Editing John Danforth (section)

===United States Senate===
[[File:Reagan Contact Sheet BW 4787 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Danforth greeting [[President of the United States|President]] [[Ronald Reagan]], 1981]]

====Elections====
In 1970, Danforth ran for the [[United States Senate]] for the first time, against Democratic incumbent [[Stuart Symington]]. He lost in a close race.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/11/04/archives/symington-wins-4th-senate-term-missouri-democrat-at-69-edges-a.html |title=Symington Wins 4th Senate Term |date=November 4, 1970 |first=B. Drummond Jr. |last=Ayres |newspaper=The New York Times |page=35 |access-date=March 9, 2021 }}</ref>

In 1976, Danforth [[1976 United States Senate election in Missouri|ran to succeed]] Symington, who was retiring.<ref name=nytfight>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/10/18/archives/hearnes-is-facing-difficult-fight-to-succeed-symington-in-senate.html |title=Hearnes Is Facing Difficult Fight To Succeed Symington in Senate |date=October 18, 1976 |newspaper=The New York Times |first=Paul | last=Delaney |page=33 |access-date=March 11, 2021 }}</ref> He had little opposition in the Republican primary.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=328080 |title=MO US Senate – R Primary |date=August 3, 1976 |website=Our Campaigns |access-date=March 11, 2021 }}</ref> The Democrats had a three-way battle among Symington's son [[James W. Symington]], former Missouri Governor [[Warren Hearnes]], and rising political star Congressman [[Jerry Litton]].<ref name="nytfight" /> Litton won the primary, but he and his family were killed when the plane taking them to their victory party in Kansas City crashed on takeoff in [[Chillicothe, Missouri]].<ref name=crash>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/08/04/archives/missouri-senate-nominee-dies-in-crash-after-upset-victory-missouri.html |title=Missouri Senate Nominee Dies In Crash Alter Upset Victory |date=August 4, 1976 |newspaper=The New York Times |page=1 |first=Paul |last=Delaney |access-date=March 11, 2021 }}</ref> Hearnes, who had finished second in the primary, was chosen to replace Litton as the Democratic nominee.<ref name="nytfight" /><ref name="crash" /> In the general election, Danforth defeated Hearnes with nearly 57% of the vote.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1976election.pdf#page=26 |title=Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 2, 1976 |website=Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives |first=Benjamin J. |last=Guthrie |page=26 |access-date=March 11, 2021 }}</ref>

In 1982, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate was [[Harriett Woods]], a relatively unknown state senator from the St. Louis suburb of [[University City, Missouri|University City]]. She was active in women's rights organizations and collected union support and was a cousin of Democratic Senator [[Howard Metzenbaum]] of [[Ohio]]. Her speeches denounced [[Ronald Reagan]]'s policies so vigorously that she ran on the nickname "Give 'em Hell, Harriett" (a play on the famous [[Harry S. Truman|Truman]] phrase). Danforth defeated Woods 51% to 49%, with Woods's pro-choice stance said to be the reason for her loss.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.umsl.edu/~whmc/guides/whm0490.htm |title=WHMC-St. Louis sl 490 Woods, Harriett F. (1927– ), Addenda, 1975–1983 |publisher=Umsl.edu |date=1982-01-12 |access-date=2010-03-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100601195825/http://www.umsl.edu/~whmc/guides/whm0490.htm |archive-date=2010-06-01 }}</ref>

In 1988, Danforth defeated Democrat [[Jay Nixon]], 68%–32%. He chose not to run for a fourth term and retired from the Senate in 1995. He was succeeded by former Missouri governor [[John Ashcroft]]. Nixon was later elected Missouri Attorney General, and, in [[2008 Missouri gubernatorial election|2008]], governor of Missouri.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-04-27 |title=Jay Nixon |url=https://theforum.sph.harvard.edu/expert-participants/jay-nixon/ |access-date=2022-05-03 |website=The Forum at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health |language=en-US}}</ref>

In January 2001, when Missouri Democrats opposed Ashcroft's nomination for U.S. Attorney General, Danforth's name was invoked. Former U.S. Senator [[Thomas Eagleton|Tom Eagleton]] reacted to the nomination by saying: "John Danforth would have been my first choice. John Ashcroft would have been my last choice."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://judiciary.senate.gov/oldsite/te011601hw.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303174814/http://judiciary.senate.gov/oldsite/te011601hw.htm |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |url-status=dead |date=January 19, 2001 |title=Testimony for the Judiciary Committee Hearing on the Nomination of John Ashcroft |website=U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee }}</ref>

====Tenure====
{{expand section|date=January 2021}}
During the 1991 Senate confirmation hearings for [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] nominee [[Clarence Thomas]], Danforth used his clout to support Thomas, who had served Danforth during his state attorney general years and later as an aide in the Senate.<ref name="auto1"/>

Danforth portrayed himself as a political moderate, but voted like his right-wing Republican colleagues, including sustaining filibusters. He was once quoted as saying he joined the Republican Party for "the same reason you sometimes choose which movie to see—[it's] the one with the shortest line."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/nov/15/usa.marktran|title=Names in the frame|first=Mark|last=Tran|date=Nov 15, 2004|access-date=Sep 17, 2020|via=www.theguardian.com}}</ref>

Danforth is a longtime opponent of [[capital punishment]], as he made clear on the Senate floor in 1994.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=1940 |title=New Voices – Conservative Voices |publisher=Deathpenaltyinfo.org |access-date=2013-12-30 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070713112245/http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=1940 |archive-date=2007-07-13 }}</ref>

In 1988, [[George H. W. Bush]]'s presidential campaign vetted Danforth as a potential running mate. Bush selected Indiana Senator [[Dan Quayle]] instead.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=123349&page=1|title=Danforth, Cheney on Bush V.P. Short List|date=2006-01-06|website=ABC News|language=en|access-date=2019-03-07}}</ref>