Is Sestak Offer A Reprise Of 1982 Reagan Move?
Matt Ortega, on Twitter, has unearthed an Associated Press story from 1981. Here’s the first paragraph:
Sen. S.I. Hayakawa on Wednesday spurned a Reagan administration suggestion that if he drops out of the crowded Republican Senate primary race in California, President Reagan would find him a job.
Hayakawa, who was seeking a second term at the time, was being urged by GOP officials to withdraw from the 1982 primary, a race that included, among others, Reps. Barry Goldwater Jr. & Bob Dornan, San Diego Mayor Pete Wilson, and First Daughter Maureen Reagan. The last thing the White House wanted was a split-conservative field that would end in the nomination of Rep. Pete McCloskey, a longtime anathema to the Right.
Hayakawa ultimately decided not to run for re-election. Wilson won the primary and was elected in November.