Fred R. Harris

Fred R. Harris
Harris in the United States Senate, 1968
32nd Chair of the Democratic National Committee
In office January 14, 1969 – March 5, 1970
Preceded by	Larry O'Brien
Succeeded by	Larry O'Brien
United States Senator from Oklahoma
In office November 4, 1964 – January 3, 1973
Preceded by	J. Howard Edmondson
Succeeded by	Dewey F. Bartlett
Personal details
Born	Fred Roy Harris (1930-11-13) November 13, 1930 (age 94) Walters, Oklahoma, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	LaDonna Harris ​ ​ (m. 1949; div. 1982)​ Margaret Elliston ​ (m. 1982)​
Children	3
Education	University of Oklahoma (BA, LLB)

Fred Roy Harris (born November 13, 1930) is an American retired politician from Oklahoma. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the United States Senate from 1964 to 1973.^[1]

Born in Walters, Oklahoma, Harris was elected to the Oklahoma Senate after graduating from the University of Oklahoma College of Law. He ousted the appointed U.S. Senate incumbent J. Howard Edmondson and won a 1964 special election to finish Robert S. Kerr's term, narrowly defeating football coach Bud Wilkinson. Harris strongly supported the Great Society programs but criticized President Lyndon B. Johnson's handling of the Vietnam War. He was reelected in 1966 and declined to seek another term in 1972.

From 1969 to 1970, Harris served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee. In the 1968 presidential election, Democratic nominee Hubert Humphrey strongly considered him as his running mate. Harris unsuccessfully sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1972 and 1976. After 1976, he was a professor at the University of New Mexico.

Since the March 2019 death of Birch Bayh, Harris has been the earliest-serving living U.S. senator, and is the last living former U.S. senator who left office in the 1970s. Since the death of Bob Dole in December 2021, Harris is one of the last two living U.S. senators who assumed office in the 1960s, alongside Bob Packwood of Oregon.^[2]