Running last in a field of six Republicans, in a state held by Democrats, Daniel Evans had an uphill battle. A two-term incumbent Democratic Governor was seeking his third term, and a pack of well-funded competitors made Evans the longest of long shots. That may have been his greatest advantage. His time in the Navy, as a Seabee, gave him a thirst for political service but it was his ability to formulate and then execute plans that won him the Governor's office for an unprecedented three terms. He had spent the last six months of the Korean War living in a tent. That's where he became frustrated at what had become a political stalemate. So he wrote a Father’s Day letter relating his deep frustration with what was going on in the nation’s Capitol. “I said in that letter that someday I had hoped that I would have a chance to run for the legislature,” Governor Evans explained. Bill Jacobs, a political advisor to the Governor, recalled that early in his legislative career, Evans traversed the state in order to recruit County Chairmen for the Republican Party. In doing so he had influenced the Party with his own brand of Republicanism. “Because I was the only engineer in the legislature I had an expanded role in the debates so I made a name for myself as a freshman. We had exactly one third of the legislature as Republicans. We had a fascinating time and we were thoroughly frustrated with not having a voice so we went out and said we’ve got to go out and find some candidates.”
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