1962 - 1967: Independent, President of Students for a Democratic Society
1967 - 1977: Private Citizen
1977 - 1989: Democratic, United States Senator from California
defeated, 1976 (Primary): John V. Tunney
defeated, 1976 (General): Bob Finch (Republican)
defeated, 1982 (Primary): Daniel Boatwright (Democratic)
defeated, 1982 (General): Maureen Reagan (Republican)
1988 (Primary): Rose Bird, Tom Hayden, Gray Davis
1988: Democratic, Candidate for the Presidency of the United States
1988: John Glenn, Jesse Jackson, Lloyd Doggett, Tom Hayden, Paul Tsongas
1992: Democratic, Candidate for California's 44th District
defeated, 1992 (Primary): unopposed
1992 (General): Duke Cunningham (Republican), Tom Hayden (Democratic), Dennis Thompson (Libertarian)
1997: Democratic, Candidate for the Mayoralty of Los Angeles
defeated, 1997 (Primary): Antonio Villaraigosa, Gil Carcetti, Rick Tuttle
1997 (General): John Van de Kamp (Republican), Tom Hayden (Democratic)
1969 - 1973: Richard Nixon / Spiro Agnew (Republican)
defeated, 1968: Hubert Humphrey / Ed Muskie (Democratic), George Wallace / Curtis LeMay (AIP)
defated, 1972: George McGovern / Sargent Shriver (Democratic)
1973 - 1974: Richard Nixon / John Connally (Republican)
1974 - 1975: John Connally / Donald Rumsfeld (Republican)
1975 - 1977: Donald Rumsfeld / Howard Baker (Republican)
1977 - 1985: Scoop Jackson / Birch Bayh (Democratic)
defeated, 1976: Donald Rumsfeld / Howard Baker (Republican), Tom McCall / Ralph Nader (Independent)
defeated, 1980: Jack Kemp / Trent Lott (Republican)
1985 - 1993: Lewis Lehrman / Barry Goldwater, Jr. (Republican)
defeated, 1984: Reubin Askew / James Blanchard (Democratic)
defeated, 1988: John Glenn / Sam Nunn (Democratic)
1993 - 1997: Lloyd Doggett / Elizabeth Holtzman (Democratic)
defeated, 1992: Bob Dole / Tom Kindness (Republican), Lee Iaccoca / Ed Zschau (Good Government)
1997 - ???: Barry Goldwater, Jr. / Jeff Bell (Republican)
defeated, 1996: Lloyd Doggett / Elizabeth Holtzman (Democratic)
Ever since the publication of the explosive "Port Huron Statement" in 1962, talk of a radical new movement spread across the American Left - the old ways of compromise and even-keeled reform seemed increasingly out of touch with reality, as cultivators of leftist thought began to shift towards the unyielding strain of radical action espoused by its primary author, Tom Hayden. The bogeyman of the intellectual right and the patron saint of the university left, Hayden was a personally intriguing man; a "victim" of Catholicism and a former Freedom Rider, Hayden was described by his peers as "charming" and "warm," as well as "egotistical" and "domineering." He espoused idealistic visions of an America free from hierarchy and from Marxist alienation, but clashed frequently with the other leaders of Students for a Democratic Society while working to consolidate power and turn the SDS into a sort-of personality cult. However, despite successfully purging the SDS of those opposed to him (Michael Harrington being the most notable removal), Hayden seemed destined for a lifetime of ineffectiveness. While the initial flames of change were flamed in Berkeley with the rise of the free speech movement and the spread of black power within the SNCC, Hayden himself did little more than make attention-grabbing visits to Hanoi and seek coverage from the press, leading the majority of organizing to the other heads of the SDS. While eventually the post of President was replaced with a triumvirate of secretaries, Hayden was still the face of the movement. Soon enough, the SDS split up along ideological lines as all the disparate tendencies tore themselves apart, but Hayden kept on keeping on. He married Jane Fonda, he took shots at the crumbling Nixon Administration from the sidelines, and he continued visiting Vietnam on a semi-regular basis.
But 1976 was different. While the American empire survived the 60's relatively unscathed, the 70's would be when it all fell apart. The War in Vietnam ended with the fall of Saigon and total American defeat. The economy was in a spiral, as out-of-control inflation crushed regular Americans just struggling to get by. Nixon was destroyed by his own machinations, Connally was brought down over milk of all things, and by the time the Rumsfeld was inaugurated, being affiliated with the Republican Party was essentially a death sentence. The mood had changed - while most just wanted things to go back to normal, Hayden recognized that there was a small but passionate base of voters that wanted change. That wanted action. That wanted blood. While he said on the record that he was a "changed man," you wouldn't get that the platform from his 1976 primary of California Senator John V. Tunney: there was a proposal for a national energy policy centered around new solar and nuclear technology, another for major employers to have a worker-selected 'representative' for every 1,000 workers that would represent their interests and would have a direct line of communication to management, and Hayden included a plank advocating for the decriminalization of homosexuality. Tunney, himself a progressive liberal, expected to win renomination easily against the aggressive, uncompromising leftist.
Thomas Emmet Hayden was inaugurated as California's Class I Senator on January 7th, 1977, silencing the critics who wrote him off as a 'protest candidate.' Hayden, however, didn't live up to expectations in the Senate; while the Workplace Democracy Act of 1979 successfully put his ideas into action, his other ideas were poorly received by his more conservative colleagues. Hayden eventually moderated his beliefs after a few years were under his belt, but he never moderated his rhetoric. He was always the outsider, the radical throwing bombs in the Senate, the only Democrat who would speak truth to power. Sure, now he was saying that "socialism is a failed ideology," and that the "state will never replace private entrepreneurship," but Hayden could never let himself be seen as an insider, as part of the establishment, as just another Democrat.
His abortive run for President in 1988 would be the end of Hayden's career in national politics, as the right of the party called him a "traitor" and actively advocated for his impeachment, while the left criticized his turn to the center during his time in Congress, forcing him to drop out after disappointing results on Super Tuesday. Hayden lost his Senate seat that November, ironically falling victim to a primary from Rose Bird, another prominent figure of the California left. His marriage with Fonda, which had been under intense strain and scrutiny in recent years, fell apart. Tom Hayden had seen any political future ahead of him evaporate just within the span of a year.
He would and try to run for public office again in the 90's, falling short in the competitive 44th District in 1992 and came close to becoming the Mayor of Los Angeles in 1997. However, after failing to restart his career twice, Hayden retired to the private sector and spent his time fundraising for the California Democratic Party, a position he would have rallied against back in his days with the SDS.