View source for Eugene McCarthy

{{Short description|American politician (1916–2005)}}
{{other people|Gene McCarthy}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image               = 1964 Portrait Eugene McCarthy.jpg
| caption             = 1964 portrait 
| jr/sr               = United States Senator
| state               = [[Minnesota]]
| term_start          = January 3, 1959
| term_end            = January 3, 1971
| predecessor         = [[Edward John Thye]]
| successor           = [[Hubert Humphrey]]
| state2              = [[Minnesota]]
| district2           = {{ushr|MN|4|4th}}
| term_start2         = January 3, 1949
| term_end2           = January 3, 1959
| predecessor2        = [[Edward Devitt]]
| successor2          = [[Joseph Karth]]
| birth_name          = Eugene Joseph McCarthy
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1916|3|31}}
| birth_place         = [[Watkins, Minnesota]], U.S.
| death_date          = {{nowrap|{{death date and age|2005|12|10|1916|3|31}}}}
| death_place         = Washington, D.C., U.S.
| party               = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| spouse              = {{marriage|[[Abigail McCarthy|Abigail Quigley]]|June 5, 1945|1969|end=sep}}
| children            = 5
| education           = [[College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University|Saint John's University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br/>[[University of Minnesota]] ([[Master of Arts|MA]])
| allegiance          = United States
| branch              = [[United States Army]]
| unit                = [[Military Intelligence Corps (United States Army)|Army Military Intelligence Corps]]
| battles             = [[World War II]]
}}
'''Eugene Joseph McCarthy''' (March 31, 1916<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=2025 |title=Who is Eugene J. McCarthy? |url=https://www.csbsju.edu/mccarthy-center/about-the-center/who-is-eugene-j-mccarthy/ |website=csbsju.edu |location= |publisher=College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University |access-date=2025-10-06}}</ref>{{spaced ndash}}December 10, 2005) was an American politician, writer, and academic who represented [[Minnesota]] in both houses of the [[United States Congress]] for over 22 years, first in the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] from 1949 to 1959, then in the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] from 1959 until his resignation in 1971. A member of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]], McCarthy sought the party's presidential nomination in the [[1968 United States presidential election|1968 presidential election]], challenging incumbent President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] on an anti–[[Vietnam War]] platform, and ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for president four more times.

Born in [[Watkins, Minnesota]], McCarthy became an economics professor after earning a graduate degree from the [[University of Minnesota]]. He served as a code breaker for the [[United States Department of War]] during [[World War II]]. McCarthy became a member of the [[Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party]] (the state affiliate of the Democratic Party) and in 1948 was elected to the House of Representatives, where he served until being elected to the U.S. Senate in 1958. McCarthy was a prominent supporter of [[Adlai Stevenson&nbsp;II]] for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1960, and was himself a candidate for the Democratic vice-presidential nomination in 1964. He co-sponsored the [[Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965]], though he later expressed regret about its impact and became a member of the [[Federation for American Immigration Reform]].

As the 1960s progressed, McCarthy emerged as a prominent opponent of Johnson's handling of the Vietnam War. After [[Robert F. Kennedy]] declined the request of a group of antiwar Democrats to challenge Johnson in the [[Democratic Party presidential primaries, 1968|1968 Democratic primaries]], McCarthy entered the race on an antiwar platform.<ref name=Fire>{{cite book | last1=O'Donnell |first1=Lawrence |date=2017 |title=Playing with Fire – The 1968 Elections and the Transformation of American Politics |edition=1st |publisher=[[Penguin Press]] |isbn=9780399563140}}</ref> Though he was initially given little chance of winning, the [[Tet Offensive]] galvanized opposition to the war, and McCarthy finished in a strong second place in the [[1968 New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary|New Hampshire primary]]. After that, Kennedy entered the race, and Johnson announced that [[Withdrawal of Lyndon B. Johnson from the 1968 United States presidential election|he would not seek reelection]]. McCarthy and Kennedy each won several primary contests. The race was upended in June 1968 when Kennedy was [[Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy|assassinated]]. McCarthy won a plurality of the popular vote and delegate count in the primaries, but the rules did not bind delegates to their primary results.

After Kennedy's assassination, his delegates became uncommitted, with most ultimately backing [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] [[Hubert Humphrey]], who had not actively campaigned in the primaries. He had entered the primaries in April 1968 and was the preferred candidate of President Johnson. This gave Humphrey the majority needed to secure the Democratic nomination at the [[1968 Democratic National Convention]]. McCarthy did not seek reelection in the [[United States Senate elections, 1970|1970 Senate election]]. He sought the Democratic presidential nomination [[Democratic Party presidential primaries, 1972|in 1972]] but fared poorly. He ran in more races after that but was never elected to another office. He ran as an Independent in the [[1976 United States presidential election|1976 presidential election]] and won 0.9% of the popular vote. He was a plaintiff in the landmark campaign finance case ''[[Buckley v. Valeo]]'' and supported [[Ronald Reagan]] in the [[1980 United States presidential election|1980 presidential election]]. McCarthy died of complications from [[Parkinson's disease]] at age 89 on December 10, 2005, in a retirement home in [[Georgetown, Washington, D.C.]]

==Early life and education==
McCarthy was born in [[Watkins, Minnesota]]. He was the son of a deeply religious [[Catholic]] woman of German ancestry, Anna Baden McCarthy, and a strong-willed man of Irish descent, Michael John McCarthy Jr.,<ref name="stjohns">{{cite news |last=Post |first=Tim |url= http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2005/01/24_postt_mccarthymemorial|title=St. John's remembers Sen. Eugene McCarthy |work=[[Minnesota Public Radio]]|date=January 24, 2006|access-date=June 14, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wMqSzTPXl7QC&pg=PA3|title=Eugene McCarthy: The Rise and Fall of Postwar American Liberalism|first= Dominic|last=Sandbrook|isbn=9780307425775|page=3|publisher=Knopf Doubleday|year=2007}}</ref> a postmaster and cattle buyer.

