Dale Bumpers dies at 90; former Arkansas governor and senator who came to Bill Clinton’s defense
- Share via
Dale Bumpers, a former Arkansas governor and U.S. senator who drew national attention for his defense of Bill Clinton during the president’s impeachment trial, has died.
His son, Brent Bumpers, says the former lawmaker, who was 90, died Friday night in Little Rock.
Join the conversation on Facebook >>
Bumpers was a little-known lawyer from Charleston, Ark., when he defeated former Gov. Orval Faubus for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 1970, then defeated incumbent Republican Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller in the general election. Four years later he defeated incumbent U.S. Sen. J. William Fulbright in the Democratic primary and won the seat.
Bumpers delivered an impassioned defense of Clinton in 1999.
He previously had been an attorney for the Charleston School Board in 1954, when the district became first in the 11 former Confederate states to integrate.
MORE RECENT OBITUARIES:
Former Harlem Globetrotters star Meadowlark Lemon dies at 83
Haskell Wexler dies at 93; two-time Oscar-winning cinematographer and lifelong activist
Dave Henderson, who hit famous playoff homer against Angels, dies at 57
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for the L.A. Times biggest news, features and recommendations in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
