Harris, Fred Roy (1930-…), an Oklahoma Democrat, served in the United States Senate from 1964 to 1973. He served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee in 1969 and 1970.
Harris was born on Nov. 13, 1930, in Walters, Oklahoma. After eight years in the Oklahoma Senate, he was elected to the U.S. Senate to complete the term of the late Robert S. Kerr. He was reelected to a full term in 1966. In 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Harris to the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, also known as the Kerner Commission. He was cochairman of Hubert H. Humphrey’s presidential campaign in 1968. Harris ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1972 and 1976 but did not win the nomination in either year.
After leaving the Senate, Harris turned to teaching and writing. He has written mystery novels and a number of books on American politics. His nonfiction works include Deadlock or Decision: The U.S. Senate and the Rise of National Politics (1993) and Locked in the Poorhouse: Cities, Race, and Poverty in the United States (1999).
