National Affairs: Off to the Race

In the eyes of fellow Kentuckians, Thruston B. Morton has many political assets. He is tall (6 ft. 2 in.) and handsome. He is a seventh-generation member of a distinguished Kentucky family. He was a successful businessman (Louisville’s Ballard & Ballard flour mills, now owned by Pillsbury), performed admirably in his three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, has since been valuable to the Eisenhower Administration as Assistant Secretary of State in charge of congressional liaison. But Thruston (rhymes with Houston) Morton also has a statewide political handicap in historically Democratic Kentucky. He is a Republican.

Last week Morton decided that this was just the season to overcome his handicap. He resigned from the State Department and announced that he would run for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Democrat Earle Clements. Morton’s hopes were based on the feud between Clements and Governor “Happy” Chandler (TIME. Feb. 20) and on the possibility that Dwight Eisenhower may lead the Republican ticket this year. Whether Ike runs or not, he got Morton off to a running start with a blue-ribbon resignation-acceptance letter. Wrote Ike: “You have not only earned the profound respect of your colleagues throughout the Executive Branch, you have confirmed the high regard of those members of Congress with whom you served.”