Warren Magnuson

In 1936, as incumbent Congressman and Magnuson's friend Marion Zioncheck showed serious mental instability and uncertainty about seeking reelection, Magnuson announced his candidacy. Two days after Magnuson entered the race, Zioncheck announced that he would not run again, and within a week Zioncheck committed suicide by jumping from his office window.[3] With the endorsement of the influential, left-wing Washington Commonwealth Federation and support from the Seattle business community, Magnuson easily won the Democratic primary and then the general election.[3]

In 1937, Magnuson and Senators Homer Bone and Matthew Neely introduced the National Cancer Institute Act, signed into law by Franklin Roosevelt on August 5 of that year.[10] He was reelected in 1938, 1940, and 1942. After the Attack on Pearl Harbor, Magnuson staunchly supported the U.S. war effort.[11]

Magnuson served in the United States Navy during World War II. He was aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise for several months, seeing heavy combat in the Pacific Theatre until Roosevelt ordered all congressmen on active duty to return home in 1942.[3]

Magnuson, c. 1950s

In 1944, Magnuson successfully ran for the U.S. Senate. On December 14, 1944, Governor Arthur B. Langlie appointed Magnuson to fill the vacancy created by Homer Bone's appointment to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, thus resigning from the House and starting his Senate tenure a month early to gain an advantage in seniority.[12]

Magnuson was reelected in 1950, 1956, 1962, 1968, and 1974. He served on the Senate Commerce Committee throughout his tenure in the Senate, and the Senate Appropriations Committee during his final term. Magnuson served most of his tenure in the Senate alongside his friend and Democratic colleague from Washington state, Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson. Republican State Attorney General Slade Gorton defeated Magnuson in the 1980 election.[13]

Magnuson was responsible for special legislation in 1949 that allowed Poon Lim, a Chinese sailor who in 1942 survived 133 days alone at sea as a castaway, to immigrate to the U.S. and become a citizen.[14][15]

In August 1950, Magnuson proposed voluntary enlistment for the Japanese in the American armed forces and sent a cable request to General Douglas MacArthur on the practicality of the proposal.[16]

In November 1961, President John F. Kennedy visited Seattle and was an honored guest at a celebration honoring Magnuson's first 25 years in Congress.[17][18] Nearly 3,000 people paid $100 each to attend the dinner.

The bill that became the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was referred to the Committee on Commerce. Magnuson played a key role in getting it to the floor and enacted into law despite vigorous opposition by Senator William Fulbright and other segregationists.

At the end of August 1966, after President Lyndon Johnson announced the nominations of Charles F. Luce for Undersecretary of the Interior, John A. Carver for Federal Power Commission membership, and David S. Black for BPA administrator, Magnuson announced the Senate Commerce committee would hold hearings on Carver's nomination on September 1. He called Luce "one of the most able, dedicated, productive public servants I know."[19]

On November 7, 1967, Johnson signed the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, citing Magnuson as one of the members of Congress to "have been part of the team that has brought this measure to the White House to make it the law of our land."[20]

Magnuson attended the May 5, 1978, dedication ceremony for Riverfront Park in Spokane.[21] Shortly after that, during a town hall meeting, President Jimmy Carter said, "No one could be in a better political position than to be preceded and introduced by men like Tom Foley and Senator Warren Magnuson. I know of no one in the Congress than these two men who are more respected, more dedicated to serving their own people well, but who have also reached, because of their experience and knowledge, sound judgment and commitment, a position of national and even international renown and leadership."[22]

At least three important pieces of legislation bear Magnuson's name: the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the Chinese Exclusion Repeal Act of 1943 (commonly called the Magnuson Act), and the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. He was also instrumental in keeping supertankers out of Puget Sound, by attaching an amendment to a routine funding reauthorization bill on the Senate and House consent calendars.[23]