Jim Sasser
Jim Sasser | |
---|---|
United States Ambassador to China | |
In office February 14, 1996 – July 1, 1999 | |
President | Bill Clinton |
Preceded by | J. Stapleton Roy |
Succeeded by | Joseph Prueher |
United States Senator from Tennessee | |
In office January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1995 | |
Preceded by | Bill Brock |
Succeeded by | Bill Frist |
Personal details | |
Born | James Ralph Sasser September 30, 1936 Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Mary Sasser |
Education | University of Tennessee, Knoxville Vanderbilt University (BA, LLB) |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | United States Marine Corps |
Years of service | 1957-1963 |
Unit | Reserves |
James Ralph Sasser (born September 30, 1936) is an American
Early life and career
James Ralph Sasser was born in
From 1957 to 1963, he served in
Jim Sasser was a long time Democratic activist, manager of
Senate campaigns
1976 election
Upon winning his party's Senate nomination, Sasser set out to attack the record of one-term incumbent Sen.
Sasser's campaign was also greatly aided by the efforts of ex-Senator Gore. Brock had defeated the elder Gore for the Senate in 1970 largely upon the basis of Gore's opposition to the Vietnam War. Sasser won handily over Brock, and went on to serve three Senate terms.
Re-election, 1982 and 1988
He turned back a serious effort against him by five-term United States Representative Robin Beard very handily in 1982. That showing was so impressive that his 1988 Republican opponent was a virtual political unknown named Bill Andersen, whose underfunded, essentially token campaign never stood a chance.
1994 re-election campaign
There were two unforeseen events that negated Sasser's popularity. Some Tennessee voters were discontented with the first two years of the Clinton administration, especially the proposal for a national health-care system largely put together and advocated by Clinton's wife,
Frist was a political unknown and a total novice (who never voted until he was 36)[4] at campaigning, but was from one of Nashville's most prominent and wealthiest medical families, which gave him name recognition, especially in the Nashville area, and resources adequate to match the campaign war chest built up by a typical three-term incumbent, a challenge most "insurgent" candidates find to be extremely difficult. A further factor working to Frist's advantage was a simultaneous Republican campaign by actor and attorney Fred Thompson for the other Tennessee Senate seat, which was held to replace Al Gore, who had resigned in 1993 to become Vice President of the United States. To an extent, Frist was able to bask in the reflected glory of this formidable stage presence, and additionally developed some campaigning skills, which were almost totally absent in the early stages of his campaign. Another factor in Frist's favor was that Sasser was never seen as possessing much charisma of his own. During the campaign Nashville radio stations were derisive towards Sasser to the point of stating that he could only win "a Kermit The Frog lookalike contest."[citation needed] In one of the largest upsets in a night of political upsets in the November 1994 U.S. general elections, Frist defeated incumbent Sasser by approximately 14 percentage points (56%-42%). Sasser And Pennsylvania's Harris Wofford were the only incumbents to lose re-election in the 1994 cycle. As of 2024, Along with Harlan Mathews, he is the last Democrat to have represented Tennessee in the U.S. Senate.
Senate accomplishments
With the retirement of Senator
With these successes, Sasser began to work his way upward in the party leadership. When then-
Ambassador to China
Sasser went on to serve as
Electoral history
- 1976 Democratic Primary for U.S. Senate (TN)
- Jim Sasser, 44%
- John Jay Hooker, 31%
- Harry Sadler, 10%
- David Bolin, 8%
- 1976 General Election for U.S. Senate (TN)
- Jim Sasser (D), 52%
- Bill Brock (R) (inc.), 47%
- 1982 General Election for U.S. Senate (TN)
- Jim Sasser (D) (inc.), 62%
- Robin Beard (R), 38%
- 1988 General Election for U.S. Senate (TN)
- Jim Sasser (D) (inc.), 65%
- Bill Andersen(R), 35%
- 1994 General Election for U.S. Senate (TN)
- Bill Frist (R), 56%
- Jim Sasser (D) (inc.), 42%
Notes
- ^ "Tennessee statesman James Sasser donates papers to Vanderbilt". News. 2013-07-01. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
- ^ Randal Rust. "Sasser, James Ralph". Tennessee Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
- ^ "Sasser, James Ralph — Biographical Information". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 2007-06-15.
- ^ Masterson, Karen (December 24, 2002). "Unanimous vote names Frist new Senate leader". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
- ^ "Clinton and House Democrats Agree On Spending Cuts, but Ante Is Raised," by Michael Wines in The New York Times.
- ^ "Clinton to Cut Spending Further," by Eric Pianin and Ruth Marcus in The Washington Post.
- ^ Fram, Alan (May 8, 1994). "After 17 Years, Tennessee's Jim Sasser Emerging From Senate Anonymity". Associated Press. Retrieved 2019-07-13.
References
- Beiler, David (April 1995). "Surgical Precision: How Senate Power Jim Sasser Was Stomped by a Political Novice in Tennessee". Campaigns and Elections. Archived from the original on 2006-02-11. Retrieved 2006-02-22.
- "Sasser, James Ralph (1936– )". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 2007-04-22.