Lester C. Hunt

Lester C. Hunt
United States Senator
from Wyoming
In office
January 3, 1949 – June 19, 1954
Preceded byEdward V. Robertson
Succeeded byEdward D. Crippa
Chair of the National Governors Association
In office
June 13, 1948 – January 3, 1949
Preceded byHorace Hildreth
Succeeded byWilliam Preston Lane Jr.
19th Governor of Wyoming
In office
January 4, 1943 – January 3, 1949
Preceded byNels H. Smith
Succeeded byArthur G. Crane
9th Secretary of State of Wyoming
In office
January 7, 1935 – January 4, 1943
GovernorLeslie A. Miller
Nels H. Smith
Preceded byAlonzo M. Clark
Succeeded byMart Christensen
Personal details
Born
Lester Callaway Hunt

(1892-07-08)July 8, 1892
Isabel, Illinois, U.S.
DiedJune 19, 1954(1954-06-19) (aged 61)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Nathelle Higby
(m. 1920)
Children2
EducationIllinois Wesleyan University (attended)
St. Louis University (DDS)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
Years of service1917–1919 (Active)
1919–1954 (Reserve)
RankFirst Lieutenant (Active)
Major (Reserve)
UnitUnited States Army Dental Corps
Battles/warsWorld War I

Lester Callaway Hunt, Sr. (July 8, 1892 – June 19, 1954), was an American Democratic politician from the state of Wyoming. Hunt was the first to be elected to two consecutive terms as Wyoming's governor, serving as its 19th governor from January 4, 1943, to January 3, 1949. In 1948, he was elected by a decisive margin to the U.S. Senate, and began his term on January 3, 1949.

Hunt supported a number of federal social programs and advocated for federal support of low-cost health and dental insurance policies. He also supported a variety of programs proposed by the Eisenhower administration following the Republican landslide in the 1952 elections, including the abolition of racial segregation in the District of Columbia, and the expansion of Social Security.

An outspoken opponent of Senator Joseph McCarthy's anti-Communist campaign, Hunt challenged McCarthy and his senatorial allies by championing a proposed law restricting Congressional immunity and allowing individuals to sue members of Congress for slanderous statements. In June 1953, Hunt's son was arrested in Washington, D.C., on charges of soliciting sex from an undercover male police officer (homosexual acts were prohibited by law at the time). Some Republican senators, including McCarthy, threatened Hunt with prosecution of his son and wide publication of the event unless he abandoned plans to run for re-election and resigned immediately, which Hunt refused to do. His son was convicted and fined on October 6, 1953. On April 15, 1954, Hunt announced his intention to run for re-election. He changed his mind, however, after McCarthy renewed the threat to use his son's arrest against him. On June 19, Hunt died by suicide in his Senate office; his death dealt a serious blow to McCarthy's image and was one of the factors that led to his censure by the Senate later in 1954.[1]

  1. ^ "Senator Lester Hunt's Decision". Senate.gov. Washington, DC: Historian of the United States Senate. Retrieved September 7, 2018.