matheson. Only by scoring heavily in Tucson's Pima County did Mo Udall go on to win by the squeaky margin of 51,318 to 49,263, which was close enough to encourage Republicans for the future. At his victory press conference, Udall made no secret of his belief that his brother had hurt him: "I had counted on winning Yuma County. I lost it." In defeat, Mac Matheson got off the best shot of the campaign. "Congratulations, Mo," he wired the new Congressman. "You came through in spite of Stew."

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