History: William Scranton for President, 1964

William Warren Scranton

Like most politicians, William Warren Scranton (1917-2013) disclaimed interest in politics. "I never intended to make public political life a career," he said, shortly after stepping down as Governor of Pennsylvania. But Scranton was that rare politician whose reluctance was sincere. He considered public service duty rather than ambition, concerned only with helping Pennsylvania and the Republican Party.
Irving Stone wrote that "in politics, as in romance, a soupcon of reluctance aids in the conquest." But if Nelson Rockefeller sought the presidency too eagerly, Scranton wasn't eager enough. For 32 days in 1964, Scranton became the Republican establishment's champion in a battle for the Party's soul. He was remarkably ill-suited for the job.
Bill Scranton's father, Worthington Scranton, was a businessman; his mother, Marion Margery Scranton, a leader of the Pennsylvania Republican Party and descendent of the Mayflower Warrens. The family had blended a profitable ironworks with Republican politics since Abraham Lincoln's day. Scranton, Pennsylvania is named after his family.
Scranton attended Yale, joining an extraordinary class nicknamed "Destiny's Men": Gerald Ford, Supreme Court Justices Potter Stewart and Byron White, Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, Ambassador to France Sargent Shriver. World War II interrupted his education; Scranton became a Lieutenant in the Army Air Corps. He married Mary Chamberlain, a childhood friend and Army intelligence analyst, in July 1942.

Bill and Mary Scranton campaigning

After graduation, Scranton declined offers from Wall Street law firms. "Pennsylvania was home to me and here is where I wanted to spend the rest of my life," he said. Scranton instead apprenticed under his father, who developed the Scranton Plan, where local entrepreneurs turned abandoned factories into new businesses. Through the '50s he chaired the Scranton-Lackawanna Trust and rebuilt local industry.
Scranton entered government under Dwight Eisenhower, who remained a lifelong friend and political mentor. He became a special assistant to Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and handled sensitive diplomatic missions involving the United Nations, NATO and the Soviet Union. Scranton had little thought of politics until Eisenhower urged him into running for Congress.
"Scranton's political life repeatedly demonstrates the importance of good timing," writes George D. Wolf. He won election to Congress in 1960. Compiling a liberal voting record, Scranton was approached by the Pennsylvania GOP to run for Governor in 1962. He challenged Richardson Dilworth, Philadelphia Mayor and the epitome of a machine politician.

Scranton for Governor, 1962

Tall, wiry and handsome, with friendly voice and disarming, close-lipped grin, Scranton was a charismatic campaigner. But he suffered from asthma and easily exhausted himself. Wolf calls him "reserved and somewhat aloof, [avoiding] the chummy, first-name relationship so characteristic of politicians." Nonetheless, when Scranton committed himself, he could be as tough as anyone.
And the 1962 campaign was brutal. Dilworth peppered Scranton with insults, labeling him "Little Lord Fauntleroy" and "an Ivy League Dick Nixon." Scranton responded in kind, attacking Dilworth as "soft on Communism." Scranton bested Dilworth in a televised debate and pulled ahead; Dilworth demanded a rematch, labeling Scranton a coward. Scranton obliged him.
When Scranton learned that Dilworth was being interviewed at a local TV station, he left a Republican dinner and drove to the studio, challenging Dilworth to an impromptu debate. Shocked, Dilworth was reduced to bleating insults, calling Scranton a "phony" and other epithets. Scranton smiled calmly, turned to the audience and announced: "This is a desperate man." Thus did Bill Scranton become Governor.

Celebrity: Scranton on Time, 1962

In his inaugural address, Scranton asked his constituents to "stand tall as Pennsylvanians." Over the next four years, he compiled an impressive record, working with the state legislature to rebuild Pennsylvania's economy. He encouraged business growth and infrastructure, increased funding for education and personally mediated a transport strike in Philadelphia. With a balanced budget and rebuilt economy, he proved remarkably effective.
Soon, the press rated Scranton as presidential timber. The New York Herald Tribune proclaimed Scranton "the one person who could unite the [Republican] party's diverse and divergent factions." Time Magazine featured Scranton on its cover; Newsweek proclaimed him "the first of the Kennedy Republicans." It didn't hurt that Scranton's brother-in-law, James Litnen, was President of Time, Inc.
The Kennedy comparison wasn't idle; Scranton had dated John F. Kennedy's sister Kathleen in college, and remained close to the President, keeping an autographed photograph in his study. Both were rich Ivy League liberals, their wealth tempered by idealism. Perhaps Scranton was presidential material as well.
There was however a crucial difference, beyond their political affiliations. Kennedy had ambition and killer instinct to burn. Scranton lacked the former and rarely deployed the latter. This proved a fatal handicap.

