Bob Dole, Longtime GOP Senate Leader, Dies At 98

Robert Joseph Dole, a longtime Senate Republican leader and the party's presidential nominee in 1996, has died. He was 98.

Dole announced in February that he was battling Stage 4 lung cancer. The Elizabeth Dole Foundation confirmed that he passed away in his sleep Sunday. Dole was best known as the Republican nominee for president in 1996, when he lost by a significant margin against incumbent Democratic President Bill Clinton. He served in a combat division in Italy during World War II, where he suffered an almost-fatal injury while carrying a fellow soldier to safety. He spent 39 months recovering inside military hospitals, which encouraged him to pursue a law degree and subsequently a political career. Dole was the longest-serving Republican leader in the Senate until Minority Leader Mitch McConnell surpassed his record in 2018.

Dole's death was prominently covered across the spectrum Sunday. Most outlets lauded Dole as "one of the most durable political figures" of the last century. Left-rated outlets were more likely to emphasize that Dole was "one of the key Republicans to say plainly after the 2020 election that Biden had won," while others noted that "some saw Dole as his own worst enemy." Some right-rated outlets said Dole "supported President Donald Trump — not uncritically" and that his trepidations about Clinton were later "vindicated by the sexual scandal" that led to his impeachment.