applied for jobs with both large northeastern law firms and the FBI. His applications were all rejected, so he was forced to go home to southern California, where his mother helped get him a job at a friend's local law firm. Shortly after returning home, Nixon met Thelma Catharine Ryan. At that time she was teaching commercial subjects at Whittler High School. They were married on June 21, 1940. The Nixons had two daughters, Patricia born in 1946, and Julie born 1948.At the outbreak of World War Two, Nixon went to work briefly for the tire-rationing section for the Office of Price Administration in Washington, DC. Eight months later, he joined the Navy and was sent to the Pacific as a supply officer. Nixon was popular with his men, and such an accomplished poker player that he was able to send enough of his comrades-in-arms' money back home to help fund his first political campaign. Shortly after returning from the war, Nixon entered politics, answering a Republican Party call in the newspaper for someone to run against the five-term Democratic Congressman, Jerry Voorhis. Nixon seemed the perfect man for the job, and was welcomed by the California Republican Party, who considered him "salable merchandise."The style of Nixon's first campaign set the tone for the early part of his political career, where he achieved national fame as a fierce anti-Communist. He accused Congressman Voorhis of being a communist, and even went so far as to have campaign workers make anonymous calls to voters stating that as a fact and advising that a vote for Nixon was therefore the best move. This sort of straightforward communist baiting was new at the time. With the fear of the Soviet Union, who appeared to be spreading its influence throughout Asia made it a particularly persuasive tactic. Nixon later said, "Of course I knew Jerry Voorhis wasn't a communist, but I had to win."Nixon defeated Voorhis with sixty percent of the vote, and upon taki...
