Wendell Ford

Wendell Ford
Official portrait, c. 1990s
Senate Minority Whip
In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 1999
Leader	Tom Daschle
Preceded by	Alan Simpson
Succeeded by	Harry Reid
Senate Majority Whip
In office January 3, 1991 – January 3, 1995
Leader	George J. Mitchell
Preceded by	Alan Cranston
Succeeded by	Trent Lott
United States Senator from Kentucky
In office December 28, 1974 – January 3, 1999
Preceded by	Marlow Cook
Succeeded by	Jim Bunning
53rd Governor of Kentucky
In office December 7, 1971 – December 28, 1974
Lieutenant	Julian Carroll
Preceded by	Louie Nunn
Succeeded by	Julian Carroll
45th Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky
In office December 12, 1967 – December 7, 1971
Governor	Louie Nunn
Preceded by	Harry Lee Waterfield
Succeeded by	Julian Carroll
Member of the Kentucky Senate from the 8th district
In office January 1, 1966 – December 12, 1967
Preceded by	Casper Gardner
Succeeded by	Delbert S. Murphy
Personal details
Born	Wendell Hampton Ford (1924-09-08)September 8, 1924 Owensboro, Kentucky, U.S.
Died	January 22, 2015(2015-01-22) (aged 90) Owensboro, Kentucky, U.S.
Resting place	Rosehill Elmwood Cemetery
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Ruby Jean Neel ​ (m. 1943)​
Children	2
Alma mater	University of Kentucky Maryland School of Insurance
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1944–1946, 1949–1962
Rank	Technical Sergeant First Lieutenant
Unit	Kentucky Army National Guard
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Expert Infantryman Badge American Campaign Medal Good Conduct Medal World War II Victory Medal
Wendell Ford's voice Wendell Ford explains his vote against NAFTA Recorded November 20, 1993

Wendell Hampton Ford (September 8, 1924 – January 22, 2015) was an American politician from Kentucky. He served for twenty-four years in the U.S. Senate and was the 53rd Governor of Kentucky. He was the first person to be successively elected lieutenant governor, governor, and United States senator in Kentucky history.^[1] He was the Senate Democratic whip from 1991 to 1999, and was considered the leader of the state's Democratic Party from his election as governor in 1971 until he retired from the Senate in 1999.^[2] At the time of his retirement he was the longest-serving senator in Kentucky's history, a mark which was then surpassed by Mitch McConnell in 2009. He is the most recent Democrat to have served as a Senator from the state of Kentucky.

Born in Daviess County, Kentucky, Ford attended the University of Kentucky, but his studies were interrupted by his service in World War II. After the war, he graduated from the Maryland School of Insurance and returned to Kentucky to help his father with the family insurance business. He also continued his military service in the Kentucky Army National Guard. He worked on the gubernatorial campaign of Bert T. Combs in 1959 and became Combs' executive assistant when Combs was elected governor. Encouraged to run for the Kentucky Senate by Combs' ally and successor, Ned Breathitt, Ford won the seat and served one four-year term before running for lieutenant governor in 1967. He was elected on a split ticket with Republican Louie B. Nunn. Four years later, Ford defeated Combs in an upset in the Democratic primary en route to the governorship.

As governor, Ford made the government more efficient by reorganizing and consolidating some departments in the executive branch. He raised revenue for the state through a severance tax on coal and enacted reforms to the educational system. He purged most of the Republicans from statewide office, including helping Walter Dee Huddleston win the Senate seat vacated by the retirement of Republican stalwart John Sherman Cooper. In 1974, Ford himself ousted the other incumbent senator, Republican Marlow Cook. Following the rapid rise of Ford and many of his political allies, he and his lieutenant governor, Julian Carroll, were investigated on charges of political corruption, but a grand jury refused to indict them. As a senator, Ford was a staunch defender of Kentucky's tobacco industry. He also formed the Senate National Guard Caucus with Missouri senator Kit Bond. Chosen as Democratic party whip in 1991, Ford considered running for floor leader in 1994 before throwing his support to Connecticut's Christopher Dodd. He retired from the Senate in 1999 and returned to Owensboro, where he taught politics to youth at the Owensboro Museum of Science and History.