Spiro Agnew

Spiro Theodore Agnew, born Spiro Anagnostopoulos (November 9, 1918 – September 17, 1996) in Towson, Maryland, was the thirty-ninth Vice President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1973 under President Richard M. Nixon.

Political career

Agnew, raised as a Democrat, switched parties and became a Republican to fit in with his Republican law partners. In 1957, Agnew first entered politics upon his appointment by Democratic Baltimore County Executive Michael J. Birmingham to the Baltimore County Board of Appeals. In 1960, he made his first elective run for office as a candidate for Judge of the Circuit Court, coming in fifth in a five-person contest. In 1961, the new Democratic Baltimore County Executive Christian H. Kahl dropped him from the Zoning Board. Agnew loudly protested and developed much name recognition.

Related Topics:
1957 - Michael J. Birmingham - Christian H. Kahl

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1962, Agnew ran for election as County Executive of Baltimore County. He sought office in a predominantly Democratic county where no Republican had yet been County Executive in the twentieth century and only one would after he left (Roger B. Hayden). Agnew ran and as a reformer and Republican outsider. Taking advantage of a bitter split in the Democratic Party, Agnew was elected and sworn in in 1963.

Related Topics:
1962 - County Executive - Baltimore County - Democratic - Roger B. Hayden - Republican - 1963

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Instead of a seeking a second term, Agnew decided to run for Governor of Maryland in 1966. In this overwhelmingly Democratic state, Democrats crossed party lines to elect him after the Democratic nominee, George P. Mahoney, a Baltimore paving contractor and perennial candidate running on an anti-integration platform, narrowly won the Democratic gubernatorial primary out of a crowded slate of eight candidates. Many Democrats opposed to segregation crossed party lines to give Agnew the governorship by 82,000 votes. Agnew became the fifth Republican governor in Maryland history and there would not be another until the election of Robert Ehrlich in 2002. As governor, Agnew backed tax and judicial reforms and projected an image of racial moderation during the riots that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr..

Related Topics:
Governor of Maryland - 1966 - George P. Mahoney - Integration - Segregation - Robert Ehrlich - Martin Luther King, Jr.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Agnew's moderate image, immigrant background and successful political career in a traditionally Democratic state made him an attractive running mate for Nixon in 1968. Agnew's nomination was supported by certain conservatives within the Republican Party and by Nixon, who encouraged the Republican National Convention to nominate Agnew. But a small band of delegates started shouting "Spiro Who?" and tried to place George Romney's name in nomination. Nixon's wishes prevailed and thus, in what was considered a meteorical rise in politics, Agnew went from his first election as County Executive to Vice President in six years. Agnew is also the last Governor elected as Vice President.

Related Topics:
Nixon in 1968 - George Romney

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~