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. Oncethis 70-group program becomes a law, then we can anticipate an expansionin the Air Program in the State of Texas. Although much of what Johnson did in 1947 and early 1948 was calculated to help him in a Senate race, he was not sure that he would run.Unlike 1941, a Senate bid now meant giving up his House seat and a possible end to his political career.Such an outcome, however, did not put himoff entirely.In 1947 Lady Bird had given birth to Lucy Baines Johnson, theirsecond child, and the thought of managing their lucrative radio business,acquiring a television station, and spending more time with his family werealternatives with which Lyndon believed he could live.Yet politics 60 :: lyndon b.johnsonremained his vocational passion, and he could not easily accommodatehimself to the thought of giving up his House seat.Lyndon s caution was well advised.There was much to suggest that hewould not win.In the spring of 1947, Joe Belden, the Texas pollster, tookinitial soundings on the 1948 Senate race.In a contest between Johnsonand Pappy O Daniel, Johnson was projected as a clear winner: 64 percentof the sample said they would vote for Johnson.The poll demonstratedwhat Texas political observers already knew namely, that O Daniel s performance in the Senate, particularly appeals for isolation from world affairsand bitter attacks on unions and Federal officials as setting up a Communist dictatorship, had alienated Democratic colleagues and limited his ability to represent Texas.Further, revelations of highly profitable businessdealings shattered his reputation as a man of the people and assured thathe would not win a second term.O Daniel s political vulnerability, however, was small comfort to Lyndon.Former Governor Coke Stevenson andincumbent Governor Beauford Jester, two other potential candidates,defeated O Daniel by three-to-one margins and seemed likely to beat Johnson in a Senate race.Johnson genuinely feared losing and had substantial reservations aboutmaking the physical and emotional sacrifices tied to a Senate race.Yet, ashe later told Doris Kearns, feeling that something was missing from [his]life and wanting, as one friend remembered, to be Senator more thananything else in the world, he quietly planned a campaign in the springof 1948.He announced his candidacy at an afternoon press conference inthe Driskill Hotel in Austin on May 12.Although he viewed his decision as possibly marking the end of his political career, he exuded confidence to the assembled journalists and friends.He deserved to be a Senator, he said.He had actually won the seat in 1941against O Daniel but his opponents had altered the tally to deprive him ofthe victory. I was urged to contest that result, but I tried to be a good sport.Lots of people said they d support me next time, but the war intervened.I know the fair-minded people of Texas will help me win that promotion to which I came so close before. He emphasized that his long servicein the Congress, his youthfulness and energy compared with that of hisopponents, his accomplishments in helping raise the living standard of allhis constituents, his experience on the Armed Services and Atomic Energycommittees, where he had schooled himself in the great issues of war andpeace, all made him the best candidate for the office and demonstrated thathe would be a highly effective senator.His announcement began a political struggle that would echo through the rest of his public career. The Congressman :: 61:: landslide lyndon Johnson s decision to run for the Senate triggered an explosion of activity.With less than eleven weeks to go before the July 24 election, Lyndon faceda formidable challenge.Winning over a majority of the more than 1.2 million Democrats who would vote in the party primary seemed too much toachieve in so short a time.If he could hold Coke Stevenson under 50percent, while he ran a close second, he could force a one-on-one run-offthat would give him another month to overcome Stevenson s lead.Thecampaign was a decisive moment in his career: He would either become aU.S.Senator or lose his House seat and the eleven years of seniority andinfluence that went with it.Johnson launched the most energetic, all-consuming drive for office he had ever made.To get his name and message before the electorate and overcomeStevenson s lead in the polls, Johnson and John Connally hit on the ideaof using a helicopter.An uncommon aircraft in 1948, it seemed certain todraw a crowd wherever Johnson went.In addition, it promised to give Johnson greater capacity to speak in more towns in a shorter period of time thanif he traveled on commercial airlines between major cities and drove fromone town to another.To avoid having the daily $250 rental cost charged tohis primary campaign, which was limited by law to $10,000 in direct spending, Johnson invented the fiction that the Dallas Veterans for Johnson committee rented the craft.Naming his machine the Johnson City Windmill,Lyndon announced a plan on June 12 to go to every town in northeastTexas, and see folks who rarely met a candidate for state-wide office. On June 15, Johnson launched his helicopter blitz of Texas that carriedhim to 118 cities and towns in the next seventeen days
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