Gary Hart

Gary Warren Hart born November 28 1936 is an American politician diplomat and lawyer He was the frontrunner for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination until he dropped out amid revelations of extramarital affairs He represented Colorado in the United States Senate from 1975 to 1987 Born in Ottawa Kansas Hart pursued a legal career in Denver Colorado after graduating from Yale Law School He managed Senator George McGoverns successful campaign for the 1972 Democratic presidential nomination and McGoverns unsuccessful general election campaign against President Richard Nixon Hart defeated incumbent Republican Senator Peter Dominick in Colorados 1974 Senate election In the Senate he served on the Church Committee and led the Senate investigation regarding the Three Mile Island accident After narrowly winning reelection in 1980 he sponsored the Semiconductor Chip Protection Act of 1984 becoming known as an Atari Democrat Hart sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 narrowly losing the race to former Vice President Walter Mondale Hart declined to seek reelection to the Senate in 1986 and sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988 He was widely viewed as the frontrunner until reports surfaced of an extramarital affair and Hart withdrew from the race in May 1987 He reentered the race in December 1987 but withdrew from the race again after faring poorly in the early primaries The nomination ultimately went to Michael Dukakis Hart returned to private practice after the 1988 election and served in a variety of public roles He cochaired the HartRudman Task Force on Homeland Security served on the Homeland Security Advisory Council and was the United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland He earned a doctorate in politics from the University of Oxford and has written for outlets such as The Huffington Post He has also written several books including a biography of President James Monroe Hart married Lee Ludwig in 1958 who died at age 85 on April 9 2021 They had two children John and Andrea Hart