Second-Place Mo examines the rightward drift of the Democratic Party that began in earnest with Jimmy Carter’s defeat of Morris “Mo” Udall for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1976—a turning point that set the party toward a free-market economy and away from economic liberalism.
The candidacy of Mo Udall, a congressman from Arizona, was the first time in almost a century that a member of the House of Representatives had a chance to become president; it also promised a continuation of the Democrats’ tradition of New Deal liberalism, which had been the party’s guiding star since the 1930s. But the Udall campaign was rocked by events beyond its control, its own mistakes, and the whirlwind candidacy of Jimmy Carter, who went on to win the nomination and the presidency.
Mo Udall chalked up eight second-place primary finishes without a victory. His candidacy was memorable for his dogged persistence, sunny good humor, and unabashed liberalism. This book chronicles a Democratic primary filled with memorable candidates, including the militarist and arch-Zionist Scoop Jackson; the newly minted more-populist-than-thou Fred Harris; the Hamlet-like figures of Birch Bayh and Hubert Humphrey; the fading, injured apostle of the Confederate South, George Wallace; the affable yet ineffective Kennedy in-law, Sargent Shriver; the anti-abortion housewife from Long Island, Ellen McCormack; and others. All are vividly brought to life—including Jimmy Carter, a thrower of sharp elbows before he became the beloved, humanitarian former president—set against the backdrop of Udall’s doomed effort.
Second-Place Mo examines why Udall’s 1976 campaign failed and what lessons his near misses hold for contemporary politics. Along the way, it recovers a figure whose principled liberalism and self-deprecating humor offer an instructive contrast to the politics of our own moment.
