The Michigan Five Fluke Freshmen is term given to five members (Raymond Clevenger, Billie Farnum, John Mackie, Paul Todd, and Wes Vivian) of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan that were elected in the Democratic landslide of 1964 and subsequently defeated just two years later by a Republican resurgence. All of the five would be one-term congressmen. It was the last time that a state would have five freshmen members of Congress defeated for reelection.
1964 LBJ Landslide
With President Lyndon Johnson taking over 67% of the vote in Michigan, the Democrats were able to win five districts and change the delegation from 12 to 7 Republican to 12 to 7 Democratic. The Democratic gains took place in District 2 (based in the Ann Arbor area), District 3 (set around Kalamazoo and Battle Creek), District 7 (Flint and its surrounding region), District 11 (northern lower Michigan and the Upper Peninsula), and District 19 (suburban Detroit).
1964 U.S. House Michigan Congressional District 2 Election.
The vast unpopularity of President Johnson's Great Society, rising crime, radical campus protests, and racial riots all led to a downturn for the Democratic.
1966 U.S. House Michigan Congressional District 2 Election.