Al Simpson, the “gentle giant” of the U.S. Senate who served Wyoming voters for 18 years until declining to seek reelection in 1998, has died. He was 93.
Alan K. Simpson died Friday morning, leaving a void where the 6’7″ Republican had stood for decades after leaving office. First elected in 1978, he inspired generations of GOP activists and politicians to get involved, coloring the Cowboy State an even deeper shade of red since the Reagan years.
“Today, our state and country mourn the passing of our dear Senator Alan Kooi Simpson,” U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) said in a statement to Cowboy State Daily. “Al was larger than life and spent his entire life working on behalf of the state and people he loved. For 18 years in the U.S. Senate, 12 years in the Wyoming House of Representatives and 28 years as an elder statesman, he worked to make Wyoming a better place for our citizens and an even greater place to work and raise a family.”
“There was no stronger advocate for the needs, industries and interests of Wyoming. During his Senate tenure, he was repeatedly elected by his colleagues to serve in leadership as the