Former Democratic Oklahoma Sen. Fred Harris, who ran in 1972 and 1976 for the presidential nomination, died Saturday at age 94, The Associated Press (AP) reported.
Harris’s wife, Margaret Elliston, confirmed the lawmaker’s death to AP, saying it was a result of “natural causes.” While Harris’s location of death is unknown, he was a resident of Corrales, New Mexico when he passed away, according to the outlet.
“Fred Harris passed peacefully early this morning of natural causes. He was 94. He was a wonderful and beloved man. His memory is a blessing,” Elliston told the outlet in a text message.
As DNC Chair, US Senator, activist, author, mentor, and so much more, Democrats everywhere will remember Fred for his unparalleled integrity and as a pioneer for instituting core progressive values of equity and opportunity for prosperity as core tenets of our party.
— Democratic Party of New Mexico (@NMDEMS) November 23, 2024
Harris was first elected to the Senate in 1964, according to the outlet. He served eight years there before opting to run for president rather than another term as a senator in 1972 and again in 1976. Both campaigns were unsuccessful, with his 1972 campaign for the Democratic nomination lasting only 48 days.
Delegates on the floor at the 1964 Democratic National Convention, Atlantic City, New Jersey; signs supporting Fred Roy Harris of Oklahoma for U.S. Senate.
[Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain/Library of Congress via Warren K. Leffler]
From 1969 to 1970, Harris chaired the Democratic National Committee in the wake of the party’s uproarious 1968 national convention in Chicago, which saw violent clashes between police and protesters of the Vietnam War.
Harris was one of the youngest players in the Democratic Party at the time, according to The Washington Post. At age 25, he became the youngest state senator after finishing law school at the University of Oklahoma. (RELATED: GOP Senators React To Matt Gaetz’s Withdrawal As Trump’s Nominee)
In 1968, Harris, then 37, was shortlisted in consideration for the role as Democratic candidate Hubert Humphrey’s vice president, the outlet noted.
Harris became a political science professor at the University of New Mexico in 1976, AP reported. He resided in the state since then, going on to write and edit a dozen books, many about politics and Congress.
The Democratic Party of New Mexico issued a statement which remembered Harris as a vocal advocate against poverty and racial discrimination.
“Democrats everywhere will remember Fred for his unparalleled integrity and as a pioneer for instituting core progressive values of equity and opportunity for prosperity as core tenets of our party,” the Democratic Party of New Mexico wrote.
Read the full article here