Feb. 18, 1974:

VanderVeen US Congress button.

In a special congressional election, Richard Vander Veen wins the House seat vacated by now-Vice President Gerald Ford in Michigan's 5th District.

Vander Veen is the first Democrat to win the seat since 1910, and the result is widely seen as a repudiation of President Nixon and his role in the Watergate scandal. It's also regarded as a sign of bad things to come for the GOP in 1974. And it was.

Vander Veen defeated state Senate Majority Leader Richard Vander Laan (R), 51 to 44 percent. The seat had been held by Ford for the past quarter-century.

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categories: Today In Campaign History

5:00 - February 18, 2009

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