Showing 2 results

Finding Aid
Thomas A. Daschle Papers Political campaigns
Print preview Hierarchy View:

2 results with digital objects Show results with digital objects

Thomas A. Daschle U.S. Senate Papers

  • DA 02
  • Papers
  • 1964-2006

In the 1986 election, Daschle became South Dakota's junior senator by winning 52 percent of the vote in a tight race with Republican Senator James Abdnor. Senator Daschle was appointed to the Finance Committee during his first year in the Senate, an unusual honor for a freshman. In 1988, he became the first South Dakotan ever to hold a Senate Leadership position when he was named the first ever co-chair of the Democratic Policy Committee by then Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell.

When Senator Mitchell retired in 1994, Daschle ran for the post of Democratic Minority Leader and won, 24-23, over Senator Christopher Dodd. Only Lyndon B. Johnson had served fewer years in the Senate before being elected to the Leader position.

Senator Daschle served as Minority Leader from 1994 to 2001, when the Senate became deadlocked with 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans for the first time in the Senate's history. Daschle became Majority Leader for 17 days, from January 3 to January 20, because the new congress took office before a new presidential administration. Vice-President Al Gore acted as ex officio President of the Senate to give the Democrats a majority.

Daschle and Trent Lott, the Republican Leader, negotiated for five weeks to invent new rules to share power in an evenly-divided Congress and finally came up with an agreement that was passed unanimously by the Senate. In May of 2001, Republican Senator Jim Jeffords became an Independent, which gave the Democrats a majority in the chamber to make Senator Daschle Majority Leader once again, from June 6, 2001-January 3, 2003. After the 2002 election, Daschle again became Minority Leader for the 108th Congress until his defeat in the 2004 election.

Tom Daschle lost the 2004 election to John Thune by 4,534 votes, a 49%-51% margin. He had been the Democratic Leader for ten years, two years longer than Lyndon B. Johnson, and was the first party leader in a half-century to be voted out of office.

The U.S. Senate papers series of the Daschle Papers is composed of records created by Tom Daschle and his staff during his tenure in the U.S. Senate. Included are trip schedules, speeches, sponsored and cosponsored legislation, and administrative files including financial disclosures, appointments and schedules. This series does not contain much material related to Daschle's campaigns for voting records during this time.

The trip schedules and files regarding his frequent trips back to South Dakota, including quite a few of Daschle's "Trip Notes" which are Daschle's notes to his staff regarding his impressions of the details of the trip and issues and concerns encountered on the trips that he wanted his staff to address.

Also included are files on the Whitewater issue during the Clinton administration, veterans issues, Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota Water Projects, the accident of South Dakota Governor Mickelson, and aviation issues."

Daschle, Thomas

Linda Hall Daschle Papers

  • DA 11
  • Papers
  • 1962-2004

The Linda Hall Daschle Collection is composed of records created and collected by Linda Daschle during her career in aviation and her husband's career in the U.S. Congress. Included are awards and recognition that she received related to her work for various private and federal aviation associations and offices. Her collection also contains materials such as correspondence, press clips, and audio-visual recordings created during her career in the Federal Aviation Administration. Of note are letters from President Clinton and Vice President Gore, and remarks by Gore at the International Conference on Aviation Safety and Security in 1997.

Collected materials such as correspondence, trip schedules, weekly reports, and clippings from Tom Daschle's political career are included, as well as numerous audio-visual recordings of his speeches, interviews, and other activities. The remainder of the collection is comprised of plans, materials, and clippings of Tom Daschle's campaigns for the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, particularly the races against Clint Roberts and James Abdnor.

Daschle, Linda Hall, 1955-