McCarthy grew up in Watkins with his parents and three siblings. He attended St. Anthony's Catholic School in Watkins, and spent hours reading his aunt's ''[[Harvard Classics]]''.<ref name=Fire /> He was influenced by the monks at nearby [[St. John's Abbey and University]] in [[Collegeville, Minnesota]], and attended school there, at [[Saint John's Preparatory School (Collegeville, Minnesota)|Saint John's Preparatory School]], from which he graduated in 1932.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://apps.csbsju.edu/sjuvignettes/EugeneMcCarthy.pdf|title=Eugene McCarthy's Days at St. John's|first=Peggy|last=Roske|date=2010|access-date= May 4, 2016}}</ref> He also went to college at [[College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University|Saint John's University]], graduating in 1935. McCarthy earned his master's degree from the [[University of Minnesota]] in 1939. He taught in public schools in Minnesota and [[North Dakota]] from 1935 to 1940, when he became a professor of economics and education at St. John's, working there from 1940 to 1943.<ref name="csbsju.edu">[https://csbsju.edu/news/former-us-senator-and-sju-graduate-eugene-j-mccarthy-dies "Former U.S. Senator and SJU Graduate Eugene J. McCarthy Dies"], ''Newsroom'', Saint John's University, December 10, 2005</ref>

While at St. John's, he coached the [[ice hockey|hockey]] team for one season.<ref>{{cite web |title=Saint John's Hockey All-Time Coaching Records |url=https://gojohnnies.com/documents/2009/3/24/SJU%20Hockey%20Coaching%20Records.pdf?id=273 |website=GoJohnnies.com |access-date=April 27, 2020 |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308123052/https://gojohnnies.com/documents/2009/3/24/SJU%20Hockey%20Coaching%20Records.pdf?id=273 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1943, considering the contemplative life of a monk, he became a Benedictine novice at Saint John's Abbey.<ref name=Fire /> After nine months as a monk he left the monastery, causing a fellow novice to say, "It was like losing a [[Win–loss record (pitching)#Background|20-game winner]]".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/news/10430-his-time-was-then--and-now|title=His time was then and now|website=TheHill.com|first=Albert|last=Eisele|date=December 13, 2005|access-date=March 29, 2020}}</ref> He enlisted in the Army, serving as a code breaker for the [[Military Intelligence]] Division of the [[United States Department of War|War Department]] in Washington, D.C. in 1944.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.csbsju.edu/mccarthy-center/about-the-center/who-is-eugene-j-mccarthy |title=Who is Eugene J. McCarthy? â€" CSB/SJU |website=www.csbsju.edu |publisher=College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University |access-date=June 15, 2017}}</ref> He was then an instructor in sociology and economics at the [[University of St. Thomas (Minnesota)|College of St. Thomas]] in [[St. Paul, Minnesota]], from 1946 to 1949.<ref name="csbsju.edu"/>

==U.S. House of Representatives (1949–1959)==
McCarthy became a member of the [[Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party]]. In 1948 he was elected to the [[United States House of Representatives]] with labor and Catholic support,<ref name="lubell1956">{{cite book|title=The Future of American Politics|publisher=Anchor Press|author=Lubell, Samuel|year=1956|page=223|edition=2nd|ol = 6193934M}}</ref> representing [[Minnesota's 4th congressional district]] until 1959. He became the leader of young liberals, predominately from the Midwest, called "McCarthy's Marauders".<ref name="telegraph.co.uk">[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1505258/Senator-Eugene-McCarthy.html Senator Eugene McCarthy obituary], telegraph.co.uk, December 12, 2005.</ref>

In 1952 he engaged Wisconsin Senator [[Joseph McCarthy]] (no relation) in a nationally televised debate in which he parodied the Senator's arguments to "prove" that General [[Douglas MacArthur]] had been a communist pawn.<ref name="telegraph.co.uk"/> In 1958 he was elected to the U.S. Senate.

==U.S. Senate (1959–1971)==
[[File:John F. Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy.jpg|thumb|McCarthy with President [[John F. Kennedy]]]]
He served as a member of (among other committees) the powerful [[Senate Foreign Relations Committee]]. McCarthy became known to a larger audience in 1960 when he supported twice-defeated presidential candidate [[Adlai Stevenson II|Adlai Stevenson]] for the Democratic nomination. He pleaded during his speech nominating Stevenson, "Do not reject this man who made us all proud to be called Democrats!" He joked about his own merits as a candidate, "I'm twice as liberal as [[Hubert Humphrey]], twice as intelligent as [[Stuart Symington]], and twice as Catholic as [[John F. Kennedy|Jack Kennedy]]."<ref name="telegraph.co.uk"/> He was considered as a possible running mate for Lyndon Johnson in 1964, only to see fellow Minnesota Senator Humphrey chosen for that position.<ref name="mccarthyobit">{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article757689.ece|title=Eugene McCarthy|work=[[Times of London]]|date=December 12, 2005|access-date=March 30, 2011}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

McCarthy voted in favor of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1960]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/86-1960/s284|title=HR. 8601. PASSAGE OF AMENDED BILL.}}</ref> the [[Twenty-fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution|24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/87-1962/s226|title=S.J. RES. 29. APPROVAL OF RESOLUTION BANNING THE POLL TAX AS PREREQUISITE FOR VOTING IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS.}}</ref> the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/88-1964/s409|title=HR. 7152. PASSAGE.}}</ref> the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/89-1965/s78|title=TO PASS S. 1564, THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965.}}</ref> and the [[Medicare (United States)|Medicare]] program.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/89-1965/s151|title=TO PASS H.R. 6675, THE SOCIAL SECURITY AMENDMENTS OF 1965.}}</ref> He did not vote on the [[Civil Rights Act of 1968]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/90-1968/s346|title=TO PASS H.R. 2516, A BILL TO PROHIBIT DISCRIMINATION IN SALE OR RENTAL OF HOUSING, AND TO PROHIBIT RACIALLY MOTIVATED INTERFERENCE WITH A PERSON EXERCISING HIS CIVIL RIGHTS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.}}</ref> or on the confirmation of [[Thurgood Marshall]] to the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/90-1967/s176|title=CONFIRMATION OF THURGOOD MARSHALL, THE FIRST NEGRO APPOINTED TO THE SUPREME COURT.|work=GovTrack.us}}</ref>

