Abstract

The West

This article presents information on a pre-election survey in the Western states of the U.S. on those contests which are of more than local interest and which are likely to affect national policy either immediately or in 1964. The less-populated Western states have long been the happy hunting- ground of national politicians who hope to pick up several U.S. Senate seats for the price of one. Excluding huge California, the sixteen westernmost states have less population among them than either New York or California; yet they have 32 Senators. A shift of a few thousand votes is often sufficient to swing a seat. Although all but three of these states went for presidential candidate Richard Nixon in 1960, their present Senate line-up is 20 Democratic seats against 12 Republican.