Has a US Governor ever appointed a Senator to fill the seat of another Senator who was of a different political party to the Senator stepping down?

lanfranco

Here's one example. In 1968, when Democrat Bob Bartlett of Alaska died, Governor Walter Hickel appointed Republican Ted Stevens to fill the seat. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Stevens Dec 14 06, 1:40 PM

queproblema

Naturally! Hickel was(is)a Republican. Just two years ago Gov. Frank Murkowski named his daughter, Lisa, to replace his vacant seat in the Senate. Lots of us Alaskans called that nepotism. Same party, of course. The better question is if a governor ever names a senator of a different party than the governor's. Dec 14 06, 8:03 PM

lanfranco

I agree. But no one should be surprised when a governor chooses someone from his or her own party. In these situations, the governor quite naturally takes advantage of the opportunity to function as a one-person electorate. And it's interesting to note that after Stevens' appointment, the voters of Alaska kept him in the seat in the special election of 1970 -- and have kept him there ever since. Dec 14 06, 9:30 PM