Along with [[Ted Kennedy]], McCarthy was one of the original co-sponsors of the [[Immigration Act of 1965]]. He later regretted this, noting that "unrecognized by virtually all of the bill's supporters were provisions which would eventually lead to unprecedented growth in numbers and the transfer of policy control from the elected representatives of the American people to individuals wishing to bring relatives to this country".<ref>{{citation|title=A Colony of the World: The United States Today|page=[https://archive.org/details/colonyofworlduni00mcca/page/57 57]|first=Eugene J.|last=McCarthy|publisher=Hippocrene Books|year=1992|isbn=978-0781801027|url=https://archive.org/details/colonyofworlduni00mcca/page/57}}</ref> He became a member of the [[Federation for American Immigration Reform]]'s board of advisors.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fairus.org/DocServer/Jan06_NL.pdf?docID=6119|format=PDF|publisher=Federation for American Immigration Reform|title=A Personal Note on the Passing of Eugene McCarthy|date=2006|work=December 2005/January 2006 Immigration Report|access-date=January 29, 2016}}</ref>

McCarthy met with [[Marxist-Leninist]] revolutionary [[Che Guevara]] in New York City in 1964 to discuss repairing relations between the US and [[Cuba]].<ref>Eisele, Al (March 25, 2009) [https://www.huffingtonpost.com/al-eisele/when-gene-mccarthy-met-wi_b_179068.html "When Gene McCarthy Met Che Guevara"], ''Huffington Post''; retrieved January 29, 2010.</ref> They met in journalist [[Lisa Howard (reporter)|Lisa Howard]]'s apartment on [[Park Avenue]] in Manhattan.<ref>United States National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Central Files 1964–66, POL CUBA-US. Secret; Exdis. Drafted by Woods on December 18.</ref> The 2008 film ''[[Che: Part One]]'' depicts this event.{{citation needed|date=June 2014}}

==1968 presidential campaign==
{{main|Eugene McCarthy 1968 presidential campaign}}
[[File:McCarthy for President 1968.jpg|thumb|Campaign poster]]

===McCarthy challenges Johnson===
In 1968, [[Allard K. Lowenstein]] and his anti-[[Vietnam War]] [[Dump Johnson movement]] recruited McCarthy to run against incumbent President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]. Reportedly, Lowenstein first attempted to recruit Senator [[Robert F. Kennedy]], who declined to run, then Senator [[George McGovern]], who also declined (Kennedy eventually decided to run after the primary on March 16, 1968,<ref>{{cite web|title=Remembering Eugene McCarthy|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5049072|website=NPR|access-date=September 2, 2016}}</ref> and McGovern also later briefly entered the race). McCarthy entered and almost defeated Johnson in the [[1968 New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary|New Hampshire primary]], with the intention of influencing the [[Federal government of the United States|federal government]]—then controlled by [[United States Democratic Party|Democrats]]—to curtail its involvement in the [[Vietnam War]]. A number of antiwar college students and other activists from around the country traveled to [[New Hampshire]] to support McCarthy's campaign. Some antiwar students who had the long-haired, [[counterculture of the 1960s|counterculture]] appearance of [[hippy|hippies]] chose to cut their long hair and shave off their beards in order to campaign for McCarthy door-to-door, a phenomenon that led to the informal slogan "Get clean for Gene".<ref>Get Clean For Gene: Eugene McCarthy's 1968 Presidential Campaign - George Rising</ref>

McCarthy's decision to run arose partly as an outcome of Oregon Senator [[Wayne Morse]]'s opposition to the war. Morse was one of two senators to vote against the [[Gulf of Tonkin Resolution]] of August 1964. He gave speeches denouncing the war before it had entered most Americans' awareness. Thereafter, several politically active Oregon Democrats asked Kennedy to run as an antiwar candidate. McCarthy also encouraged Kennedy to run.<ref name=kennedymccarthy>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wMqSzTPXl7QC&q=eugene+mccarthy+robert+kennedy+whose+candidacy+mccarthy+encourage&pg=PA188 |title = Eugene McCarthy: The Rise and Fall of Postwar American Liberalism|isbn = 9780307425775|last1 = Sandbrook|first1 = Dominic|date = December 18, 2007| publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing }}</ref> After Kennedy refused, the group asked McCarthy to run, and he responded favorably. After Kennedy entered the race and Johnson withdrew, however, McCarthy shifted his focus toward Kennedy.<ref name=kennedymccarthy />

McCarthy declared his candidacy on November 30, 1967, saying, "I am concerned that the Administration seems to have set no limit to the price it is willing to pay for a military victory." Political experts and the news media dismissed his candidacy, and he was given little chance of making any impact against Johnson in the primaries.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Marlow|first1=James|title=McCarthy Is Unlikely to Alter LBJ Policy|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lesrAAAAIBAJ&pg=3484%2C5130197|access-date=June 14, 2015|work=[[Kentucky New Era]]|agency=[[Associated Press]]|date=December 1, 1967|location=Hopkinsville, Kentucky|page=4 |quote=At this point it is not likely many people, including McCarthy, think he has a chance to get the nomination away from Johnson although, if he can generate enough heat, somebody else might. |via=Google News Archive}}</ref> But public perception of him changed following the [[Tet Offensive]] (January 30 – February 23, 1968), the aftermath of which saw many Democrats grow disillusioned with the war, and quite a few interested in an alternative to Johnson. McCarthy said, "My decision to challenge the President's position and the administration's position has been strengthened by recent announcements out of the administration. The evident intention to escalate and to intensify the war in Vietnam, and on the other hand, the absence of any positive indication or suggestion for a compromise or for a negotiated political settlement."<ref>{{cite news| url= http://www.upi.com/Audio/Year_in_Review/Events-of-1967/Elections/12303074818188-11/ |title= 1967 Year In Review| website=UPI.com}}</ref>

