Ralph R. Harding

Infobox_Congressman
name=Ralph R. Harding


state=Idaho
district=2nd
term_start = January 3, 1961
term_end = January 3, 1965
preceded=Hamer H. Budge
succeeded=George V. Hansen
date of birth=birth date|1929|9|9|mf=y
place of birth=Malad City, Idaho
dead = dead
date of death=death date and age|2006|10|26|1929|9|9
place of death=Blackfoot, Idaho
residence=Blackfoot
spouse=
profession=Agriculture
religion=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
party=Democratic|

Ralph R. Harding (September 9, 1929 - October 26, 2006) was a former congressman from eastern Idaho; he served two terms as a Democrat from 1961-65.

Born in Malad City, Harding graduated from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, after serving in Korea from 1951-53 in the U.S. Army, where he rose to the rank of lieutenant.

Harding served in the Idaho state legislature from 1955-56. He ran against Republican congressman Hamer Budge, a 10-year incumbent in Idaho's Second Congressional District, in 1960. He pulled off an upset victory with 51.1 percent, winning by 4,000 votes. Harding was re-elected in 1962, but was one of the few incumbent Democrats in the U.S. House who did not get re-elected when President Lyndon B. Johnson won in a landslide in 1964.

After his 1964 defeat, Harding served as special assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force. In 1966 Harding won the Democratic nomination for United States Senate, but was defeated by Republican incumbent Len Jordan.

Harding attempted to regain the 2nd Congressional Seat again in 1978, but lost in the Democratic primary. He then worked on a variety of business ventures, including representing the Philippine sugar industry and attempting to launch an Asian version of the NBA.

Harding died at age 77 in Blackfoot. According to a news report in the "Idaho Statesman", a cause of death was not released by the hospital or family at the time of his passing.He was buried in Malad City.

Harding was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Harding and baseball hall of famer Harmon Killebrew co-founded the Danny Thompson Memorial Golf Tournament in 1977. The tournament is held annually in Sun Valley in late August to benefit leukemia and cancer research.

External links

*CongBio|H000191
* [http://www.mtexpress.com/index2.php?issue_date=11-01-2006&ID=2005112973 Idaho Mountain Express] - Ralph Harding - 01-Nov-2006

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