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Former Minnesota Sen. David Durenberger, a moderate Republican who was censured in 1990, dies at 88 [1]

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Date: 2023-01-31  

Durenberger was a well-connected attorney and GOP fundraiser who served on several prominent charitable boards when he first sought office in 1978 by campaigning in the special election to succeed Sen. Hubert Humphrey, the former vice president and 1968 Democratic presidential nominee who had died in office early in the year. Humphrey’s widow, Muriel Humphrey, was appointed to the seat but did not run.

Democrats ended up nominating former Texas Rangers owner Robert Short, an anti-abortion self-funder who urged Republicans to vote for him in the primary but struggled to win over liberals. Durenberger, by contrast, had little trouble winning the GOP nomination, and he beat Short in a 61-35 landslide. However, the senator had a more difficult contest for a full term in 1982 against Democrat Mark Dayton, an heir of the company now known as Target.

The Democrat, who was also married to a Rockefeller, poured millions of his own money into his campaign while campaigning “to close tax loopholes for the rich and the corporations—and if you think that includes the Daytons, you're right.” Durenberger, for his part, portrayed his foe as an aimless rich guy while distancing himself from Ronald Reagan during a time when the president wasn’t especially popular, with the New York Times writing that the incumbent “often suggests that Mr. Reagan is not very bright.” Durenberger ultimately won their expensive fight 53-47; Dayton later went on to win this seat in 2000 and be elected governor in 2010 and 2014.

Durenberger faced another prominent name in 1988 when he went up against Attorney General Skip Humphrey, the son of his two predecessors. What followed was a nasty contest in a state that prided itself for “Minnesota nice”: Humphrey accused Durenberger of thinking that “pulling the plug” on seniors and ill people would help save Medicare money, while the incumbent went after his opponent on crime. However, Durenberger won by a convincing 56-41 even as Michael Dukakis was carrying the state.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/1/31/2150400/-Former-Minnesota-Sen-David-Durenberger-a-moderate-Republican-who-was-censured-in-1990-dies-at-88

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