By Phil Keisling and Sam Reed | Governing
In early November 1956, a young state senator named Monroe Sweetland was locked in a tight election campaign for Oregon secretary of state, one that Sweetland would narrowly lose. But as election day neared, Sweetland was encouraged that voters finally seemed aware of the important duties of Oregon’s second-ranking state office.
The reaction of two elderly women he met outside a post office on this particular day was especially heartening. Clasping Sweetland’s hands in delight, one told him, “Of course you can count on both of our votes — and all our friends, too!” But Sweetland’s newfound faith in voter awareness was short-lived as the woman then exclaimed, “Yes — all of us think that John Foster Dulles has just got to go!”
