Nany Evans oral history.indd - Washington Secretary of State
Nany Evans oral history.indd - Washington Secretary of State
Nany Evans oral history.indd - Washington Secretary of State
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Hughes: As things went along, were there new polls that showed Dan<br />
making some headway?<br />
<strong>Evans</strong>: Oh yes. It’s one <strong>of</strong> those things. Timing is everything in a race<br />
like that. Particularly because we started so early, and from nothing<br />
really, other than the support <strong>of</strong> some good people, you’re bound to see<br />
some improvement. Then it got toward the end <strong>of</strong> the race, and it was<br />
Christiensen still in the lead. Joe Gandy had dropped out by that point. And it was really<br />
down to Christensen and Dan. But we had a lot more visibility and a lot <strong>of</strong> people out there<br />
working hard. Women – young women— thought he was very handsome.<br />
Hughes: My mother thought he was cute.<br />
<strong>Evans</strong>: He was. Oh, absolutely. Very good looking. So it was a little scary to me at times.<br />
But I do remember the Republican Convention <strong>of</strong> 1964. Joe Gandy was still in the race.<br />
Dan’s parents were there. We arrived and there was this huge Christensen contingent.<br />
That’s the part I hate about those conventions – all that hoopla. I just don’t like it. I can still<br />
remember standing outside the foyer <strong>of</strong> the center. Somebody up there on the stage was<br />
announcing, “And now here we have Joe Gandy and Mrs. Gandy!” Laurene Gandy was just<br />
a lovely lady. And I can still see her, just putting her chin up saying to herself, “OK, I’m going<br />
to do this!” And here was this lovely lady walking down amid the hoopla, hoopla, hoopla.<br />
Then they announced Dan, and it wasn’t quite as much hoopla. But Dan always says, “I’ll<br />
never forget that when I got up on the stage and looked down, there was my father.” This<br />
quiet, dignified person was waving <strong>Evans</strong> signs as big and as wildly as he could. Dan had<br />
never seen his father doing anything like that.<br />
Hughes: That’s great! A very proud father. Unfortunately, your dad was not there. He had<br />
passed away. Was your mother there?<br />
<strong>Evans</strong>: I don’t think so.<br />
Hughes: Back looking after the kids?<br />
<strong>Evans</strong>: Yes, probably. That’s exactly what she would be doing.<br />
Hughes: Now we’re getting down to the nitty-gritty.<br />
<strong>Evans</strong>: September is the primary. And Dan won.<br />
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