On December 3, 1967, McCarthy addressed the Conference of Concerned Democrats in Chicago, accusing the Johnson administration of ignoring and bungling opportunities for bringing the war to a conclusion.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dbBeAAAAIBAJ&pg=3165,380819|title=Message of fear attributed to LBJ |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |date=December 3, 1967 |via=Google News Archive}}</ref> Eight days later it was reported that he had suggested abandoning some areas of South Vietnam to the [[Viet Cong]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fbBeAAAAIBAJ&pg=5864,2018412|title=McCarthy urges letting Cong have some Southern Districts |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |date=December 11, 1967 |via=Google News Archive}}</ref> On February 17, 1968, it was reported that McCarthy's campaign had raised only a quarter of the funds it had hoped to raise nationally.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=j4wgAAAAIBAJ&pg=1112,5496046|work=The Lewiston Daily Sun |date=February 17, 1968 |title=Senate Ethics Committee Dragging Feed |last=Allen |first=Robert S. |via=Google News Archive}}</ref>

As his volunteers (led by youth coordinator [[Sam Brown (activist)|Sam Brown]]) went door to door in New Hampshire, and as the media began paying more serious attention to the senator, McCarthy began to rise in the polls. When he received 42% of the vote to Johnson's 49% in the March 12 New Hampshire primary (and 20 of New Hampshire's 24 delegates to the Democratic convention), it became clear that there was deep division among Democrats about the war. Johnson had become inextricably defined by [[Vietnam]], and this demonstration of divided support within his party meant his reelection (only four years after [[1964 United States presidential election|winning the highest percentage of the popular vote in modern history]]) seemed unlikely.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}} The folk trio [[Peter, Paul and Mary]] released a record "Eugene McCarthy For President (If You Love Your Country)", endorsing McCarthy, who they said had stood alone against Johnson over "more timid men" now echoing him.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7pR0yTGOiA | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211118/N7pR0yTGOiA| archive-date=November 18, 2021 | url-status=live|title=1968 45-RPM Eugene McCarthy Campaign Recording: Peter, Paul, & Mary |publisher=YouTube |date=September 4, 2010 |access-date=June 15, 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

=== Kennedy enters the race ===
On March 16, [[Robert F. Kennedy]] announced that he would run; many Democrats saw Kennedy as a stronger candidate than McCarthy. On March 31, Johnson surprised the world by announcing that he would not seek reelection. After that, McCarthy won in [[Wisconsin]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://madison.com/democratic-winner-eugene-mccarthy/article_349d5b25-ad8b-5676-9415-7b96907a625e.html|title=1968 Democratic winner: Eugene McCarthy|website=madison.com|date=March 29, 2016 }}</ref> where the Kennedy campaign was still getting organized. McCarthy also won in Oregon against a well-organized Kennedy effort; it was considered his first official victory over Kennedy.<ref name=kennedymccarthy />

McCarthy styled himself as a clean politician, but criticized his opponents. Known for his wit, when asked if Michigan Governor [[George W. Romney|George Romney]]'s comment that Romney had been "brainwashed" about the [[Vietnam War]] had ended Romney's presidential hopes, McCarthy remarked, "Well... no, not really. Anyway, I think in that case a light rinse would have been sufficient."<ref name="ChesterHodgson1969">{{cite book|author1=Lewis Chester|author2=Godfrey Hodgson|author3=Bruce Page|title=An American melodrama: the presidential campaign of 1968|url=https://archive.org/details/americanmelodram00ches|url-access=registration|access-date=May 15, 2013|year=1969|publisher=Viking Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/americanmelodram00ches/page/101 101]|isbn=9780670119912}}<br/> as cited in: {{cite web|last=Campbell|first=W. Joseph|title=Recalling George Romney's "brainwashing" and Gene McCarthy's "light rinse" retort|url=http://mediamythalert.wordpress.com/2012/09/04/recalling-george-romneys-brainwashing-and-gene-mccarthys-light-rinse-retort|publisher=Media Myth Alert|date=September 4, 2012|access-date=May 16, 2013}}</ref> He mocked Kennedy and his supporters. A major gaffe occurred in Oregon, when McCarthy called Kennedy supporters "less intelligent" than his own and belittled Indiana (which had by then gone for Kennedy) for lacking a poet of the stature of [[Robert Lowell]]—a friend of McCarthy's who often traveled with him.<ref name=after>{{cite news|url=http://www.slate.com/id/2192865|title=After the Assassination: How Gene McCarthy's response to Bobby Kennedy's murder crippled the Democrats|website=Slate.com|first=David|last=Greenberg|date=June 4, 2008|access-date=January 29, 2016}}</ref> In May, Kennedy attacked McCarthy's civil rights record.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Allen |first1=Robert S. |title=McCarthy did vote against Poll Tax repeal |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=LaIgAAAAIBAJ&pg=1145%2C1421679 |work=[[Lewiston Daily Sun]] |date=May 11, 1968 |page=3 |via=Google News Archive}}</ref>

