1970 United States Senate Election
In 1969, leading up to the 1970 elections, Morton was considered one of the strongest potential candidates to challenge incumbent Democratic senator Joseph Tydings. Morton had sought the Republican nomination in the 1968 elections, but acquiesced to Charles Mathias, Jr. to prevent a primary runoff.
Speculation that Morton would seek election increased after an editorial in the Baltimore Sun encouraged him to challenge Tydings. Sources within the administration of Vice President Spiro Agnew, who was formerly governor of Maryland, were also commenting Morton would make a strong candidate and would likely run. When Morton stated he would be making an important announcement with President Nixon in December 1969, it seemed all but certain at the time that it would be to declare his candidacy.
However, Republicans around the country were concerned that Morton, who had just been appointed Chairman of the RNC in January 1969, would resign during the election season to better handle the battle with Tydings. President Nixon shared their concerns, and encouraged Morton to remain as chairman. On December 16, 1969, with Nixon by his side, Morton announced his priorities were with the national committee, and that he would not seek Tydings’ seat. Morton also threw his full support for the nomination behind J. Glenn Beall, Jr., a freshman member of the Maryland Senate.
Morton’s decision not to challenge Tydings initially worried Maryland republicans, who saw Morton as one of their best candidates. National republican strategists had also begun to write-off Tydings’ seat as unwinnable for the 1970 election, due to his wealth and popularity in the dense, urban areas of Montgomery County and Baltimore. However, despite initial misgivings by state republicans, Beall defeated Tydings on November 3, 1970 by a margin of more than 30,000 votes.
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