Inside Report (5)

June 13, 1980

There will be no Father's Day political celebrating for two powerful Washington lawmakers who recently tried to bequeath their congressional seats to their sons. Both lost, portending a bad political year for building family dynasties on Capitol Hill.

Harley Staggers Jr., son of the 16-term chairman of the Commerce Committee in the House of Representatives, fell 50 votes short last week of winning the Democratic nomination in West Virginia to succeed his retiring father.

Another political namesake, William Moorhead III, son of retiring 11-term chairman of a House banking subcommittee, failed by a margin of nearly 2 to 1 in another Democratic primary in April, frustrating his attempt to keep the Pennsylvania congressional seat in the family.