U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy: First long odds, now long career

U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy: Getty Images PhotoU.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Middlesex) seems to be everywhere these days, from fighting to ban cluster bombs in Dublin to challenging big oil company executives on the Senate floor. He'll even make an appearance in this summer's eagerly awaited Batman flick, "The Dark Knight."

Although Leahy himself, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, is no superhero, his political prowess is matched by few. Congress.org, a non-partisan website that ranks politicians' influence in Washington, named Leahy the fourth most-powerful U.S. senator in the nation and the fourth most-powerful man in the Democratic Party.

But few could have predicted Leahy's rise to power, his longevity or his success. First elected in 1974, he became the first and only Democrat to represent Vermont in the U.S. Senate; at the age of 34, he was the youngest as well.

That year Leahy, who was an attorney, squared off against Republican Richard Mallary, then the Green Mountain State's at-large representative, after long-time Republican incumbent George Aiken announced his retirement. With history against him, Leahy squeaked past Mallary, beating him by just more than 4,000 votes.

"Leahy was part of the Watergate class that benefited from being Democrats who had good timing," Mallary, who has moved in and out of serving in the state government and the private sector, said in a recent interview with PolitickerVT.com.

"My loss was partially the result of me not being a particularly charismatic campaigner but there were external forces as well," citing Watergate and a tanking economy.

At the beginning of Mallary's campaign, polls showed him holding a comfortable lead over Leahy. But as events unfolded at the national level, "we became well aware that there was a substantial possibility that I would not be elected," Mallary stated. "We all thought it would be close."

"He was certainly at the right place at the right time in terms of the national environment," said Rob Roper, chairman of the Vermont Republican Party.

Garrison Nelson, a political science professor at the University of Vermont who also worked for Leahy during his early years in the Senate, listed Watergate and an internally divided GOP as two of the external factors that led to Leahy's unprecedented upset. He also noted that while Mallary was "a very capable legislator, he was not a good campaigner. He didn't have the energy to do it."

Six years after Leahy's historic election, he faced his toughest contest ever, against Stewart Ledbetter, holding onto his seat by less than 3,000 votes.

"It was super-tight," remembered the Republican candidate's son, Stewart Ledbetter Jr., a political reporter from Channel 5 in Burlington who served as an aide in his father's campaign. "We were up until 4 a.m. waiting for the results."

Ledbetter Jr. stated that his father began the race about 52 points behind Leahy, and by the end of the campaign had lost by just one.

Nelson contends "two factors gave Leahy his victory: The change from straight tickets to split-ticket voting and John Anderson," referring to Vermonters' ability to vote for candidates from more than one party with the same ballot and the Independent presidential candidate in 1980, respectively.

Twenty-eight years and four elections later, Leahy has spent over half his life in the Senate. His last truly competitive race was in 1992, when Leahy beat his opponent, Jim Douglas (R-Middlebury), by almost 11 percent. Douglas is now seeking re-election as Vermont's governor.

And Leahy's career in the Senate shows no signs of slowing down.

"He loves being in the Senate," said Ledbetter Jr. "He's never really showed an interest doing anything else."

Leahy gradually accumulated power with seniority, jumping from one key committee to the next. He landed in Agriculture -- an important position for a U.S. senator from Vermont, before heading to the Judiciary -- a perfect match for a former attorney.

Nelson believes Leahy is now in a "holding pattern" until he chairs the Appropriations Committee, which could be "his for the rest of his life if he wants it." U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), who currently chairs the powerful panel, will be 91 in November and this spring, Leahy told Vermont Public Radio that was interested in chairing Appropriations should the elder Byrd step aside.

Leahy's years in the Senate only boost his influence among his colleagues, allowing him to hold top positions in key committees. And ongoing political trends in Vermont contribute to the long-time incumbent's longevity.

"Vermont tends to not kick out incumbents," said Mallary. He added that since the mid-1970s, "the political complexion of the state has moved considerably to the left."

In the 1970s and 1980s, few political analysts could have predicted Leahy's success. But now few can foresee any reason for Leahy's success to stall in the near future.

Roper said that Vermont Republicans would not start the search for Leahy's challenger until after all the votes had been tallied, to keep the focus on this year's elections.

Yet both Nelson and Mallary believe that no Republican can mount a strong enough challenge to topple Leahy, who is 68 years old.

Ledbetter Jr. agreed: "Vermont is comfortable with Patrick Leahy."