Some of those who joined McCarthy's effort early on were Kennedy loyalists. Now that Kennedy was in the race, many of them jumped ship, urging McCarthy to drop out and support Kennedy.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}} McCarthy resented that Kennedy had let him do the "dirty work" of challenging Johnson and entered the race only when it became apparent that Johnson was vulnerable.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}} As a result, while he initially entered the campaign with few illusions of winning, McCarthy now devoted himself to beating Kennedy (and Humphrey, who entered the race after Johnson withdrew) and gaining the nomination.<ref name=kennedymccarthy />

Humphrey, long a champion of labor unions and of [[civil rights]], entered the race with the support of the party "establishment", including members of Congress, mayors, governors and labor union leaders.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}} He entered too late to compete in any primaries, but had the support of Johnson and Democratic insiders.{{who|date=June 2014}}

Kennedy, like his brother John in 1960, planned to win the nomination through popular support in the primaries. McCarthy and Kennedy squared off in California, knowing that the result there would be decisive. They both campaigned vigorously up and down the state, with many polls showing them neck-and-neck, and some predicting a McCarthy victory. A televised debate between them began to tilt undecided voters away from McCarthy. He made two statements many found ill-considered: that he would accept a government including Communists in South Vietnam, and that only the relocation of inner-city blacks would solve the urban problem. Kennedy pounced, portraying the former idea as soft on communism and the latter as a scheme to bus tens of thousands of ghetto residents into white, conservative [[Orange County, California|Orange County]].<ref name=after/> Kennedy won the California primary on June 4, but was [[Robert F. Kennedy assassination|shot]] after his victory speech at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, and died soon afterward. In response, McCarthy refrained from political action for several days. One aide recalled McCarthy sneering about his fallen rival, saying that Kennedy was "demagoguing to the last". Another heard McCarthy say that Kennedy had "brought it on himself"—implying that he had provoked [[Sirhan Sirhan]], the Palestinian gunman convicted of killing him, by promising military support to the state of Israel.<ref name=after/>

Despite strong showings in several primaries—he won more votes than any other Democratic candidate—McCarthy garnered only 23% of the delegates at the [[1968 Democratic National Convention]], largely due to state-party organizations' control over the delegate-selection process. After Kennedy's assassination, many Kennedy delegates, remembering his bitter war of words with McCarthy, chose to support [[George McGovern]] rather than McCarthy. Moreover, although Humphrey was not clearly an antiwar candidate, some antiwar Democrats hoped that as president he might succeed where Johnson had failed and extricate the US from Vietnam. On June 23, 1968, Humphrey defeated McCarthy, securing significant delegates in their shared home state of Minnesota.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/50174297/|title=HHH Given 3-1 Edge In Convention Delegates|page=1 | newspaper=The Winona Daily News|date=June 24, 1968| via= newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TqIgAAAAIBAJ&pg=4212%2C7197516|title=Nixon, Humphrey Add Delegates, Widen Leads|page=1 | newspaper=The Lewiston Daily Sun|date=June 24, 1968| via= Google News Archive Search}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2011/05/two-favorite-sons-humphrey-mccarthy-battle-1968/|title=Two favorite sons: the Humphrey-McCarthy battle of 1968 | newspaper=MinnPost|first=Iric|last=Nathanson|date=May 25, 2011|access-date=March 29, 2020 }}</ref> Before election day, McCarthy confirmed that he would personally vote for Humphrey, but said that he would go no further than that, stopping short of endorsing him.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}} Although McCarthy did not win the Democratic nomination, the antiwar "New Party", which ran several candidates for president that year, listed him as its nominee on the ballot in [[Arizona]], where he received 2,751 votes, and in Vermont, gaining 579 votes. He appeared on the Oregon ballot as the New Party choice. He received 20,721 votes as a [[write-in candidate]] in California.

Despite McCarthy's anti-Vietnam War stance, North Vietnam's Communist government had a cynical attitude toward him, largely because his campaign's lack of money in made it highly skeptical of what he could achieve, calling him "a second-rate politician with little experience or money" in its analysis of the presidential election published in its Army Newspaper dated August 10, 1968.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170119035742/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/DOC_0005976301.pdf The President's Daily Brief, August 13, 1968]</ref>

==Post-Senate career==
=== 1972 presidential campaign ===
{{main|1972 United States presidential election}}
McCarthy returned to politics as a candidate for the [[1972 United States presidential election|Democratic presidential nomination in 1972]], but he fared poorly in [[New Hampshire]] and [[Wisconsin]] and soon dropped out.

Illinois was the only primary in which McCarthy actively participated. He got 38% of the vote to the then leading contender [[Edmund Muskie]]'s 59%, but the media ignored McCarthy's Illinois campaign.

=== 1976 presidential campaign ===
{{main|1976 United States presidential election}}
After his 1972 campaign, McCarthy left the Democratic Party, and ran as an [[Independent (politician)|Independent]] candidate for president in [[1976 United States presidential election|1976]]. During that campaign, he took a [[libertarianism|libertarian]] stance on [[civil liberties]], promised to create [[full employment]] by shortening the [[working time|work week]], came out in favor of [[nuclear disarmament]], attacked the [[Internal Revenue Service]],<ref>[[Jesse Walker|Walker, Jesse]] (November 1, 2009) [http://www.amconmag.com/article/2009/nov/01/00012/ "Five Faces of Jerry Brown"], ''[[The American Conservative]]'', November 1, 2009.</ref> and said whom he would nominate to various [[United States Cabinet|Cabinet]] posts if elected. Mainly, however, he battled [[ballot access]] laws he deemed too restrictive and encouraged voters to reject the [[two-party system]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.4president.org/brochures/mccarthy1976brochure.htm |title=Eugene McCarthy for President 1976 Campaign Brochure |publisher=4president.org |date=September 22, 2007 |access-date=June 15, 2017}}</ref>

