Sen. Bob Dole Has Died

Senator Bob Dole has died. He served as a Congressman and Senator from Kansas. He served as both Senate Minority Leader and Senator Majority Leader. He was the Republican Vice Presidential nominee in 1976 on Gerald Ford’s ticket. He was the Republican nominee for President in 1996 with Jack Kemp as his Vice Presidential nominee.

In World War II, Bob Dole served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 10th Mountain Division of the United States Army. In 1945, in Italy, he was wounded by a German shell that left him with a permanent disability in his right arm.

He got elected to the Kansas state house and eventually to Congress. He was one of the Republicans who Lyndon Johnson relied on to help pass the Civil Rights Act of 1968 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In 1976, he signed on with Gerald Ford as VP for the race against Jimmy Carter. In 1980, Dole was one of the moderate Republicans who challenged Ronald Reagan in the primaries. In 1988, he ran again against George H. W. Bush, winning five states before endorsing Bush. He finally secured the nomination in 1996, but lost to Bill Clinton, even as he managed to sweep the south, except Louisiana.

Dole’s wife, Elizabeth, served as Secretary of Transportation for Ronald Reagan and Secretary of Labor for George H. W. Bush before becoming a United States Senator in her own right. She announced her husband’s death this morning.

Senator Robert Joseph Dole died at the age of 98. Requiescat in pace.