Walter Darlington "Dee" Huddleston (April 15, 1926 – October 16, 2018) was an American commercial broadcaster and politician from

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. A member of the Democratic Party, he served two terms as a member of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

from 1973 to 1985. He was defeated for re-election in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

Mitch McConnell Addison Mitchell McConnell III (; born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky, a seat he has held since 1985. McConnell is in his seventh Senate term and is the long ...

by 5,269 votes.

Early life

Huddleston was born on April 15, 1926 in the town of Burkesville, Kentucky. He was one of the nine children of Walter Franklin Huddleston and Lottie Belle Russell. His father was a Methodist preacher. After he graduated from high school, he enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

and served as a tank gunner in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

during and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

from 1944 to 1946. He then attended the

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

with support from the

G.I. Bill The G.I. Bill, formally the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I. (military), G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in ...

, and he then graduated in 1949. On December 20, 1947, Huddleston married the former Martha Jean Pearce at Duncan Memorial Chapel in

Oldham County, Kentucky Oldham County is a county located in the north central part of the U.S. state and commonwealth of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 67,607. Its county seat is La Grange. The county is named for Colonel William Oldham. Old ...

. Together, they had two sons, Stephen Huddleston and Philip Huddleston (died April 10, 2022). Martha Jean Huddleston died on August 18, 2003. After graduating from college, Huddleston worked as the sports and program director for WKCT in

Bowling Green, Kentucky Bowling Green is a city in Warren County, Kentucky, United States, and its county seat. Its population was 72,294 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Kentucky, third-most populous city in the stat ...

. 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 ...

of WIEL in

Elizabethtown, Kentucky Elizabethtown is a home rule-class city in Hardin County, Kentucky, United States, and its county seat. The population was 31,394 at the 2020 census, making it the ninth-most populous city in the state. It is the principal city of the Elizab ...

. 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. On June 15, 1972, Huddleston was one of 20 Democratic senators that voted for Kentucky to ratify the

Equal Rights Amendment The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was a proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States, United States Constitution that would explicitly prohibit sex discrimination. It is not currently a part of the Constitution, though its Ratifi ...

U.S. Senate

In 1972, Huddleston ran for the

seat which was being vacated by retiring Republican John Sherman Cooper. He narrowly defeated Republican Louie Nunn, a recent former governor, receiving a 51% to 48% margin. Huddleston ran the camapaign by repeatedly faulting Nunn for raising the sales tax when was governor. 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 Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

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

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

. During his Senate Career, Huddleston supported the

to prohibit sex discrimination, but was critical of abortion rights. He endorsed voluntary school prayers and Kentucky products like tobacco, bourbon and coal. He supported price control through shifting some of the price to the farmers. He also voiced opposition to excessive drinking labels. He supported the 1977 treaty which ceded the canal to Panama and wished to limit covert intelligence operations.

1984 campaign vs. Mitch McConnell

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

. McConnell gained political traction with a series of

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of 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%). The challenger was aided by incumbent Republican Ronald Reagan's 20-point victory in the Commonwealth over Democratic challenger

Walter Mondale Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928April 19, 2021) was the 42nd vice president of the United States serving from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. He previously served as a U.S. senator from Minnesota from 1964 to 1976. ...

in the concurrent presidential election.

Post-Senate career

As was typical of party members from

, Huddleston was known as a member of the moderate wing of the Democratic Party. After his retirement, Huddleston returned to

and began working as a lobbyist for railroad, tobacco and agricultural clients. He also lobbied in behalf of Louisville-based health insurance company Humana and Capitol Holding, a parent of Commonwealth Life Insurance. 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 nonprofit, 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. immigr ...

, 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 in his sleep on October 16, 2018 at the home of his son, Stephen Huddleston, in Warsaw, Kentucky, where he lived for the last one year and two months of his life, age 92.

, who had later risen to the highest ranks in the Senate leadership, released a statement paying tribute to Huddleston's "tenacity," and stated that both he and his wife, Elaine Chao, were "saddened" when they heard of his passing. He was interred at Elizabetown Cemetery in the town of

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 Members of Congress who became lobbyists 20th-century United States senators 20th-century members of the Kentucky General Assembly