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9 | Majority Rules

O

Bven no MeR 8, 1966, Gorton won his fifth and final two-year

term in the Washington State House of Representatives, captur-

ing 78 percent of the vote against a faceless Democrat. Better yet,

his hard-won victory in the redistricting wars produced a gain of 16 seats

and the first Republican majority in the House since 1953. In the Senate,

however, thanks in no small part to Greive’s artful machinations, Demo-

crats maintained a 29–20 majority.

With their 55–44 majority for the 1967 legislative session, the Repub-

licans elected Mount Vernon’s gentlemanly Don Eldridge speaker of the

House and Gorton majority leader. Eldridge, an Eagle Scout, had never

thirsted for the speaker’s job. Years later, he said he believed Dan Evans “and

their group would have preferred” Slade

as the speaker, “but they knew he couldn’t

get elected.” Eldridge respected Gorton “for

his intelligence, enthusiasm and energy.”

He was also less liberal than Evans, which

won him points with many of the old

guard. Still, Eldridge observed, “there were

a lot of people who just didn’t like Slade.”^1

Gorton had played hardball for his party

in 1965 and had zero regrets. Being major-

ity leader was no hollow consolation prize

to him. He relished the idea of being the

governor’s right-hand man in the Legisla-

ture. He also correctly surmised that El-

dridge would be a relatively passive speaker.

He was the one who goosed Eldridge to

pack his shaving kit and campaign for the

job. They spent many weekends on the

road, lobbying fellow Republicans to back

the Eldridge-Gorton ticket.

House Majority Leader Gorton

in 1967. Vibert Jeffers/Washington

State Archives