Lester C. Hunt, a U.S. Senator from Wyoming, tragically took his own life on June 19, 1954, at his office in the Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C. This year marks the 70th anniversary of this somber event that left a profound impact on Wyoming and the nation.

Hunt’s Early Years

Lester Hunt was born in Isabel, Illinois, in 1892. His journey to Wyoming began in an unlikely place – a baseball diamond. His pitching skills led to his recruitment in 1911 for Lander’s baseball team.

He put down roots there, becoming a respected dentist in 1917 and started a family with wife Nathelle. They had Elise and Lester Jr., known as Buddy. By 1934, long hours spent by the dental chair were no longer possible due to pain from donating bone grafts from his shin to treat Buddy’s bone cysts. But little did Lester Hunt know that this health setback would lead to life on the state and then national political stage.

Hunt went on to dedicate himself to public service, working as a Democrat in the state legislature and then as Wyoming Secretary of State from 1935 to 1943. The well-known bucking horse and rider on the Wyoming license plate was commissioned by Hunt while serving in the position and has been in use since 1936.

Governor and U.S. Senator

Next, he served as two-term Governor from 1943 to 1949. His mettle was tested as faced Republican opposition in the Wyoming House and Senate. He worked on issues like implementing the Selective Service Act, closing the Heart Mountain Japanese American internment camp, and battling for teacher and state worker retirement benefits.

Hunt’s popularity grew, and he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1948 as a liberal Democrat in a traditionally Republican state. The 56-year-old governor resigned his office and left for Washington, D.C., joining the distinguished Class of 1948, which included notable senators such as Estes Kefauver of Tennessee, Paul Douglas of Illinois, Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota, Lyndon Johnson of Texas, and Robert Kerr of Oklahoma.

From 1950 to 1951, Hunt served under Kefauver on a special Senate committee investigating organized crime, which became the first televised sensation in the country. Impressed by his colleague’s performance, Kefauver asked Hunt to be his vice presidential running mate should he secure the 1952 Democratic nomination.

Clashing with McCarthy and a Family Crisis

Despite his success, Hunt found himself at odds with another rising star, Senator Joseph McCarthy. The two took an immediate dislike to each other. When Hunt arrived in the Senate in 1949, McCarthy was on the cusp of his aggressive anti-Communism campaign. Hunt became so disgusted with McCarthy that he called him “a liar” and “a drunk,” an opinion shared by other senators, but few dared say it. Hunt went on to introduce legislation allowing private citizens to sue members of Congress who libeled them, which was a direct attack on McCarthy.

Their conflict came to a head in June 1953 when a Hunt family crisis collided with the ruthless world of politics. 24-year-old Buddy, a student and student body president at the Episcopal Theological School, was arrested for soliciting a male undercover police officer in Washington, D.C. Initially, the charges were dropped, but two McCarthy allies, Senators Styles Bridges and Herman Welker, saw Buddy’s arrest as an opportunity to gain leverage over Hunt. They pressured District of Columbia prosecutors to bring Buddy to trial, where he was ultimately convicted and fined.

Senator Hunt, a devoted father, sat beside his son in court and paid the $100 fine. However, the ordeal was far from over. With the Senate almost evenly divided and the 1954 elections looming, Bridges and Welker resorted to ruthless political blackmail. They threatened to flood Wyoming with pamphlets detailing Buddy’s arrest unless Hunt withdrew from his expected reelection campaign and retired from the Senate. News of Buddy’s arrest had been suppressed in Wyoming by Democratic National Committeeman Tracy McCracken, who published several newspapers in the state. This made the threats of exposure by Bridges and Welker particularly potent.

A Tragic End and an Enduring Legacy

Hunt found himself in a heart-wrenching dilemma, torn between his love for his son and his family’s privacy and his commitment to serving his constituents. His correspondence at the AHC reveals the struggle he faced over the next year as he contemplated his situation. His letters show alternating moods of optimism about McCarthy’s declining popularity and his own chances for reelection, dismay over declining health, and, ultimately, resignation when he felt that he could not continue as a senator. For example, on May 25, 1954, he wrote a friend about encouraging poll numbers for his reelection. But less than two weeks later, he announced he wouldn’t run again.

What transpired during this period that led to the drastic choice of suicide on June 19, 1954? Hunt’s letters seem to indicate health was a problem. However, according to Rodger McDaniel’s book Dying for Joe McCarthy’s Sins, which draws on research conducted at AHC, Hunt’s top aide claimed there were no health issues. McDaniel notes that the day before the suicide, McCarthy had renewed his threats. In the end, it was all too much to bear. Although a muckraker, national political columnist Drew Pearson wrote just days after the suicide what was most likely the truth. He suggested that Lester Hunt was a sensitive soul who could not bear having his son’s misfortunes whispered about during his re-election campaign.

The circumstances surrounding Senator Hunt’s death sparked public outrage and contributed to the growing backlash against McCarthy’s tactics. Pearson published details of the Republican Senators’ threats against Hunt, shedding light on the tactics that marked the McCarthy era. Hunt’s tragic end underscored the devastating consequences of such tactics and highlighted the need for greater understanding and support for mental health issues, particularly among public figures who face immense pressure and scrutiny.

In the aftermath of Hunt’s suicide, McCarthy was eventually censured by his Senate colleagues and descended into alcoholism, becoming a pariah without influence. He died on May 2, 1957, from complications related to his alcoholism. Senator Welker was defeated for reelection in 1956, with his behavior becoming increasingly erratic during the campaign. He died from a brain tumor not long after McCarthy in October 1957. As for Senator Bridges he remained an influential legislator for the next few years but died in 1961, just after being reelected in 1960.

In Wyoming, Republicans failed to win Hunt’s seat in the U.S. Senate in 1954. William Henry Harrison, the GOP candidate and great-great-grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was upset by Hunt’s great friend Joseph O’Mahoney, who made a Senate comeback.

Senator Hunt’s legacy has been remembered in various ways, including through Allen Drury’s 1959 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Advise and Consent, and Thomas Mallon’s 2007 novel Fellow Travelers, both of which drew inspiration from the events surrounding Hunt’s tragic death.

More recently, Rodger McDaniel, a Presbyterian pastor, former Wyoming legislator, and Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1982, published a comprehensive study of Hunt’s death titled Dying for Joe McCarthy’s Sins: The Suicide of Wyoming Senator Lester Hunt (2013). Utilizing the Hunt papers and the research of University of Wyoming historian T.A. Larson, both housed at the AHC, McDaniel’s book sheds new light on the tragic events surrounding Hunt’s death and the impact of McCarthy’s tactics on American politics.

To learn more about Senator Hunt’s life, legacy, and commemorative events marking the 70th anniversary of his death, please visit the dedicated website at https://www.lesterhunt.org/. The site offers a wealth of information, resources, and updates on upcoming events honoring the memory of this remarkable public servant.

If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or emotional distress, please know that help is available. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is a national network of local crisis centers that provides free and confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org to connect with a trained crisis counselor who can offer support and resources.

Post contributed by Leslie Waggener, Archivist for the AHC’s Alan K. Simpson Institute for Western Politics and Leadership.