Jim Abdnor, former US senator from South Dakota, dies at 89
Former U.S. Sen. James Abdnor
PIERRE, South Dakota (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. JimAbdnor, the South Dakota Republican who ousted prominent Democrat George McGovern from the Senate only to lose his seat after one term, has died. He was 89.
Abdnor, the son of Lebanese immigrants, was a four-term congressman when he defeated the 1972 Democratic presidential nominee as McGovern tried to win his fourth Senate term in 1980.Abdnorreceived nearly 60 percent of the vote, part of the Republican wave that swept Ronald Reagan into the White House.
Abdnor, who was a farmer, teacher and World War II veteran before jumping into politics, died Wednesday, his family said in a statement. Vance Goldammer,Abdnor’sattorney and long-time friend, saidAbdnordied of natural causes. He had been in hospice care since May 6.
Despite three decades in public service,Abdnornever quite mastered the art of public speaking. But he served on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee and earned a reputation for working hard to help farmers and win South Dakota water projects.
Abdnor, who grew up in the South Dakota ranching town of Kennebec, once said his many years of riding a tractor helped him represent farmers in Washington.
“I’m a farmer,”Abdnorsaid in 1986. “I’ve dug more field dirt out of my ears than anyone in Congress. I treasure that heritage.”
WhenAbdnorlost his Senate seat in 1986 to then-U.S. Congressman Tom Daschle, Reagan appointed him head of the U.S. Small Business Administration and he held the post for two years.
He received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Nebraska in 1945, and then taught school at Kennebec and Presho before becoming a farmer. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He never married.