His numerous legal battles during the election, along with a strong [[grassroots]] effort in friendly states, allowed him to appear on the ballot in 30 states and eased ballot access for later third-party candidates. His party affiliation was variously listed on ballots as "Independent," "McCarthy '76," "Non-Partisan," "Nom. Petition," "Nomination," "Not Designated," and "Court Order". Although he was not on the California and [[Wyoming]] ballots, he was recognized as a [[write-in candidate]] in those states. In many states, he did not run with a vice-presidential nominee, but he came to have a total of 15 running mates in states where he was required to have one. At least eight of his running mates were women.<ref name=USAtlas>{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=1976&minper=0&f=1&off=0&elect=0|first=David|last=Leip|work=Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|title=1976 Presidential General Election Results|date=2005}}</ref>

Nationally, McCarthy received 740,460 votes, 0.91% of the total, finishing third in the election.<ref name=USAtlas /> His best showing came in [[Oregon]], where he received 40,207 votes, 3.90% of the vote.<ref name=USAtlas/>

===Further activism===
[[File:Eugene McCarthy 1968 (b).jpg|thumb|McCarthy in 1968]]
McCarthy opposed [[Watergate scandal|Watergate-era]] [[Campaign finance in the United States|campaign finance]] laws, becoming a plaintiff in the landmark case ''[[Buckley v. Valeo]]'', 424 U.S. 1 (1976), in which the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] held that certain provisions of federal campaign finance laws were unconstitutional.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.campaignfinancesite.org/court/buckley1.html|title=Campaignfinancesite.org|access-date=April 26, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060717105323/http://www.campaignfinancesite.org/court/buckley1.html|archive-date=July 17, 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref> McCarthy, the [[New York Civil Liberties Union]], philanthropist [[Stewart Mott]], the [[Conservative Party of New York State]], the [[Mississippi Republican Party]], and the [[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian Party]] were the plaintiffs in ''Buckley'', becoming key players in killing campaign spending limits and public financing of political campaigns.

In [[1980 United States presidential election|1980]], dismayed by what he saw as the abject failure of [[Jimmy Carter]]'s presidency (he later said that "he was the worst president we ever had"),<ref>{{cite web|last=Hitchens |first=Christopher |url=http://www.slate.com/id/2166661/ |title=The latest absurdities to emerge from Jimmy Carter's big, smug mouth. - By Christopher Hitchens - Slate Magazine |publisher=Slate.com |date=May 21, 2007 |access-date=July 20, 2010}}</ref> he appeared in a campaign ad for Libertarian candidate [[Ed Clark]] and wrote the introduction to Clark's campaign book.<ref>[[Jesse Walker|Walker, Jesse]] (August 31, 2010) [http://reason.com/blog/2010/08/31/the-cold-crisp-taste-of-koch The Cold, Crisp Taste of Koch], ''[[Reason magazine|Reason]]''</ref> He eventually endorsed [[Ronald Reagan]] for president.<ref>{{cite news |title=Remembering Eugene McCarthy |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/remember/july-dec05/mccarthy_12-12.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060218074245/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/remember/july-dec05/mccarthy_12-12.html |archive-date=February 18, 2006 |date=December 12, 2005 |work=Newshour with Jim Lehrer |publisher=PBS}}</ref>

===Final campaigns===
In 1982, McCarthy [[United States Senate election in Minnesota, 1982|ran for his old Senate seat]] but lost the Democratic primary to businessman [[Mark Dayton]], 69% to 24%.

In the [[1988 United States presidential election|1988 election]], McCarthy appeared on the ballot as the presidential candidate of a handful of left-wing state parties, specifically the Consumer parties in [[Pennsylvania]] and [[New Jersey]] and the [[Minnesota Progressive Party]] in Minnesota. In his campaign, he supported trade [[protectionism]], Reagan's [[Strategic Defense Initiative]] and the abolition of the [[two-party system]].<ref name = Cline>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/11/national/11mccarthy.html|work= The New York Times|title=Eugene J. McCarthy, Senate Dove Who Jolted '68 Race, Dies at 89|first=Francis X.|last=Cline|date=December 11, 2005|access-date=January 29, 2016|page = A1|url-access = limited}}</ref> He received 30,905 votes.<ref name=USAtlas88>{{cite web|url=http://www.uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=1988&minper=0&f=0&off=0&elect=0|first=David|last=Leip|work=Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|title= 1988 Presidential General Election Results|date=2005}}</ref>

In 1992, returning to the Democratic Party, he entered the New Hampshire presidential primary and campaigned for the [[1992 United States presidential election|Democratic nomination]], but was excluded from the first televised debate. Along with other candidates who had been excluded from the 1992 Democratic debates (including two-time [[New Alliance Party]] presidential candidate [[Lenora Fulani]], former [[Irvine, California]] mayor [[Larry Agran]], ''[[Billy Jack]]'' actor [[Tom Laughlin]], and others), McCarthy staged protests and took unsuccessful legal action in an attempt to be included in the debates. Unlike the other excluded candidates, McCarthy was a longstanding national figure and had mounted credible campaigns for president in previous elections. He won 108,679 votes in the 1992 primaries. In his campaign for the Democratic nomination, McCarthy proposed the use of import fees to help Japan and Western Europe pay for military security and raise taxes on the wealthy in order to eliminate the national debt.<ref name=USAtlas92>{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?f=1&year=1992&elect=1|first=David|last=Leip|work=Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|title=1992 Presidential General Election Results|date=2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1992-02-24-9201180021-story.html|title=MINNESOTA'S OLD POLS JUST KEEP RUNNING AND RUNNING AND RUNNING|website=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=February 24, 1992 }}</ref>
==Personal life==
McCarthy and his wife, [[Abigail McCarthy|Abigail Quigley McCarthy]], had five children.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2001/02/03/abigail-mccarthy-dies-at-85/12869c80-e2b2-4d49-ba07-77f7a6143928/l |title=Abigail McCarthy Dies at 85 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=February 3, 2001 |access-date=April 24, 2023}}</ref>

