Sam Coon

The congressional seat Darlene Hooley is giving up was the one that once belonged to Al Ullman, who may have been one of the most powerful House members in Oregon history. Ullman first ran for office in 1954, when he challenged freshman GOP Congressman Sam Coon; he lost 53%-47%. In a rematch two years later, Ullman beat Coon by 1,375 votes (51%-49%). Over the next 24 years, Ullman had little trouble winning re-election by huge margins. Ullman became Chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee in 1975, after Wilbur Mills resigned amidst a scandal involving a stripper.