Walter ‘Dee’ Huddleston, former Kentucky senator, dead at age 92

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - A Kentucky politician who served the Commonwealth in both the state and federal legislatures has died.

Walter "Dee" Huddleston was 92. According to Steve Huddleston, Dee's son, his father died peaceably in his sleep this morning.

A native of Burkesville, Huddleston, a Democrat, served two terms from 1973 to 1985 as a U.S. Senator after John Sherman Cooper retired. In a close race, Huddleston defeated Republican Louie B. Nunn by a 3% margin. In 1978, he easily won re-election over Louie R. Guenthner, Jr., a former Republican state representative.

Huddleston was succeeded by Mitch McConnell, the current Senate Majority Leader. Before being elected to the federal legislature, Huddleston also served in the Kentucky State Senate for six years.

Funeral services for Huddleston, who lived in Elizabethtown most of his life, have not been completed.

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