Walter Darlington "Dee" Huddleston (April 15, 1926 – October 16, 2018) was an American politician. He was a Democrat from

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

who represented the state in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

from 1973 until 1985. Huddleston lost his 1984 Senate re-election campaign to

Mitch McConnell Addison Mitchell McConnell III (born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and retired attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky and the Senate minority leader since 2021. Currently in his seventh term, McCon ...

in an upset by 5269 votes.

Early life

Huddleston was born in

Burkesville, Kentucky Burkesville is a home rule-class city in Cumberland County, Kentucky, in the United States. Nestled among the rolling foothills of Appalachia and bordered by the Cumberland River to the south and east, it is the seat of its county. The populatio ...

. After he graduated from high school, he enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

and served as a tank gunner in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

during and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

from 1944 to 1946. He then attended the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...

with support from the G.I. Bill, and he graduated in 1949. In 1947, Huddleston married Martha Jean Pearce, who died in 2003. After graduating from college, Huddleston worked as the sports and program director for

WKCT WKCT (930 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format. Licensed to Bowling Green, Kentucky, United States, the station serves the Bowling Green area. The station is currently owned by Daily News Broadcasting Co. and featur ...

Bowling Green, Kentucky Bowling Green is a home rule-class city and the county seat of Warren County, Kentucky, United States. Founded by pioneers in 1798, Bowling Green was the provisional capital of Confederate Kentucky during the American Civil War. As of the ...

. In 1952, he became the

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

WIEL WIEL (1400 AM) is a radio station licensed to Elizabethtown, Kentucky, United States. The station is owned by Elizabethtown Cbc, Inc. and features programming from ESPN Radio, Motor Racing Network and Westwood One. From the 1960s to the 1980s, t ...

Elizabethtown, Kentucky Elizabethtown is a home rule-class city and the county seat of Hardin County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 28,531 at the 2010 census, and was estimated at 30,289 by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2019, making it the 11th-largest city ...

. He later became president of the Kentucky Broadcasters Association.

Career

Huddleston entered politics in 1964 when he was elected to the Kentucky State Senate. He was elected as a state senator in 1965, serving until 1972; for a time, he was the body's majority leader. In 1972, Huddleston ran for the

seat which was being vacated by retiring Republican

John Sherman Cooper John Sherman Cooper (August 23, 1901 – February 21, 1991) was an American politician, jurist, and diplomat from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. He served three non-consecutive, partial terms in the United States Senate before being elect ...

. He narrowly defeated Republican

Louie B. Nunn Louie Broady Nunn (March 8, 1924 – January 29, 2004) was an American politician who served as the 52nd governor of Kentucky. Elected in 1967, he was the only Republican to hold the office between the end of Simeon Willis's term in 1947 and ...

, a recent former governor, receiving a 51% to 48% margin. Huddleston was reelected in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 ...

with 61 percent of the vote over the former Republican state Representative Louie R. Guenthner Jr., of

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

. In 1984, Huddleston's Republican opponent was Jefferson County (Louisville) Judge-Executive

. McConnell gained political traction with a series of

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

campaign ads mocking Huddleston's attendance record in the Senate. McConnell accused him of putting "his private speaking engagements ahead of his Senate responsibilities." Despite these ads, the race was very close, with McConnell only defeating Huddleston when the last returns came in (49.9% to 49.5%).

Post-Senate career

Huddleston was known as a member of the moderate wing of the Democratic Party, as was typical of party members from Kentucky. In the late 1980s, Huddleston served on the National Board of Advisors of the

Federation for American Immigration Reform The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is a non profit, anti-immigration organization in the United States. The group publishes position papers, organizes events, and runs campaigns in order to advocate for changes in U.S. immig ...

, an anti-immigration group advocating for a lower rate of legal immigration. In 2012, Huddleston announced he was stepping down as chairman of First Financial Service Corporation.

Death

Huddleston died on October 16, 2018, in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

, Kentucky, in his sleep at his son Stephen's house. He was 92 years old. Sen. Mitch McConnell issued a statement on Huddleston's death soon after, in which he honored Huddleston's "tenacity," and stated that both he and his wife,

Elaine Chao Elaine Lan Chao (born March 26, 1953) is an American businesswoman and former government official. A member of the Republican Party, she served as the 18th United States secretary of transportation in the Trump administration from 2017 to 2021, ...

, were "saddened" when they heard of his passing.

References

External links

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Huddleston, Walter 1926 births 2018 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II American radio executives Democratic Party United States senators from Kentucky Democratic Party Kentucky state senators Military personnel from Kentucky People from Burkesville, Kentucky People from Elizabethtown, Kentucky United States Army soldiers University of Kentucky alumni