Nation: Seeking the Mantle

For the first time in 49 years, the name of Sam Rayburn was missing from the ballot in Texas’ Fourth Congressional District. The cotton-and-cattle-country Fourth was Mister Sam’s undisputed personal fief; the Texas legislature kept it the sixth smallest in the U.S. (its population is 213,374; by comparison, a neighboring district contains 951,527 Texans) to make fence-tending easy for the aging Speaker, who died last November at 79. Six candidates, including a lone Republican, campaigned to succeed him in a special election. Nobody polled a majority, so the two who led the field will face each other in a runoff late this month.

The leaders were both Democrats—and both laid claim to having been Rayburn’s personal favorite. Said State Senator Ray Roberts, 44, who once worked in Mister Sam’s House office: “There is no question about how Mr. Rayburn felt about me. Mr. Rayburn used to say it all the time; everybody’s heard him say, ‘I’ve been training Ray Roberts for 20 years to go to Washington.’ ” Said R. C. (“Bob”) Slagle Jr., 51, a lawyer and onetime Rayburn campaign manager: “I worked with Rayburn for many years. I spent many happy hours with him. I was his right-hand man in this area and a personal friend. I loved the old man. No one will fill his shoes, understand me there, but I would like to see the man who succeeds him follow in the Rayburn traditions and the Rayburn thinking, and I believe I understand that as well as anybody living.”

Roberts came out on top with 8,132 votes. Slagle was runner-up with 5,941.