Richard F. Harless

Who was Richard F. Harless?

Richard Fielding Harless was a U.S. Representative from Arizona.

Born in Kelsey, Texas, Harless moved to Thatcher, Arizona, in 1917 and attended the grade and high schools. He graduated from University of Arizona in 1928. He taught school at Marana, Arizona from 1928 to 1930. He graduated from the law school of the University of Arizona in 1933. He was admitted to the bar the same year and commenced practice in Phoenix, Arizona. In Phoenix, Harless served as Assistant City Attorney and in 1936 was elected Assistant Attorney General of Arizona. From 1938-1942, Harless served as Maricopa County Attorney. He was married to Meredith Howard Harless a writer and radio personality.

Harless was elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-eighth, Seventy-ninth, and Eightieth Congresses. He was one of the main sponsors of the Indian Voting Rights Act of 1947.

Harless did not seek renomination in 1948 but was unsuccessful for the gubernatorial nomination. He was an unsuccessful for the Democratic nomination in 1954 for the Eighty-fourth Congress. He served as Democratic nominee in 1960 for the Eighty-seventh Congress. He resumed the practice of law. He died in Phoenix, Arizona, November 24, 1970.