LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — David Hampton Pryor, the 39th governor of Arkansas who went on to serve the state for 18 years in the Senate and in the process established a legacy as one of the most admired, trusted and beloved political leaders in Arkansas’ history, died Saturday at the age of 89.
In a state that’s seen it’s share of political heavyweights, Pryor walked among the giants. Few politicians have enjoyed his enduring popularity. Even fewer matched his skill at connecting with every day people.
Arkansas owes me nothing,” he once said. “I owe Arkansas everything.”
He was born August 29, 1934, in Camden. His father was a sheriff and his mother the first woman to run for public office in the state.
In 1957, Pryor graduated from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville where he had honed his skills in student government.
In 1960, at age 26, Pryor was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives. A member of the so-called Young Turks, he battled over policy reform with Gov. Orval Faubus.
After three terms at the state capitol Pryor set his sights on Washington, D.C., winning a 1966 special election to succeed longtime Rep. Oren Harris.
Every once in a while,” he told KATV after arriving in the nation’s capitol, “I have to pinch myself to make me become aware once again that I’m up here.”
Pryor would represent Arkansas’ 4th Congressional District for six years, advocating on behalf of the elderly and speaking out against the war in Vietnam.
In 1972, he mounted a primary challenge to the powerful Democratic incumbent Sen. John McClellan. He took the veteran lawmaker to a runoff, but suffered a narrow defeat. Pryor was gracious as he conceded the race.
“Basically the real test of people and of men does not come when we accept our victories. It comes when we accept our defeats.”
It turned out to be the final setback of his political career.
After spending two years practicing law, Pryor stepped back into the political arena, mounting a bid to become Arkansas’ 39th governor.
With wife Barbara at his side he stormed the state, dispatching Faubus and Lt. Gov. Bob Riley in the primary then capturing 66% of the vote in the general election.
And now, ladies and gentlemen,” he said on election night 1974, “I’m ready to go to work for the people of our state.”
The first Pryor term unfolded during difficult economic times. Still, the young governor attracted national attention for his leadership, deftly handling challenges like the housing of Vietnamese refugees at Fort Chaffee.
Arkansans took to his style of politics and in 1976 returned him to office with an astounding 83% of the vote.
By 1978 the then 44-year old was ready for a change. A vacated senate seat opened the door for him to fulfill his dream of serving Arkansas as a U.S. senator.
The competition in the Democratic primary was formidable. It included two sitting congressmen, Jim Guy Tucker and Ray Thornton.
Pryor prevailed by a razor thin margin and in November 1978 was swept into office in a landslide.
“There’s no adequate way that I can express my thanks to you,” he told supporters that night. “Except by saying I love you. Thank you.”
Pryor’s return to Washington was more consequential than anyone could have known at the time. It not only led to the establishment of a lasting and productive partnership with Arkansas senior Sen. Dale Bumpers, it cleared the path for a young politician and future president from Hope, Bill Clinton, to grab the reins of state government.
In the Senate, Pryor continued his advocacy for the elderly and cast repeated votes against the agenda of President Ronald Reagan.
In 1984, Reagan traveled to Arkansas to campaign for Pryor’s Republican opponent, Rep. Ed Bethune. But even the coattails of a popular president weren’t long enough to deny Pryor a second term in the Senate.
“I don’t think I look forward to running against you again,” he told Bethune on election night. “You’ve made me work awful hard. I think I’ve lost 12 to 15 pounds. Maybe it was good for me.”
After 1984 Pryor would never again face opposition for public office, such was his popularity among voters. He stayed humble, maintained his sense of humor and raised what were then huge amounts of money to safeguard his place in Washington.
Though he retired from politics in 1996, Pryor never truly retired. He led the JFK School of Government at Harvard and founded the David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History at the University of Arkansas.
In 2002, he no doubt experienced his greatest joy by helping elect another Pryor – his son Mark – to the Senate seat he had held for 18 years.
Until the very end Pryor lived a life of service and lived up to the phrase he made famous: “Arkansas comes first.”
