Walter Dee Huddleston

Who is Walter Dee Huddleston?

Walter Darlington "Dee" Huddleston is a retired American politician. He is a Democrat from the state of Kentucky. He represented Kentucky in the United States Senate from 1973 until 1985.

Huddleston was born in Burkesville, the seat of Cumberland County in south central Kentucky. After he graduated from high school, he enlisted in the United States Army and served as a tank gunner in Europe during and after World War II from 1944 to 1946. He then attended the University of Kentucky in Lexington, from which he graduated in 1949. In 1947 he married Martha Jean Pearce.

Huddleston was a manager of radio stations in Kentucky from 1949 to 1972. He entered politics in 1964 when he was elected to the Kentucky State Senate. He served as a state senator from 1965 to 1972, and served for a time as the majority leader.

In 1972, Huddleston ran for the U.S. Senate seat which was being vacated by retiring Republican John Sherman Cooper. He narrowly defeated Republican Louie B. Nunn, a recent former governor, receiving a 51% to 48% margin. Huddleston was reelected in 1978 with 61 percent of the vote over the former Republican state Representative Louie R. Guenthner, Jr., of Louisville.