Former Democrat Sen. Fred Harris dies at 94

Fred Harris, a former U.S. senator from Oklahoma who ran for president and was best known for pushing reforms in the Democratic Party during the 1960s, died on Saturday at 94 years old.

Margaret Elliston, Harris's wife, confirmed Harris's death on Saturday in New Mexico where they had lived since 1976.

Elliston explained in a text message released to media, "Fred Harris passed peacefully early this morning of natural causes. He was 94. He was a wonderful and beloved man. His memory is a blessing."

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) issued a statement on Harris's passing saying, "I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of my longtime friend Fred Harris today. Harris was a towering presence in politics and in academia, and his work over many decades improved New Mexico and the nation.  He will be greatly missed."

Harris served eight years in the U.S. Senate, winning in 1964 to replace U.S. Senator Robert S. Kerr, who had died in office. He would serve out the rest of Kerr's term and then spend the better part of the next decade in Washington, D.C.

The senator would go on to unsuccessfully run for president in 1976 on a populist platform emphasizing economic reforms, but he was ultimately unsuccessful. Harris is part of a past generation of Democrats who are virtually unrecognizable today, and his long retirement stands in stark contrast to some of his peers who remained in politics for far too long.