Former U.S. senator Fred Thompson dies
- 9 years ago
Fred Thompson, a former U.S. senator for Tennessee, GOP presidential candidate, Watergate attorney and longtime Law and Order star, has died.
"It is with a heavy heart and a deep sense of grief that we share the passing of our brother, husband, father, and grandfather who died peacefully in Nashville surrounded by his family," the statement reads.
At 6 feet 5 inches with a booming voice, Thompson and his larger-than-life persona played a role in several key moments that shaped the U.S. and Tennessee political landscape.
Thompson was elected in Tennessee as a Republican in 1994 to fill the unexpired term of Al Gore, who had became vice president two years earlier.
On the campaign trail, Thompson famously crisscrossed the state in a rented red pickup truck before soundly defeating Democrat Jim Cooper - currently Nashville's congressman - in what was a dominant election year for Republicans nationally.
"It is with a heavy heart and a deep sense of grief that we share the passing of our brother, husband, father, and grandfather who died peacefully in Nashville surrounded by his family," the statement reads.
At 6 feet 5 inches with a booming voice, Thompson and his larger-than-life persona played a role in several key moments that shaped the U.S. and Tennessee political landscape.
Thompson was elected in Tennessee as a Republican in 1994 to fill the unexpired term of Al Gore, who had became vice president two years earlier.
On the campaign trail, Thompson famously crisscrossed the state in a rented red pickup truck before soundly defeating Democrat Jim Cooper - currently Nashville's congressman - in what was a dominant election year for Republicans nationally.