How did the political climate of the 1950s led to Senator McCarthy's rise to power?

Joseph Raymond McCarthy was an American politician, initially a member of the Democratic Party, and later a Republican Party. McCarthy was a senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 to 1957. In 1946 he was elected to the United States Senate and after three years without much prominence, in February 1950 McCarthy suddenly stands out on the national scene by stating in a speech that he had a list of "members of the Communist Party and members of an espionage network" employed within the US Department of State. Due to Cold War tensions that fueled fears of widespread communist subversion, McCarthy's statement made him the most visible public figure. He became known for his statements that there were a large number of communists, Soviet spies, and supporters within the US federal government.