Scranton with his daughter Susan

With Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater the Republican frontrunner for 1964, moderate Republicans panicked. Goldwater's small government conservatism was anathematic to the party establishment, a moderate progressivism defined as "Modern Republicanism" by Dwight Eisenhower and a "dime store New Deal" by Goldwater. But who could oppose him?
New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller's campaign faltered due to his remarriage; money and sheer will maintained it through June's California primary. Henry Cabot Lodge, Ambassador to South Vietnam, won New Hampshire's primary through a draft campaign, but never gained traction. Maine Senator Margaret Chase Smith's campaign flopped; Michigan Governor George Romney refused to run. That left Scranton.
As early as the summer of 1963, Republicans started organizing Draft Scranton chapters. Scranton's 27 year old aide, Bill Keisling, and State chairman Craig Truax began lobbying Republicans in and outside of Pennsylvania to support their boss. Compared to Goldwater aide F. Clifton White's sophisticated, grassroots mobilization, the Pennsylvanians' efforts were amateurish and unsuccessful. Especially without Scranton's backing.

Scranton, Dwight Eisenhower and Barry Goldwater

Scranton and Goldwater were friends; they served together in the Air Force Reserve and dined regularly during Scranton's time in Congress. In fact, Scranton told Goldwater "I hope you decide to run" in December. Noting the emergence of a "Stop Goldwater" campaign, Scranton dismissed his involvement, claiming "I would not be part of a 'Stop' movement against anybody."
This much, at least, was disingenuous: Keisling moved to block Pennsylvania delegates from supporting Goldwater. Scranton clashed with Allegheny County Chairman Paul Hugus for supporting Goldwater. When Hugus refused to back Scranton, Scranton removed patronage to Allegheny County; Hugus lost his seat in June 1964.
Biographers struggle to reconcile Scranton's assertiveness with his non-candidacy. Robert Novak frames it as proof that Scranton's reluctance was a pose. George Wolf argues that Hugus's ambitions to become State chairman spurred Scranton's decision. More likely, Scranton desired to remain a "favorite son" candidate, holding Pennsylvania's delegates for a deadlocked convention.

Scranton signing healthcare legislation, 1965 (source)

Privately, Scranton chided the overeager Keisling while rebuffing supporters. Thomas McCabe, businessman and GOP leader, appealed to Scranton in November 1963. Noting his son's Jim approval, McCabe commented: "When you can wow the youth, you're on your way." Scranton commented "I hope [Jim] makes it as president, not me." McCabe acted anyway, contacting Republican bigshots, including aides to Eisenhower.
Publicly, Scranton disarmed press inquiries with humor and expressions of disbelief. Late in 1963, journalists convened in Harrisburg, where Scranton fielded questions about his candidacy. "Can you tell me the reason why I would want to be President?" he asked.
No one had an answer. Least of all Bill Scranton.
1964 dawned and Scranton still wouldn't declare his candidacy. The press tired of his ambivalence: friendly coverage turned to ridicule. Newsweek claimed Scranton's family dined on swan; the Wall Street Journal labeled him a two-faced Pollyanna who mixed scheming with childish expressions like "Jeepers cats!" Cartoonists caricatured him as a primped-up dandy.
Craig Truax, the Pennsylvania State Chairman, filed Scranton's name for the New Hampshire primary. Scranton, embroiled in a state budget battle, ordered Keisling to withdraw his candidacy. On March 10th, Scranton received a mere 77 votes in New Hampshire. Which didn't stop James Reston from proclaiming Scranton the putative front runner in the New York Times.
When not governing in Harrisburg, Scranton traveled the country, speaking in Detroit, Cincinnati, Kansas City and New York. "It's time the Republican Party once again became the majority in America," he told the New York Economic Club. Scranton certainly sounded like a candidate, leading Novak and others to conclude he was playing coy.

Richard Schweiker

Overzealous supporters helped that impression. In March, Truax created Draft Scranton offices in Kansas City and Connecticut; Congressman Richard Schweiker circulated a Draft petition to Pennsylvania Republicans. Truax went too far in ordering a million Scranton bumper stickers on April 1st. Scranton, vacationing in Florida, found out and gave his aide a furious dressing down. Enough was enough.
On April 9th, Scranton held a press conference in Harrisburg. "It seems to be part of our American folklore... that every politician wants to be President," he tearfully chided. But Scranton "was not a candidate, did not wish to become one and would do nothing to encourage moves to make me one." Yet a concession that he'd accept "an honest draft" left the door maddeningly open. 
Some newspapers took the hint; the Washington Post headlined "Scranton All But Quits Race." But Los Angeles Times scribe Richard Wilson insisted he was still "an active candidate for the Republican presidential nomination." "The more [Scranton] tried to undo his candidacy," Rick Perlstein writes, "the more pundits suspected he was a candidate."

Scranton and Henry Cabot Lodge

On April 23rd, Scranton won the Pennsylvania primary with just 58 percent of the vote, barely beating Henry Cabot Lodge. Scranton vainly protested efforts to place him on Oregon's May 15th primary ballot; Rockefeller won, briefly reviving his chances. Then Goldwater won California on June 2nd. Rockefeller and Lodge were finished; Romney again refused to enter a doomed cause.
Enter General Eisenhower. So far, Ike refused to back any candidate, despite his distaste for Goldwater. On June 5th, he summoned Scranton to his Gettysburg ranch, discussing the Governor's presidential prospects. Scranton considered his mentor's invitation encouragement to run. It seemed the perfect opportunity.

