Representing Washington state, Henry "Scoop" Jackson (the nickname came from a cartoon character his sister said he resembled in childhood) was a leading Democrat in both houses of Congress for some 40 years, noted for his hawkish views and anti-Soviet rhetoric. He made two unsuccessful bids for the Democratic Party presidential nomination, in 1972, when he was viewed as a conservative alternative to George McGovern, and in 1976, when he was seen as the frontrunner until Carter's victories in Iowa and New Hampshire.