Clark MacGregor (July 12, 1922 – February 10, 2003) was an American politician and Republican

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

's 3rd Congressional District for five terms from 1961 to 1971. After his time in Congress, he worked as a senior assistant to President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

, including as chairman of the president’s successful 1972 re-election campaign.

Life and career

MacGregor was born in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, and graduated cum laude from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

in 1944 and the

University of Minnesota Law School The University of Minnesota Law School is the law school of the University of Minnesota, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school confers four law degrees: a Juris Doctor (J.D.), a Master of Laws (LL.M.), a Master of Science in Patent Law ...

in 1946. In 1949, he married Barbara Spicer; they had three daughters. Clark and Barbara were married until his death.

Congress

He was elected to the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

in 1960, defeating six-term Democratic incumbent

Roy Wier Roy William Wier (February 25, 1888 – June 27, 1963) was a U.S. Representative from Minnesota. Wier was born in Redfield, Spink County, South Dakota, February 25, 1888. He moved with his parents in 1896 to Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Mi ...

, and served in the 87th, 88th, 89th, 90th, and 91st congresses, January 3, 1961 – January 3, 1971. In 1963, MacGregor appeared in a satirical revue by

Dudley Riggs Dudley Riggs (January 18, 1932 – September 22, 2020) was an improvisational comedian who created the Instant Theater Company in New York, which later moved to Minneapolis to become the Brave New Workshop comedy troupe. Family and early care ...

Brave New Workshop The Brave New Workshop (BNW), based in Minneapolis, Minnesota was founded by Dudley Riggs in 1958 and is the longest running sketch and improvisational comedy theater in the US. BNW continues the tradition, of writing, producing, and performing as ...

. He was a delegate to the

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

and

1968 Republican National Convention The 1968 Republican National Convention was held at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Dade County, Florida, from August 5 to August 8, 1968, to select the party's nominee in the general election. It nominated former Vice President ...

from Minnesota. He was an unsuccessful candidate for

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

from Minnesota in 1970, running against former Democratic Vice President

Hubert Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Mi ...

Nixon White House

MacGregor was Assistant to

for congressional relations in 1970, Counsel to the President on congressional relations (1971–1972), Chairman of the

Committee to Re-elect the President A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

(July to November 1972) following John Mitchell's resignation from the position in the

Watergate The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continual ...

political scandal. In October 1972, as the reporting of

Bob Woodward Robert Upshur Woodward (born March 26, 1943) is an American investigative journalist. He started working for ''The Washington Post'' as a reporter in 1971 and now holds the title of associate editor. While a young reporter for ''The Washingto ...

and

Carl Bernstein Carl Milton Bernstein ( ; born February 14, 1944) is an American investigative journalist and author. While a young reporter for ''The Washington Post'' in 1972, Bernstein was teamed up with Bob Woodward, and the two did much of the original new ...

began to piece together the extent of the spying and sabotage program of the Nixon campaign, MacGregor in a press conference attacked ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' for allegedly "Using innuendo, third-person hearsay, unsubstantiated charges, anonymous sources, and huge scare headlines ... maliciously ... to give the appearance of a direct connection between the White House and the Watergate -- a charge the ''Post'' knows -- and a half dozen investigations have found -- to be false."

Later career and death

After 1973, he left politics. He continued to live in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, worked for

United Technologies Corporation United Technologies Corporation (UTC) was an American multinational conglomerate headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut. It researched, developed, and manufactured products in numerous areas, including aircraft engines, aerospace systems ...

, and was on the boards of the

National Symphony Orchestra The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It also performs for the annual National Mem ...

and the Wolf Trap Foundation. During a vacation in

Pompano Beach, Florida Pompano Beach ( ) is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is located along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, just north of Fort Lauderdale. The nearby Hillsboro Inlet forms part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. As of the 2020 ...

in 2003, MacGregor died from respiratory failure.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macgregor, Clark 1922 births 2003 deaths Dartmouth College alumni University of Minnesota Law School alumni Members of the Committee for the Re-Election of the President Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota 20th-century American politicians