Margaret Chase Smith

In the 1964 Republican President Primary Margaret Chase Smith, a senator from Maine and a strong opponent of Joseph McCarthy, visited Wheaton College in March. Smith saw herself as a moderate and this caused her problems on both sides of the aisle. She alienated liberals with her support of the Vietnam War, yet troubled conservatives with her signing on with Democratic legislation. Though unsuccessful in her bid to receive the Republican nomination–losing to Barry Goldwater–Smith has the record as the longest-serving female senator in United States history.