In 1969, McCarthy separated from his wife after 24 years of marriage, but they never divorced. The children stayed with their mother after the separation.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wMqSzTPXl7QC&q=abigail|title=Eugene McCarthy: The Rise and Fall of Postwar American Liberalism|last=Sandbrook|first=Dominic|date=December 18, 2007|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|isbn=9780307425775|language=en}}</ref> According to McCarthy biographer [[Dominic Sandbrook]], McCarthy had a romantic relationship with CBS News correspondent [[Marya McLaughlin]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/16/classified/paid-notice-deaths-mclaughlin-marya.html |title=Paid Notice: Deaths MCLAUGHLIN, MARYA - The New York Times |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=September 16, 1998 |access-date=June 15, 2017}}</ref> that lasted until McLaughlin's death in 1998.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/marya-mclaughlin-dead-at-68/|website=CBSNews.com|date=September 16, 1998|title=Marya McLaughlin Dead At 68|access-date=January 29, 2016}}</ref>

McCarthy's niece Mary Beth was married to folk singer [[Peter Yarrow]].<ref name=yarrowfamily>{{cite news|url=https://people.com/peter-yarrow-dead-age-86-bladder-cancer-8770615|title=Peter Yarrow, Grammy-Winning Musician of Peter, Paul and Mary Fame, Dies at 86|first=Rachel|last=DeSantis|publisher=People|date=January 7, 2025|accessdate=January 7, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/jan/07/peter-yarrow-of-folk-trio-peter-paul-and-mary-dies-aged-86|title=
Peter Yarrow of folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary dies aged 86|first=Laura|last=Stapes|work=The Guardian|date=January 7, 2025|accessdate=January 7, 2025}}</ref>

==Death and legacy==
McCarthy died of complications from [[Parkinson's disease]] at age 89 on December 10, 2005, in a retirement home in [[Georgetown, Washington, D.C.]], where he had lived for the previous few years.<ref name = Cline/> Former President [[Bill Clinton]] gave his eulogy.

Following his death the [[College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University]] renamed their Public Policy Center the [[Eugene J. McCarthy Center for Public Policy]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Eugene J. McCarthy Center for Public Policy and Civic Engagement|publisher=College of Saint Benedict|url=http://www.csbsju.edu/publicpolicy|access-date=September 6, 2007}}</ref> The Democratic party memorialized his death during the [[2008 Democratic National Convention]] in Denver, Colorado, on August 28, 2008. The memorial included pictures of several prominent Democrats who had died during the four-year period since the [[2004 Democratic National Convention|2004 Convention]] displayed on a large screen. During McCarthy's tribute, the screen displaying his photograph mistakenly left off his first name but included his middle name, calling him "Senator Joseph McCarthy"; [[Joseph McCarthy]] was a notable Republican Senator from [[Wisconsin]] famous for his [[McCarthyism|anti-Communist campaigning]] and sparring with journalist [[Edward R. Murrow]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Dems Confuse Joe, Eugene McCarthy|website=NPR.org|date=August 27, 2008|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94029081|access-date=August 29, 2008}}</ref>

In 2009, his alma mater, St. John's University, honored McCarthy by establishing the Eugene McCarthy Distinguished Public Service Award.<ref>{{cite news|title=Eugene McCarthy Public Service Award|url=http://www.csbsju.edu/mccarthy-center/about-the-center/the-center-in-the-news/alumnaei/eugene-mccarthy-public-service-award|access-date=October 5, 2014|publisher=The Eugene J. McCarthy Center|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006084028/http://www.csbsju.edu/mccarthy-center/about-the-center/the-center-in-the-news/alumnaei/eugene-mccarthy-public-service-award|archive-date=October 6, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

McCarthy's files as U.S. congressman (Democratic Farmer-Labor) from Minnesota's 4th district (1949–1959) and as U.S. senator from Minnesota (1959–1971) are available at the Minnesota History Center for research. They include executive files, general files, legislative files, personal files, political and campaign (including senatorial, vice presidential, and presidential) files, public relations files, sound and visual materials (with photographs), and speeches.<ref>[http://www.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00909.xml Eugene J. McCarthy Papers] at Minnesota Historical Society; accessed June 14, 2017.</ref>

==Electoral history==
{{main|Electoral history of Eugene McCarthy}}
{|class="wikitable"
|-
|colspan=4|'''McCarthy's presidential campaign results'''
|-
!Election
!Party
!votes
!%
|-
|[[1968 United States presidential election|1968]] ([[1968 Democratic Party presidential primaries|primary]])
|[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]]
|align=right| 2,914,933 
|align=right|38.7% 
|-
|[[1972 United States presidential election|1972]] ([[1972 Democratic Party presidential primaries|primary]])
|[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]]
|align=right| 553,352
|align=right|1.7% 
|-
|[[1976 United States presidential election|1976]]
|Independent
|align=right|740,460
|align=right|0.91%
|-
|[[1988 United States presidential election|1988]]
|Consumer
|align=right|30,905
|align=right|0.03%
|}

==Bibliography==
===Publishing===
After leaving the Senate in 1971, McCarthy became a senior editor at [[Harcourt Trade Publishers|Harcourt Brace Jovanovich]] Publishing and a [[print syndication|syndicated]] newspaper columnist.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00909.xml|title = Eugene J. McCarthy: An Inventory of His Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society|website = [[Minnesota Historical Society]]|accessdate = April 3, 2022}}</ref> In the 1960s he began writing poetry, and his increased political prominence led to increased interest in his work. "If any of you are secret poets, the best way to break into print is to run for the presidency", he wrote in 1968.<ref name="telegraph.co.uk" /> He published a collection of poetry in 1997, ''Cool Reflections: Poetry For The Who, What, When, Where and Especially Why of It All'' ({{ISBN|1-57553-595-5}}).

