Page "Howard Cannon" Paragraph 2

In 1956, Cannon ran for the United States House of Representatives to succeed Republican incumbent Clarence Clifton Young, who ran for the U. S. Senate, but lost the Democratic primary to former Congressman Walter Baring, who then won the general election.

In 1958, he was elected to the United States Senate, unseating Republican Senator Ernest Malone with 58 % of the vote .. Cannon was nearly defeated in his first re-election bid in 1964, holding off Republican Lieutenant Governor Paul Laxalt in one of the closest Senate elections ever.

On election night, one of the networks actually projected that Cannon had lost, but several precincts didn't report in until the next morning and gave Cannon enough votes to secure a second term.

Ultimately, Cannon only won by 48 votes.

He likely would not have won had it not been for Lyndon Johnson's presence atop the ticket ; Johnson easily carried the state as part of his 44-state landslide that year.