Nelson Rockefeller, George Romney and Scranton in Cleveland

The National Governor's Conference was scheduled for June 6-10 in Cleveland; Scranton scheduled an appearance on CBS's Meet the Press for the 7th. Eisenhower told Scranton that he'd be watching CBS that day; Bill Keisling arrived in Cleveland, assuring reporters "I've got a candidate now!"
The 16 Republican governors in Cleveland debated strategy. Romney demanded Goldwater account for his positions: "If his views deviated as indicated from the heritage of our party, I will do everything within my power to keep him from becoming the Party's presidential candidate." Oregon Governor Mark Hatfield snapped: "George, you're six months too late," pledging loyalty to Rockefeller. Even now, the moderates bickered.
All eyes turned to Scranton; his aides typed up a formal announcement. Finally, he was ready to jump in. Then Eisenhower phoned him: "I'm afraid you misunderstood me," the General said, insisting he hadn't endorsed Scranton. Scranton found the bedrock of his decision, Eisenhower's support, undercut. Dumbfounded, he drove to the station.

Scranton on Meet the Press

The result was disastrous. CBS's Paul Niven asked: "Are you a candidate?" "No, I'm not a candidate," Scranton replied. Nervously looking at his notes, fidgeting in his seat, Scranton became vague and elusive. Asked if he opposed Goldwater, he commented "I think you are putting words in my mouth." On Goldwater's opposition to the Civil Rights Act, Scranton said "I don't think one bill makes the difference between how a man stands on a whole issue."
The press savaged Scranton. Once "the Republican Kennedy," he became the "Hamlet of Harrisburg" and "Gutless Bill." One cruel journalist called Scranton "half the man his mother was." Fellow Republicans piled on. Watching the interview, Romney screamed "Where are his principles?" Asked if he backed Scranton, Rockefeller replied: "Did you see him on television?"
Scranton appeared on NBC's Today show the next day, muddying things further. Sander Vanocur dismissed claims that Goldwater might turn moderate: "Aren't you suggesting the greatest conversion since Biblical times?" Scranton fuzzily replied "It is much more difficult to characterize [Goldwater] than some people think."

Richard Nixon and Barry Goldwater

As a final insult, Richard Nixon arrived in Cleveland. Still seething over his 1960 loss to Kennedy and humiliating gubernatorial defeat in 1962, Nixon posed as a powerbroker while hoping for his own draft. After Scranton's debacle, Nixon urged Romney to run. "It would be a tragedy if Senator Goldwater's views... were not challenged - and repudiated," Nixon commented.
But Romney had no taste for campaigning. Scranton seemed finished. Voters had rejected Rockefeller and Lodge. Despite Nixon's maneuvering, no one wanted him back. The conference ended, the moderates dispersed. Their cause seemed finished, until Goldwater crossed a line.
June 10th saw a cloture vote for Lyndon Johnson's Civil Rights Act. The epochal centerpiece of Johnson's Great Society, it promised to undo a century of discrimination against African-Americans. Goldwater, citing small government principles rather than racism, voted against cloture; it passed anyway. But the putative Republican candidate was on record opposing civil rights.

Barry Goldwater

This was too much for Scranton. He had fought for civil rights as Congressman and Governor; Goldwater's vote made him "sick." "How can you be against civil rights in the year 1964?" he wondered. Sometime in those twenty-four hours, his reservations about running vanished in a blaze of righteous indignation.
Even now, the "Hamlet of Harrisburg" lived up to his nickname. He spent all day pondering the decision, debating it with family, staff, and himself. Finally, he gathered his supporters in the Governor's mansion and quietly announced:
"All right, we've got a lot to do. I'm going to run."
It was June 11th; the Republican National Convention was July 13th. With few delegates, little support and a small organization, Bill Scranton had 32 days to stop Barry Goldwater.
To be continued
Sources and Further Reading
Biographical information comes from George D. Wolf, William Warren Scranton: Pennsylvania Statesman (1981). The only full-length biography of Scranton, it was written by Scranton's friend and gubernatorial aide. The 2004 PBS documentary William Warren Scranton: In a Clear Light includes interviews with Scranton, his family and colleagues.
For the 1964 campaign, see: Robert David Johnson, All the Way With LBJ (2009); Robert Novak, The Agony of the GOP, 1964 (1965); Rick Perlstein, Before the Storm (2001); and Theodore White, The Making of the President, 1964 (1965). Johnson also has an extremely useful website featuring LBJ tapes pertaining to the election.
As before, Perlstein and Geoffrey Kabaservice, Rule and Ruin (2012) do the best job of placing Scranton within the GOP's evolution.