Ouster of Incumbents Nears Record in House

The number of House members defeated in primaries this year is approaching a record level with the defeat Tuesday of two incumbents, including a Michigan Republican who devoted much of his career to helping GOP congressional candidates get elected.

The fall of Guy Vander Jagt, a 13-term lawmaker who had headed the National Republican Congressional Committee since the mid-1970s, coupled with the loss of Republican Rep. Dick Nichols of Kansas, pushed the total of primary casualties to 15, matching the second-highest number of defeats set in 1948.

With 20 primaries remaining, the modern-day mark of 18--set in 1946--appears likely to fall.

“There is a ferocious tide against incumbents running across the country and I could not swim strongly enough to offset it,” Vander Jagt, 60, said after the election results.

The trend could next pose problems for Democratic Rep. Charles Hatcher of Georgia, who faces a tough runoff next Tuesday, and Oklahoma Reps. Mickey Edwards, a Republican, and Mike Synar, a Democrat, who are considered vulnerable in a primary on Aug. 25.

Vander Jagt was defeated by political newcomer Peter Hoekstra, 38, an office furniture manufacturer who campaigned by bicycling 270 miles across the district. Hoekstra, who was outspent more than 10 to 1, won with 46% of the vote to Vander Jagt’s 41%.

“We’re sorry to lose such a great leader,” Torie Clarke, President Bush’s campaign spokeswoman, said of Vander Jagt. “It’s a sign of it being a very tough year for everybody.”

In the Kansas primary, Nichols, a 66-year-old freshman House member, was defeated by state Sen. Eric Yost.