David Pryor

David Hampton Pryor (August 29, 1934 – April 20, 2024) was an American politician who served as a representative for Arkansas's 4th congressional district from 1966 until 1973 and as a senator from Arkansas from 1979 until 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, Pryor also served as the 39th Governor of Arkansas from 1975 to 1979 and was a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1960 to 1966. He served as the acting chairman of the Arkansas Democratic Party from 2008 to 2009, following Bill Gwatney's assassination.

Early life

David Hampton Pryor was born in Camden, the seat of Ouachita County in southern Arkansas, to William Edgar Pryor and the former Susan Pryor (). Both had deep roots in Arkansas; the marriage 'united two of the pioneer families of Arkansas'. William Pryor moved to Camden from Holly Springs in 1923 and started selling cars. By 1933, he had bought the partners out of the business and become sole owner of Edgar Pryor Inc, a well-known Chevrolet dealership in the area. The family was also involved in the civic, religious, and political life of Camden, with W.E. serving as Ouachita County Sheriff from 1939 to 1942.

Pryor was a third generation Ouachita County resident. He attended public schools in Camden, attended Henderson State Teacher's College in Arkadelphia, and graduated from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville in 1957. Pryor was founder and publisher of the ''Ouachita Citizen'' from 1957 to 1960. He graduated from law school at the University of Arkansas in 1964 and was admitted to the bar that same year.

Political career

Pryor first won elected office representing Ouachita County in the Arkansas House of Representatives in 1960. Seated as a member of the 63rd Arkansas General Assembly, Pryor would win reelection to the seat in 1962 and 1964.

In 1966, Pryor was elected to Congress following a vacancy that year after U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed fellow Democrat Oren Harris to a federal judgeship. He was not a candidate for reelection in 1972, instead challenging longtime U.S. Senator John L. McLellan in the Democratic Primary. Pryor lost to McLellan in a runoff by less than 20,000 votes.

Pryor entered the 1974 Democratic Gubernatorial Primary when Governor Dale Bumpers declined a third term to successfully challenge Senator J. William Fulbright. Pryor narrowly avoided a runoff in the primary, defeating former governor Orval Faubus and Lt. Governor Bob C. Riley, then easily besting Arkansas Republican Party Executive Director Ken Coon in the General Election. Pryor was reelected in 1976, gaining 66 percent of the vote in the Democratic Primary against former Razorback football great Jim Lindsey, and 86 percent in November against a token Republican. He served as Governor of Arkansas from January 14, 1975 to January 3, 1979. Navigating a difficult economy from the 1974–76 recession, Pryor appointed banker and future governor Frank D. White as his economic development director.

He declined a third term in order to seek McLellan's former seat in 1978 (the senator died in 1977) and faced two congressmen: Jim Guy Tucker and Ray Thornton in the Democratic Primary. Pryor advanced to a runoff with Tucker, and defeated the central Arkansas congressman by 12 points. He defeated a Republican and Independent opponents in the General Election with 76 percent of the vote.

In 1984, in spite of the Ronald Reagan landslide, Pryor defeated central Arkansas Congressman Ed Bethune in a race dominated by national GOP money backing Bethune. In 1990, Pryor defeated a write-in candidate; no other Democrat or Republican filed. He retired in 1996 and was replaced by Republican congressman Tim Hutchinson.

U.S. Senate

Pryor served as chairman of the Committee on Aging. Pryor was known for his advocacy for the aged and for promoting taxpayer rights. During his tenure, he was secretary of the Democratic Conference, third in the Senate Democratic Leadership.

In 2000 Pryor became Director of the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He served as dean of the Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock from 2004 to 2006. In June 2006, President George W. Bush nominated Pryor to the board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and in September of that year he was confirmed by the Senate for a six-year term. As he had done occasionally in the past, Pryor taught a political science course at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville during the Fall 2008 term.

Post-Senate career

His son is former United States Senator Mark Pryor, a Democrat who held the same seat from 2003 until 2015.

In 2004, Pryor was one of the five-member board of directors of the Clinton Foundation.

Pryor briefly returned to politics, when he served as chairman of the Arkansas Democratic Party following the assassination of Bill Gwatney.

Personal life

In 1957, Pryor married Barbara Jean Lunsford, who at the time was a 19 year old freshman at the University of Arkansas. Unable to tolerate the stresses of public life, she briefly lived away from her family from 1975 to 1977, while her husband was governor. During that time, she took various university courses and had trouble finding a job, and she eventually moved back into the governor's mansion after completing her rest.

Pryor had quadruple bypass surgery performed by Dr. Tamim Antaki at UAMS Medical Center on October 11, 2006. He had suffered a heart attack the previous day. His recovery was satisfactory and he was released from the hospital on October 17, 2006.

On July 13, 2020, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson announced at a press briefing about the COVID-19 pandemic in the state that Pryor and his wife Barbara tested positive for the disease with Pryor hospitalized at UAMS in Little Rock and his wife under home quarantine.

Pryor died at his home in Little Rock, on April 20, 2024, at the age of 89. He would lie in state at the Arkansas State Capitol on April 26, 2024. His funeral would then be held at Second Presbyterian Church in Little Rock on April 27, 2025, with Bill Clinton being among those in attendance. He would be buried at Mount Holly Cemetery in Little Rock.

References

Sources

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External links

* Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture entry
David Hampton Pryor


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Oral Histories of the American South
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pryor, David
1934 births
2024 deaths
Burials at Mount Holly Cemetery
Arkansas Democratic state chairmen
Clinton Foundation people
Democratic Party governors of Arkansas
Democratic Party members of the Arkansas House of Representatives
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Arkansas
Democratic Party United States senators from Arkansas
Harvard Kennedy School staff
Henderson State University alumni
People from Camden, Arkansas
Politicians from Little Rock, Arkansas
Presbyterians from Arkansas
Sigma Alpha Epsilon members
University of Arkansas System trustees
20th-century Arkansas politicians
21st-century Arkansas politicians
20th-century United States senators
20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives
20th-century members of the Arkansas General Assembly