Walter Stephan Baring Jr. (September 9, 1911 – July 13, 1975) was an American World War II veteran and politician who served ten terms as a United States representative from Nevada during the mid-20th century.
Baring was born in Goldfield, Nevada, to Emily L. and Walter Stephan Baring, his paternal grandparents were born in Germany and his maternal grandfather was from Bohemia.[1] 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.
EducationEdit
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.
Baring served as a Member of the Nevada Assembly in 1936. He was subsequently reelected before joining the war effort. After the war, he was elected to the Reno City Council.
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 general election. That same year, Baring ran for Congress again, defeating Las Vegas City Attorney Howard Cannon in the Democratic primary before winning the general election. Baring was reelected in a landslide in 1958, while Cannon was elected to the U.S. Senate.
Tenure in CongressEdit
During his first two terms in Congress, Baring compiled a liberal voting record. After his return, however, he veered considerably to the right, billing himself as a "JeffersonianStates' Rights Democrat."[2] He usually voted with the conservative Southern wing of his party. He was critical of John F. Kennedy[3] and voted against most of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society programs.[4] This angered many in his own party, and Baring often claimed, "No one likes Walter Baring but the voters."[5] He was known to equate liberalism with socialism and Communism, and opposed foreign aid of any sort.
During the 1960s, Baring faced more strenuous opposition in the Democratic primaries than in the general elections, owing to his ability to attract large numbers of registered Republicans, especially in the northwest of the state.[3] 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).
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.
Later career and deathEdit
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.[7]
^ "United States Census, 1930", FamilySearch, retrieved March 7, 2018
^ abEvans, K.J.; 'Walter Baring'; Las Vegas Review Journal, February 7, 1999
^ abJaffe, Irwin A. and Pearl, Stanley A.; 'The 1962 Election in Nevada'; The Western Political Quarterly, Vol. 16, No. 2, A Symposium: The 1962 Elections in the West (June 1963), pp. 443–447
^Elliott, Gary; Senator Alan Bible and the Politics of the New West, p. 117 ISBN0874172403
^Paher, Stanley W.; Nevada Towns and Tales: North – Volume 1, p. 25 ISBN0913814415
^Damore, David F. and Gill, Rebecca D.; 'Swing State Politics in the Silver State', p. 217. In Schultz, David; Hecht, Stacey Hunter and Beachler Donald W. (editors); Presidential Swing States: Why Only Ten MatterISBN0739195255
walter, baring, walter, stephan, baring, september, 1911, july, 1975, american, world, veteran, politician, served, terms, united, states, representative, from, nevada, during, 20th, century, member, house, representatives, from, nevada, large, districtin, off. Walter Stephan Baring Jr September 9 1911 July 13 1975 was an American World War II veteran and politician who served ten terms as a United States representative from Nevada during the mid 20th century Walter S Baring Jr Member of the U S House of Representatives from Nevada s At Large districtIn office January 3 1957 January 3 1973Preceded byClift YoungSucceeded byDavid TowellMember of the U S House of Representatives from Nevada s At Large districtIn office January 3 1949 January 3 1953Preceded byCharles H RussellSucceeded byClift YoungMember of the Nevada State AssemblyIn office 1936Personal detailsBorn 1911 09 09 September 9 1911Goldfield NevadaDiedJuly 13 1975 1975 07 13 aged 63 Los Angeles CaliforniaPolitical partyDemocraticSpouseA Geraldine Buchanan BaringChildrenWalter S Baring III William R Baring John B Baring Thomas J BaringProfessionTeacher Contents 1 Early life 1 1 Education 1 2 Naval Service 2 Political career 3 Congressional campaigns 4 Tenure in Congress 4 1 Segregation activist 4 2 Later career and death 5 Education 6 References 7 External linksEarly life EditBaring was born in Goldfield Nevada to Emily L and Walter Stephan Baring his paternal grandparents were born in Germany and his maternal grandfather was from Bohemia 1 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 Education Edit 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 Edit In 1943 he joined the United States Navy to serve during World War II Political career EditBaring served as a Member of the Nevada Assembly in 1936 He was subsequently reelected before joining the war effort After the war he was elected to the Reno City Council During the Presidency of Franklin Roosevelt Baring strongly criticized the President s court packing plan for the United States Supreme Court Congressional campaigns EditBaring 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 general election That same year Baring ran for Congress again defeating Las Vegas City Attorney Howard Cannon in the Democratic primary before winning the general election Baring was reelected in a landslide in 1958 while Cannon was elected to the U S Senate Tenure in Congress EditDuring his first two terms 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 2 He usually voted with the conservative Southern wing of his party He was critical of John F Kennedy 3 and voted against most of Lyndon Johnson s Great Society programs 4 This angered many in his own party and Baring often claimed No one likes Walter Baring but the voters 5 He was known to equate liberalism with socialism and Communism and opposed foreign aid of any sort During the 1960s Baring faced more strenuous opposition in the Democratic primaries than in the general elections owing to his ability to attract large numbers of registered Republicans especially in the northwest of the state 3 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 Edit Baring contended that the Civil Rights Movement was influenced by Communists 6 He was nearly defeated for renomination in 1964 after leading the opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 2 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 Later career and death Edit 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 7 Education EditHigh school teacher s certificate University of Nevada at Reno B A and B S 1934 Reno High School 1929References Edit United States Census 1930 FamilySearch retrieved March 7 2018 a b Evans K J Walter Baring Las Vegas Review Journal February 7 1999 a b Jaffe Irwin A and Pearl Stanley A The 1962 Election in Nevada The Western Political Quarterly Vol 16 No 2 A Symposium The 1962 Elections in the West June 1963 pp 443 447 Elliott Gary Senator Alan Bible and the Politics of the New West p 117 ISBN 0874172403 Paher Stanley W Nevada Towns and Tales North Volume 1 p 25 ISBN 0913814415 Damore David F and Gill Rebecca D Swing State Politics in the Silver State p 217 In Schultz David Hecht Stacey Hunter and Beachler Donald W editors Presidential Swing States Why Only Ten Matter ISBN 0739195255 Infoplease Walter Stephan Baring Jr External links EditUnited States Congress Walter S Baring Jr id B000141 Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Walter S Baring Jr at Find a Grave Nevada Riches Other political figures 1 The Paradoxical PoliticianU S House of RepresentativesPreceded byCharles H Russell Member of the U S House of Representatives from Nevada s at large congressional district1949 1953 Succeeded byClift YoungPreceded byClift Young Member of the U S House of Representatives from Nevada s at large congressional district1957 1973 Succeeded byDavid Towell Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Walter S Baring Jr amp oldid 1168787569, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
