Douglas Earl Applegate (March 27, 1928 – August 7, 2021) was an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from Ohio's 18th congressional district from 1977 to 1995, as a member of the Democratic Party. Prior to his tenure in the United States House of Representatives he served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1961 to 1968, and in the Ohio Senate from 1969 to 1974.
Applegate was born in Steubenville, Ohio, the son of mayor and state representative Earl Applegate, and was educated at Steubenville High School. He was elected to the state house in the 1960 election alongside Michael Blischak in a multi-member district and later became the sole representative from the district after defeating Blischak in 1962. He served in the state house until his election to the state senate in the 1968 election. During his tenure in the state senate he defeated incumbent Republican senators John Longsworth and Kenneth F. Berry.
Applegate had planned on running to succeed Wayne Hays in the U.S. House of Representatives in the 1978 election, but was selected to replace Hays as the Democratic nominee in the 1976 election after Hays resignation. He served until his retirement in the 1994 election during which he served on the Transportation, Public Works, and Veterans' Affairs committees. His ideological belief and ratings were mixed and ranged from liberal to conservative with the Americans for Democratic Action giving him scores between 5% and 80% while the American Conservative Union gave him scores ranging from 12.50% to 64.86%.
Applegate ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in the 1988 primary as a favorite son. He only sought the six delegates from his districts, of which he won one, and voted for Michael Dukakis at the Democratic National Convention. He attempted to have Senator John Glenn, whom he had supported in the 1984 primary, be given the vice-presidential nomination, but was unsuccessful. Applegate died in 2021.
Early life and education
Douglas Earl Applegate was born in Steubenville, Ohio, on March 27, 1928, to Earl Applegate, who served as mayor of Steubenville and in the Ohio House of Representatives. He graduated from Steubenville High School in 1947, and became a licensed real estate broker in 1956. Applegate had two children with his wife Betty. He was a Presbyterian.
Career
Ohio legislature
Elections
Applegate and Michael Blischak were given the Democratic nomination to run for seats in the Ohio House of Representatives in the 1960 election and defeated Republican nominees Ed Griffith and William G. Powell. On January 19, 1962, Applegate announced that he would run for reelection and as the multi-member district was eliminated he ran in the Democratic primary against Blischak. He defeated Blischak in the primary and won reelection against Republican nominee Edward V. Miller in the general election. He won reelection in 1964 and 1966.
Applegate announced on January 29, 1968, that he would seek the Democratic nomination for a seat in the Ohio Senate from the 30th district. He defeated former Senator Danny D. Johnson, former Representative Joseph Loha, and former Representative Stuart Henderson in the Democratic primary. He defeated incumbent Republican Senator John Longsworth in the general election, being the only person in Ohio to defeat an incumbent state senator in the 1968 election, after spending $2,585.53 during the campaign.
Following the 1972 reapportionment of districts Applegate's 30th district was redrawn to include Republican Senator Kenneth F. Berry, who was originally from the 19th district. Berry won renomination in the Republican primary against William A. Wallace while Applegate faced no opposition. Applegate defeated Berry in the general election.
Tenure
In 1963, Applegate was selected to serve on the twelve-member House Democratic Policy committee. During his tenure in the state house he served on the Elections and Federal Relations, Health, and Reference committees. During his tenure in the state senate he served on the Commerce, Finance, Finance and Elections, Labor, and Ways and Means committees. The Energy and Environment committee was created in 1974, and Applegate was selected to chair the committee.