Editing George McGovern (section)

===1962 election and early years as a senator===
In April 1962, McGovern announced he would [[1962 United States Senate election in South Dakota|run for election to South Dakota's other Senate seat]], intending to face incumbent Republican [[Francis H. Case]].<ref name="cby-266"/> Case died in June, and McGovern instead faced an appointed senator, former lieutenant governor [[Joseph H. Bottum]].<ref name="cby-266"/> Much of the campaign revolved around policies of the Kennedy administration and its [[New Frontier]];<ref name="cby-267">''Current Year Biography 1967'', p. 267.</ref> Bottum accused the Kennedy family of trying to buy the Senate seat.<ref name="nyt102062">{{cite news | url=https://select.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=F00F1FF73958137A93C2AB178BD95F468685F9 | title=McGovern Wages Uphill Battle in Senate Race in South Dakota | author=Janson, Donald | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | date=October 20, 1962 | page=9}}</ref> McGovern appealed to those worried about the outflux of young people from the state, and had the strong support of the [[National Farmers Union (United States)|Farmers Union]].<ref name="nyt102062"/> Polls showed Bottum slightly ahead throughout the race, and McGovern was hampered by a recurrence of his hepatitis problem in the final weeks of the campaign.<ref name="nyt102062"/> (During this hospitalization, McGovern read [[Theodore H. White]]'s classic ''[[The Making of the President 1960]],'' and for the first time began thinking about running for the office someday.<ref name="white-1972-40"/>) Eleanor McGovern campaigned for her ailing husband and may have preserved his chance of winning.<ref>Anson, ''McGovern'', pp. ix, 125.</ref> The November 1962 election result was very close and required a recount, but McGovern's 127,458 votes prevailed by a margin of 597, making him the first Democratic senator from the state in 26 years<ref name="cby-267"/> and only the third since statehood in 1889.<ref name="nyt102062"/>

When he joined the Senate in January 1963 for the [[88th&nbsp;Congress]], McGovern was seated on the [[United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry|Senate Agriculture and Forestry Committee]] and [[United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources|Senate Interior and Insular Affairs Committee]].<ref name="cby-267"/> On the Agriculture Committee, McGovern supported high farm prices, full parity, and controls on beef importation, as well as the administration's Feed Grains Acreage Diversion Program.<ref name="anson-135">Anson, ''McGovern'', p. 135.</ref> McGovern had a fractious relationship with Secretary of Agriculture [[Orville Freeman]], who was less sympathetic to farmers; McGovern's 1966 resolution to informally scold Freeman made the senator popular back in his home state.<ref name="anson-135"/> Fellow new senator [[Edward M. Kennedy]] saw McGovern as a serious voice on farm policy and often sought McGovern's guidance on agriculture-related votes.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/28/us/28senate.html |title=Senate Has Changed in Kennedy's Time |author=Stolberg, Sheryl Gay |newspaper=The New York Times |date=August 27, 2009}}</ref> McGovern was largely inactive on the Interior Committee until 1967, when he was given the chairmanship of the subcommittee on Indian affairs;<ref name="anson-144">Anson, McGovern, pp. 143–144.</ref> however, Interior Committee chairman [[Henry M. Jackson]], who did not get along with McGovern personally or politically, refused to allow McGovern his own staff, limiting his effectiveness.<ref name="anson-144"/> McGovern regretted not accomplishing more for South Dakota's 30,000 [[Sioux Indian]]s, although after a McGovern-introduced resolution on Indian self-determination passed in 1969, the [[Oglala Sioux]] named McGovern "Great White Eagle."<ref name="anson-144"/>

In his first speech on the Senate floor in March 1963, McGovern praised Kennedy's [[Alliance for Progress]] initiative but spoke out against [[Cuba – United States relations|U.S.&nbsp;policy toward Cuba]], saying that it suffered from "our Castro fixation".<ref name="cby-267"/> In August 1963 McGovern advocated reducing the $53&nbsp;billion [[Military budget of the United States|defense budget]] by $5 billion; influenced by advisor [[Seymour Melman]], he held a special antipathy toward the doctrine of [[Nuclear overkill|nuclear "overkill"]].<ref name="anson-130">Anson, ''McGovern'', pp. 129–131.</ref> McGovern would try to reduce defense appropriations or limit military expenditures in almost every year during the 1960s.<ref name="anson-133">Anson, ''McGovern'', p. 133.</ref> He also voted against many weapons programs, especially missile and antimissile systems, and also opposed military assistance to foreign nations.<ref name="anson-133" /> In 1964 McGovern published his first book, ''War Against Want: America's Food for Peace Program''.<ref name="cby-267"/> In it he argued for expanding his old program, and a Senate measure he introduced was eventually passed, adding $700&nbsp;million to the effort's funding.<ref>Anson, ''McGovern'', p. 136.</ref>

Preferring to concentrate on broad policy matters and speeches, McGovern was not a master of Senate legislative tactics, and he developed a reputation among some other senators for "not doing his homework".<ref name="nyt-mitn-72"/><ref name="anson-138">Anson, ''McGovern'', pp. 138–139.</ref> Described as "a very private, unchummy guy", he was not a member of the Senate "club" nor did he want to be, turning down in 1969 a chance to join the powerful [[Senate Rules Committee]].<ref name="nyt-mitn-72"/><ref name="anson-138"/> Relatively few pieces of legislation bore his name, and his legislative accomplishments were generally viewed as modest, although he would try to influence the contents of others' bills.<ref name="nyt-record"/><ref name="anson-138"/> In his political beliefs, McGovern fit squarely within [[modern American liberalism]]; through 1967 he had voted in accordance with the rated positions of the ADA 92&nbsp;percent of the time, and when lacking specific knowledge on a particular matter, he would ask his staff, "What are the liberals doing?"<ref name="nyt-prof-1968"/><ref name="nyt-record"/><ref>Anson, ''McGovern'', pp. 139–141.</ref>