Former U.S. Senator David Durenberger, a Minnesota Republican who espoused a progressive brand of politics and criticized the GOP after his political career, died Tuesday at age 88.
Durenberger’s health had declined in recent months, his longtime spokesperson Tom Horner said. Horner told The Associated Press that Durenberger died Tuesday morning of natural causes. He was at his St. Paul home surrounded by family.
“Senator Dave Durenberger was a true public servant,” Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, of Minnesota, said in a statement. Klobuchar, who holds Durenberger’s old seat, said he had personally showed her much kindness when she was first elected in 2006.
“He was a dedicated legislator who was always guided by his devotion to bipartisanship and improving people’s lives,” Klobuchar said. “His work to advance the Americans with Disabilities Act and prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities changed millions of lives for the better and made our nation stronger.”
Durenberger’s first wife, Judy, died of breast cancer in 1970, leaving him a widower raising four sons. Dave Durenberger, his son, said he stayed an active father, attending their athletic matches.
After becoming a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve, Durenberger became a corporate lawyer, He practiced law alongside Republican Harold Levander, the future governor. During that time, Durenberger entered formal politics by working as Gov. Levander’s executive secretary from 1967 to 1971.
He won the election to the Senate in 1978, in a special election to fill the seat once held by the late Vice President Hubert Humphrey. When he ran for that office, his sons helped stuff envelopes at their dining room table, joined parades and helped on the campaign.
“He was sort of our north star for how we needed to live our lives,” Dave Durenberger said.
As he rose through the Senate, Durenberger went through troubled periods in his personal life. He separated from his wife, Penny, in 1985 — a personal agony he openly discussed with several reporters at the time. He married Susan Foote, a former member of his staff, in 1995.
Dave Durenberger said his father in recent years was a frequent presence at his grandchildren’s school and sports events. Durenberger showed his family how to value people, regardless of their social status, he said.
“He tried to find the goodness or the common bond that he shared with everybody. Everybody had the potential to be his friend — whether it was the King of Jordan or the Jordanian immigrant driving a cab,” Dave Durenberger said.
But Senator Durenberger’s career took a downturn in 1990. He was unanimously censured by the Senate following an Ethics Committee investigation into payments he received for book royalties and federal reimbursements for stays in a Minneapolis condo. In 1995, Durenberger also pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor charges related to the condo payments.
“If there is a smudge on the Seal of the United States Senate, or on the Star of the North, as we like to call our state, I will work my hardest to polish both back to brightness,” Durenberger told his Senate colleagues after his censure.
This censure was especially disappointing, since he served on Minnesota State Ethical Practices Board between 1974 and 1978.
He decided not to run for reelection in 1994. Following his exit from politics, he worked with a number of initiatives focused on health care policy. As chair of the National Institute of Health Policy at the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business, he addressed health care reform.
All in all, Durenberger served three terms and championed health care reform. He pushed proposals to expand Medicare benefits and promote Women’s Economic Equality Act. He proved instrumental in some efforts by former President George H. W. Bush, like his volunteerism efforts and the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act.
As the Republican Party tilted toward fiscal conservatives focused on reining in spending, Durenberger became a critic. He told a Minnesota political podcast in 2005 that Democrats are “better equipped to carry the day” on health care policy. He said at the time he would not become a Democrat, and he remained an independent.
Durenberger endorsed an Independence Party candidate — his current spokesperson and former chief of staff — for governor.
In the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, he endorsed Democrats Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden over Donald Trump. And in 2018, he wrote a book with political reporter Lori Sturdevant titled, “When Republicans Were Progressive.” It mourned a nearly-extinct wing of the GOP in which lawmakers prided themselves on bipartisanship and sought to assist vulnerable people.
Horner said services will be held next week at Durenberger’s alma mater, St. John’s University in Collegeville.
Members of both parties expressed their condolences to Durenberger’s family.
Take a look —
RIP Senator Durenberger. I was five when you sent me this letter of congratulations on my citizenship. I display it outside my legislative office. #teamkozmn #mnleg pic.twitter.com/LI2XUJRRHD
— State Rep Jon Koznick (@Jonkoznick) January 31, 2023
Dave Durenberger was a friend, a moderate of the old school. His deep knowledge of health care was a real asset for me & MN. May his memory be a blessing to Susan, his children & grandkids.
— Al Franken (@alfranken) January 31, 2023
The Associated Press contributed to this article.