===Books===
*''Frontiers in American Democracy'' (1960)
*''Dictionary of American Politics'' (1962)
*''A Liberal Answer to the Conservative Challenge'' (1964)
*''The Limits of Power: America's Role in the World'' (1967)
*''The Year of the People'' (1969)
*''Mr. Raccoon and His Friends'' (1977; Academy Press Ltd., Chicago, IL); children's stories, illustrated by James Ecklund
*''A Political Bestiary'', by Eugene J. McCarthy and [[James J. Kilpatrick]] (1979) {{ISBN|0-380-46508-6}}
*''The Ultimate Tyranny: The Majority Over the Majority'' (1980) {{ISBN|0-15-192581-X}}
*''Gene McCarthy's Minnesota: Memories of a Native Son'' (1982) {{ISBN|0-86683-681-0}}
*''Complexities and Contrarities'' (1982) {{ISBN|0-15-121202-3}}
*''Up Til Now: A Memoir'' (1987)
*''Required Reading: A Decade of Political Wit and Wisdom'' (1988) {{ISBN|0-15-176880-3}}
*''Nonfinancial Economics: The Case for Shorter Hours of Work'', by Eugene McCarthy and William McGaughey (1989) {{ISBN|0-275-92514-5}}
*''A Colony of the World: The United States Today'' (1992) {{ISBN|0-7818-0102-8}}
*''Eugene J. McCarthy: Selected Poems'' by Eugene J. McCarthy, Ray Howe (1997) {{ISBN|1-883477-15-8}}
*''No-Fault Politics'' (1998) {{ISBN|0-8129-3016-9}}
*''1968: War and Democracy'' (2000) {{ISBN|1-883477-37-9}}
*''Hard Years: Antidotes to Authoritarians'' (2001) {{ISBN|1-883477-38-7}}
*''From Rappahannock County'' (2002) {{ISBN|1-883477-51-4}}
*''Parting Shots from My Brittle Bow: Reflections on American Politics and Life'' (2005) {{ISBN|1-55591-528-0}}

==See also==
* [[List of peace activists]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Sources==
* Dominic Sandbrook, ''Eugene McCarthy and The Rise and Fall of American Liberalism'' (2005).

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
* {{Congbio|M000311}}
*{{C-SPAN|530}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060125131643/http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06%2F01%2F18%2F1442236 Eugene J. McCarthy (1916–2005): The Legacy of the Former Senator and Anti-War Presidential Candidate]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051212175745/http://www.startribune.com/stories/466/5775210.html Minnesota senator shook world in '68] — ''[[Star Tribune]]'' of [[Minneapolis]]
*[http://vault.fbi.gov/Eugene%20McCarthy FBI file on Eugene McCarthy]
*[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/10/AR2005121001454.html Gentle Senator, Presidential Hopeful Empowered U.S. Antiwar Movement] — ''[[The Washington Post]]''
*[http://www.economist.com/people/displaystory.cfm?story_id=5300028 Eugene Joseph McCarthy, a maverick presidential candidate, died on December 10, aged 89] — ''[[The Economist]]''
*[http://www.thecie.org/gene/index.asp?s=POEMS Some poems by Eugene McCarthy]
*[https://archive.today/20130127153144/http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-mccarthy11dec11,0,907554,full.story?coll=la-home-nation "Eugene McCarthy: Candidacy inspired antiwar movement" ''Los Angeles Times'', 11 December 2005]
*[http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20040503&s=wiener "No Success Like Failure."] by [[Jon Wiener]]. ''The Nation'', May 3, 2004, 50–53.
*[http://rsparlourtricks.blogspot.com/2005/12/eugene-mccarthy-1916-2005.html Ron Schuler's Parlour Tricks: Eugene McCarthy from 1916 to 2005]
*[http://www.4president.org/speeches/mccarthy1968announcement.htm Eugene McCarthy's 1968 announcement speech]
*[http://www.4president.org/brochures/mccarthy1968brochure.htm A 1968 McCarthy for President brochure]
*[http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060102/mcgovern "Gene McCarthy"] Article by [[George McGovern]] in [[The Nation (U.S. periodical)|''The Nation'']], (December 15, 2005)
*[http://www.csbsju.edu/Documents/SJU%20Archives/ppts/EugeneMcCarthy.pdf Saint John's University Archives Presentation on McCarthy's University Days] created by Peggy Roske, University Archivist, 2010
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927203345/http://ncronline.org/NCR_Online/archives2/2005d/122305/122305k.php Obituary] from the ''National Catholic Reporter''
*Eugene McCarthy reads poetry and talks politics with Robb Mitchell, '''Northern Lights Minnesota Author Interview TV Series''' #38 (1988):  [https://reflections.mndigital.org/catalog/p16022coll38:12#/kaltura_video<nowiki>] </nowiki>
*Eugene McCarthy discusses his latest book '''''A Colony of the World''''' with Hennepin County Library Director Robert H. Rohlf, '''Northern Lights TV Series''' #268 (1993):  [https://reflections.mndigital.org/catalog/p16022coll38:49#/kaltura_video<nowiki>] </nowiki>

{{s-start}}
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{{s-ttl|title=Member of the [[List of United States representatives from Minnesota|U.S. House of Representatives]]<br>from [[Minnesota's 4th congressional district]]|years=1949–1959}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Joseph Karth]]}}
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{{s-ppo}}
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{{s-ttl|title=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee for [[List of United States senators from Minnesota|U.S. Senator]] from [[Minnesota]]<br>([[Classes of United States senators|Class 1]])|years=[[1958 United States Senate election in Minnesota|1958]], [[1964 United States Senate election in Minnesota|1964]]}}
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{{s-par|us-sen}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Edward John Thye]]}}
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{{s-end}}

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