National Conservative Political Action Committee
The National Conservative Political Action Committee (NCPAC; pronounced "nick-pack"), based in
In 1979
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History
Founding
NCPAC was founded in 1975 by conservative activists
NCPAC worked diligently for the nomination of Ronald Reagan in the 1976 Presidential election. Its efforts fell just short in a bitter disappointment. Kenny Klinge (Reagan's Convention manager) and Roger Stone then chose to dedicate NCPAC to the 1977 elections in Virginia, backing Wyatt Durrette for Attorney General and a number of General Assembly candidates. While Durrette was generally considered the favorite having been Reagan's co-chair in Virginia, he lost the nomination to Marshall Coleman by 0.46 votes in a contentious convention in Roanoke. A number of NCPAC-backed Assembly candidates did win that fall. (Written by Donald Smith, a Field Rep for NCPAC in 1977.)
NCPAC became one of the first groups to circumvent the contribution limits of the [Federal Election Campaign Act] (FECA) by exploiting the "independent expenditure" loophole permitted under a 1976
1978 election
NCPAC's first major target was Democratic
1980 election
Clark's defeat, for which NCPAC took credit, encouraged the group and other allied organizations to expand their efforts in the 1980 election, when NCPAC spent at least $1.2 million.[7] Four of the six incumbent Democratic Senators targeted by NCPAC in 1980, John Culver (Iowa), George McGovern (South Dakota), Frank Church (Idaho), and Birch Bayh (Indiana), were unseated.[8] Senators Alan Cranston of California and Thomas Eagleton of Missouri were also targeted, but achieved re-election.[9]
1982 election
NCPAC hoped to repeat its success in the 1982 election. Initially, the group targeted a list of 20 Senators for defeat, including
Later years
L. Brent Bozell succeeded Dolan as the group's head after Dolan's death in December 1986, but resigned at the end of the following August over disagreement with the board on future direction of the group.[13] The organization faded away a few years later.[14]
References
- ^ a b The New Right Takes Aim, Time magazine, August 20, 1979
- ^ a b Thomas Frank, "The Tilting Yard: Charlie Black's Cronies" Wall Street Journal July 2, 2008
- ^ "Running with the PACs", Time magazine, October 25, 1982
- ^ The Washington Post, August 10, 1980, p. F1, as cited at http://www.bartleby.com/73/150.html
- ^ "150. John Terry Dolan (1950-86). Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations. 1989". 25 June 2022.
- ^ a b c Richard F. Fenno, Jr., Richard F. Fenno, Senators on the Campaign Trail, University of Oklahoma Press, 1998
ISBN 978-0-8061-3062-0,
- ^ a b c d No Thunder from the Right, by Jane O'Reilly, Time magazine, Nov. 15, 1982
- ^ A Bag of Tricks: Independent Expenditures, Center for Responsible Politics opensecrets.org website, archived January 13, 2008.
- ^ New Resolve by the New Right, by Edwin Warner, Time magazine, December 1, 1980
- ^ NCPAC's Waterloo, by Chuck Lane, The Harvard Crimson, September 25, 1982
- ^ Attack PAC Time magazine, Oct. 25, 1982
- ^ Harold Jackson (July 4, 2008), "Obituary: Jesse Helms", The Guardian, retrieved January 16, 2017
- ^ AP (1 September 1987). "Conservative Official Resigns". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
- ^ Kroll, Andy (July–August 2012). "Follow the Dark Money". Mother Jones. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
External links
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