Rodney Dennis Chandler (born July 13, 1942) is an American politician and journalist who served five terms as a U.S. Representative from Washington from 1983 to 1993.
In 1982 he was elected as a Republican to the 98th Congress, representing the newly created 8th congressional district. In that race, he defeated Democratic candidate Beth Bland by a margin of 57% to 43%.[1] He held the seat for five terms, until he gave up his seat for an unsuccessful candidacy for the United States Senate.
In 1989 Chandler revealed publicly that he is a recovering alcoholic.[2]
In 1992, one of Washington’s U.S. Senate seats came open when the incumbent, Brock Adams, announced his retirement amidst a personal scandal.[3] Democratic state SenatorPatty Murray won the Democratic primary and faced Chandler in the general election. For much of the race, Chandler seemed to have the upper hand, but during a debate in the later stages of the campaign he inexplicably responded to Murray's criticism for spending $120,000 on congressional mailings during an economic recession by quoting the Roger Miller song "Dang Me".[4] By association, Chandler was further damaged by the unpopularity in the Pacific Northwest of incumbent President George H. W. Bush, who was largely blamed for the recession.