Wayne N. Aspinall - 1970 and 1972 Democratic Primaries

1970 and 1972 Democratic Primaries

After over two decades in office, the turbulent forces of the 1960s and early ’70s caught up with Aspinall. With liberalism gaining strength throughout the country by protesting the Vietnam War and advocating civil rights for African Americans and equal rights for women, reformers gained control of the Democratic Party. They jumped on the opportunity to remove one of the party’s most conservative members.

In 1970 a young Democrat named Richard Perchlik challenged Aspinall in the Fourth District Democratic primary. Although Aspinall won by over 11,000 votes in his first primary challenge since 1948, Perchlik’s campaign portrayed Aspinall as old (74 at the time) and out of touch with the ideals of liberals on the war and the environment. The challenger also accused The Chairman of being too connected to the extractive special interests and railed against him for his role in what reformers viewed as a flawed seniority system in Congress.

Aspinall’s friend and colleague, Democratic congressman Byron Rogers of Colorado’s First District, did not survive 1970’s primary season, however. A young liberal lawyer from Denver, Craig Barnes, defeated Rogers (although Barnes himself lost the general election). Rogers had a similar philosophy and legislative record to Aspinall, seemingly foreshadowing Aspinall’s fate in 1972.

The degree to which Aspinall appreciated the challenge of liberal Democrats is debated. He did say that “this drive toward liberalism, organization of committees, etc., is causing me to wonder if I haven’t reached the place where I should let some younger and more militant person take over.” However, he never altered his campaign message in 1972, even after the Republican-controlled Colorado General Assembly redrew the state’s district lines to include largely liberal precincts in the Fourth District. “Wayne Aspinall represents all the interests because all the people have interest in our resources,” his campaign said, continuing to target the miners, ranchers, and loggers that lived on the Western Slope. He never attempted to alter his message to assuage the concerns of his new liberal constituents.

His opponent in the 1972 Democratic primary, Alan Merson, employed the same strategy that Perchlik and Barnes used two years previously. Merson attacked Aspinall for being slow to recognize developing energy problems, promoting policies that fed constant growth, building needless water projects, and being a tool of special interests. Merson received extensive external aid, accepting endorsements from the New York Times, Field and Stream, and Reader's Digest. The environmental lobby provided most of the support to Merson’s campaign, with $20,000 coming from the League of Conservation Voters. Environmental Action, having named Aspinall to their 1972 “Dirty Dozen” list of biggest congressional enemies to the environment, also endorsed Merson.

Using the young, liberal vote on the Front Range, Merson defeated Aspinall in the primary 53% to 47%. History credits Aspinall’s loss to his age, the strength of the environmental issue in 1972, and the redistricting that cost The Chairman much of his conservative support on the Western Slope.

However, redistricting still favored Republicans, despite the liberal Merson’s victory. Moving urban voters into the Fourth split the Democratic vote and consolidated Republican strength. Merson lost to James Paul Johnson, who had been Aspinall's unsuccessful Republican opponent in 1966, in the general election in November 1972.