SEATTLE, Wash. — Former U.S. Senator and popular Washington political figure Slade Gorton has died.
He passed away in Seattle yesterday.
The Republican served in the state legislature and three terms as state attorney general before he defeated the venerable Warren Magnuson in 1980.
The Seattle Times reports that victory earned him the nickname “Giant Killer.”
Gorton served three terms before losing to Maria Cantwell in 2000 in the closest U.S. Senate race in state history.
He served on commissions that investigated the 9/11 terror attacks and on federal election reform.
He also served on many other civic boards and was a baseball fan who’s credited with helping to keep the Mariners in Seattle.
Slade Gorton was 92.