Gary Hart

Gary Warren Hart (born Gary Warren Hartpence; November 28, 1936) is an American politician, diplomat and lawyer. He is perhaps best known for being the front-runner for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination until he dropped out over allegations of an extramarital affair with Donna Rice. Hart served as U.S. Senator from Colorado from 1975 to 1987 and as Vice Chairman of the Homeland Security Advisory Council from 2008 to 2011. Since 2014 he has been the U. S. Special Envoy for Northern Ireland. He is also an author, professor and commentator. He has been married to Lee (Ludwig) since 1958 and has two grown children. 2Early life and legal career Hart was born in Ottawa, Kansas, the son of Nina (née Pritchard) and Carl Riley Hartpence, a farm equipment salesman. As a young man, he worked as a laborer on the railroad. He and his father changed their last name to "Hart" in 1961 because "Hart is a lot easier to remember than Hartpence." He won a scholarship to Bethany Nazarene College in Bethany, Oklahoma, in 1954 and graduated in 1958. He met his wife, Oletha (Lee) Ludwig, there, and they married in 195