Slade Gorton, former U.S. senator and a heavyweight in Washington state politics, dies

Former three-term Republican U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton, whose 40 years in public service made him a towering figure in Washington politics and whose stance on some environmental issues and tribal fishing rights inspired both loyalty and fury, died Wednesday morning in Seattle. He was 92.

Gorton served a decade in the Legislature, three terms as state attorney general, and was deemed “giant killer” for his win over the legendary Warren Magnuson to capture his first term in the U.S. Senate. His comeback to serve two more terms after losing to challenger Brock Adams was just as remarkable, and his loss to Democratic challenger Maria Cantwell in 2000 was the closest Senate race in Washington history.

In the Senate, Gorton built a reputation as a unique combination of brains and analytical skill that enabled him to dislodge colleagues from stuck positions.

“Slade was the person who could somehow find a way to communicate and find common ground,” remembered Tom Daschle, a Democrat who represented South Dakota in the U.S. Senate from 1987-2005, serving as Minority Leader during Gorton’s third term and Majority Leader in 2001. “He was indispensable, he had an enormous ability to keep us focused on the most important thing.

“I only wish there were a few more Slade Gortons in the Senate right now, we need them, we need people who can communicate and are willing to compromise and be conciliatory and build consensus to get things done.”

Born in Chicago on Jan. 8, 1928, Thomas Slade Gorton was raised in Evanston, Illinois. It didn’t take him long working in his father’s seafood warehouse to decide he didn’t want to take over the family business.

Gorton graduated from Dartmouth and received his law degree from Columbia. He also served in the U.S. Army from 1945-1946, and in the US Air Force from 1953 until 1956, continuing to serve in the Air Force reserves until 1980 when he retired as a Colonel.

Gorton first arrived in Seattle in 1953 and it didn’t take long for the young man from a Republican home in Illinois to connect with impressive young Republican leaders around the Puget Sound.

“He was like a lot of people in that era when World War II was over, they were looking for new opportunities,” said U.S. Sen. and three-term Gov. Dan Evans. “We got a lot of great new leaders who came west and Slade was one of them.”

Evans was serving in the state House when he sat with his new friend on the couch one Saturday, using a reverse telephone directory to help Gorton identify people he knew for Gorton’s first run for office, a House seat in North Seattle’s 46th district.

“There were maybe 10 people,” Evans said. “I said, ‘Well, that is a start.’

“He really just outworked everybody, nobody could keep up with him. He won, and that was the beginning.”

This story was originally published August 19, 2020 at 9:48 AM.