Political party Democratic Succeeded by David Towell Name Walter Baring, | Preceded by Charles H. Russell Spouse A. Geraldine Baring Party Democratic Party | |
 | ||
Born September 9, 1911
Goldfield, Nevada ( 1911-09-09 ) Children Walter S. Baring III, William R. Baring, John B. Baring, Thomas J. Baring Died July 13, 1975, Reno, Nevada, United States Education University of Nevada, Reno, Reno High School | ||
Preceded by Clarence Clifton Young Succeeded by Clarence Clifton Young | ||
Walter Stephan Baring Jr. (September 9, 1911 – July 13, 1975) was a United States Representative from Nevada.
Contents
Biography
Baring came from a political family. His father served on the Esmeralda County Commission for a while, until he moved the family to Reno. His father then managed a furniture store. Baring graduated from the University of Nevada in 1934 with two bachelor's degrees. After graduating, he worked as a collector for the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
Naval Service
Baring served as a Member of the Nevada Assembly in 1936. He was subsequently reelected, but resigned in 1943 so that he could serve in the United States Navy during World War II. After the war, he was elected to the Reno City Council.
During the Presidency of Franklin Roosevelt, Baring strongly criticized the President's plan to pack the U.S. Supreme Court.
Nevada Representative
Baring was first elected to Nevada's sole seat in the House of Representatives in 1948, unseating first-term Republican incumbent Charles H. Russell by 761 votes. He was reelected in 1950, but in 1952, he was unexpectedly defeated by Republican Cliff Young, who won that election by 771 votes. Baring ran against Young again in 1954, but Young again managed a narrow victory. In 1956, Young ran for the U.S. Senate against incumbent Democrat Alan Bible, who narrowly defeated him in the primary. That year, Baring ran for Congress again, defeating Las Vegas City Attorney Howard Cannon in the Democratic primary before winning the general. He was reelected by a landslide in 1958.
During his first term in Congress, Baring compiled a liberal voting record. After his return, however, he veered considerably to the right, billing himself as a "Jeffersonian States' Rights Democrat." He usually voted with the conservative Southern wing of his party [1]. He was critical of John F. Kennedy and voted against most of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society programs. This angered many in his own party, and Baring often claimed, "No one likes Walter Baring but the voters." He was known to equate liberalism with socialism and Communism, and opposed foreign aid of any sort. During the 1960s, he faced more strenuous opposition in the Democratic primaries than in the general elections. In these contests, Baring was able to run up enough of a margin in the "Cow Counties" (the more rural parts of Nevada) to overcome large deficits in Clark and Washoe counties (home to Las Vegas and Reno, respectively).
Segregation Activist
Baring was an open and unashamed segregationist. He contended that the Civil Rights Movement was influenced by Communists. He was nearly defeated for renomination in 1964 after leading the opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, he circulated a picture of his main primary opponent standing with a prominent black doctor—implying that anyone who associated with blacks was not fit for office. This allowed him to run up enough of a margin in the "Cow Counties" to eke out a 1,100-point victory. In 1968, he praised the American Independent Party nominee for President, Alabama Governor George C. Wallace, and didn't endorse his own party's nominee, Vice President Hubert Humphrey.
In 1972, Baring was narrowly defeated in the Democratic primary by a considerably more liberal Democrat, Las Vegas attorney and future Congressman James Bilbray. By this time Clark and Washoe counties were well into a period of explosive growth that continues today, and Bilbray's margin in those counties was too much for Baring to overcome. Claiming that Bilbray had smeared him, Baring endorsed the Republican nominee, David Towell, helping him win the general election in an upset.
Last years
After leaving Congress, Baring remained interested in politics, even flirting with a run for governor in 1974. However, a bout of emphysema and heart strain ended that prospect. He died of heart and lung failure in 1975 at the age of 63.