Political campaign ad for retired Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North during his 1994 race against incumbent Virginia Senator Chuck Robb. North had been the right-hand man of Admiral John Poindexter during the latter's time as Ronald Reagan's National Security Advisor until both were axed in late 1986 as the Iran-Contra scandal first broke. North and Poindexter would eventually be convicted of their roles but had the convictions overturned before serving time in prison and were eventually pardoned by President George H.W. Bush.
North would eventually lose to Robb (also a former Virginia governor who was seeking his second term in Senate after defeating Maurice Dawkins following Paul Trible declining to run again in order to pursue his failed run for the Republican gubernatorial nomination) in a three-man-race between North, Robb and third-party candidate J. Marshall Coleman (North had been dealt a politically fatal blow when veteran Republican Senator John Warner endorsed Coleman over North); as this loss would be the biggest disappointment for what was otherwise a very successful year for the Republicans (who would regain the Senate majority that had been lost in 1986 -- largely thanks to Iran-Contra breaking just before Election Day) and more importantly gaining control of the House for the first time in 40 years (thanks in large part to a program sponsored by eventual House Speaker Newt Gingrich that was known as the "Contract with America").
Ollie 2012
v19d 2 months ago