Former Vice President Walter Mondale, a liberal icon who lost the most lopsided presidential election after bluntly telling voters to expect a tax increase if he won, has died. He was 93.
Mondale’s family says he died Monday in Minneapolis.
Mondale served Minnesota as attorney general and U.S. senator. He followed the trail blazed by his political mentor, Hubert H. Humphrey, to the vice presidency, serving under Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1981.
Carter and his wife Rosalynn released the following statement Monday night.
“Today I mourn the passing of my dear friend Walter Mondale, who I consider the best vice president in our country’s history. During our administration, Fritz used his political skill and personal integrity to transform the vice presidency into a dynamic, policy-driving force that had never been seen before and still exists today. He was an invaluable partner and an able servant of the people of Minnesota, the United States, and the world. Fritz Mondale provided us all with a model for public service and private behavior. Rosalynn and I join all Americans in giving thanks for his exemplary life, and we extend our deepest condolences to his family.:
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Mondale’s own try for the White House, in 1984, came at the zenith of Ronald Reagan’s popularity. On Election Day, he carried only his home state and the District of Columbia.
Mondale made a different kind of history that year by choosing the first female running mate on a major party ticket, Geraldine Ferraro.
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