Lester C. Hunt

Lester Calloway Hunt ( born July 8, 1892 in Isabel, Illinois, † June 19 1954 in Washington DC ) was an American politician (Democratic Party), who served from 1943 to 1949 as governor of the state of Wyoming and those from 1949 to 1954 represented in the U.S. Senate.

Early years and political rise

Hunt graduated from the St. Louis University College of Dentistry and subsequently opened a dental practice in Lander, Wyoming, where he played as a pitcher for the city's baseball team during the summer months. He spent two years working for the Army Dental Corps and held the rank of Major. After his graduation project at Northwestern University, he was elected in 1932 in the House of Representatives from Wyoming. He then completed two terms as Secretary of State.

Governor and U.S. Senator

He was the first Democratic governor in the state, who held two consecutive terms of office. During his tenure, he focused state sovereignty over the federal control to set and sat down opposite for the establishment of a National Park in Jackson Hole one. He also secured the legislative authority in the creation of Wyoming junior colleges. During his second term, he had presided over the National Governors Association, which was referred to at that time as the Governors' Conference. Before the end of his term in 1948 he won a seat in the U.S. Senate.

Hunt was in the Armed Services Committee and the Kefauver Committee, which organized crime investigated, active. Although he had announced that he would not seek a second term in the U.S. Senate, he withdrew his campaign and committed suicide on June 19, 1954 suicide after Styles Bridges had threatened to make the homosexuality of Hunts son publicly.