Former New York Sen. James L. Buckley dies at 100

James L. Buckley, a conservative beacon who won a shock election victory to represent New York in the US Senate in 1970, has died. He was 100. Buckleys death in a Washington, DC, hospital was the result of complications from a fall, his nephew, author and political satirist Christopher Buckley, told the New York Times

Explore More

James L. Buckley, a “conservative beacon” who won a shock election victory to represent New York in the US Senate in 1970, has died. He was 100.

Buckley’s death in a Washington, DC, hospital was the result of complications from a fall, his nephew, author and political satirist Christopher Buckley, told the New York Times Friday.  

NYC native Buckley, the older brother of National Review founder William F. Buckley Jr., catapulted to national fame with his victory for the Conservative Party in the three-way Senate race between Republican incumbent Charles Goodell — who had been appointed by Gov. Nelson Rockefeller to serve out the term of the assassinated Robert F. Kennedy — and Democrat Richard Ottinger.

Buckley, who had sought to challenge Goodell for the GOP line but was rejected by state party officials, hammered both the Republican and the Democrat for their dovish stances on the Vietnam War. With the tacit backing of President Richard Nixon, Buckley won the election with just 38.8% of the vote.

Buckley’s victory was the last for a third-party Senate candidate until Joe Lieberman won re-election as an independent from Connecticut in 2006, and no non-incumbent Senate contender has won on a third-party ballot line since.

James Buckley was elected to represent New York in the US Senate as a member of the Conservative Party. HLG

Buckley served a single term in the Senate, during which he championed adding a so-called Human Life Amendment to the Constitution in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. 

He was also the primary sponsor of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which limits access to students’ records by third parties, and the Protection of Pupils’ Rights Act, a parental rights law which allows parents to inspect instructional material used as part of the educational curriculum.

An effort was made at the 1976 Republican National Convention to draft Buckley as the party’s presidential candidate. The nomination eventually went to President Gerald Ford following a strong challenge from future President Ronald Reagan. That November, Buckley lost his re-election bid, which he contested on the Republican and Conservative line, to Democrat Daniel Patrick Moynihan. 

Buckley made one more attempt to return to the Senate in 1980, but was defeated again, this time by Connecticut Democrat Christopher Dodd.

Efforts were made at the 1976 Republican National Convention to draft James Buckley for president. Bettmann

Reagan chose Buckley as his undersecretary of state for international security affairs in 1981. Beginning in 1982, Buckley spent three years as president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, based in Munich, Germany.

In 1985, Reagan appointed Buckley to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, where he sat on the bench for more than a decade before taking senior status — making him the rare American to serve his country in all three branches of government.

Buckley also served in World War II, enlisting in the Navy in 1942 and seeing combat in the Pacific before his discharge as a lieutenant.

“Senator James Buckley was a conservative beacon for Republicans in New York ushering in the modern conservative movement that I am honored to be part of today. We are sending our prayers to his loved ones as they mourn the loss of a loving friend and family man as well as the conservative giant we came to know,” Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) said in a statement.

“Throughout his life, Senator Buckley fiercely defended the principles of the US Constitution and the American people he served. On behalf of New York, we are forever indebted to him for his service, and we will continue to honor his memory by fighting for the conservative movement he built in New York and in Congress,” she added. 

Another member of New York’s GOP delegation, Rep. Michael Lawler, said that he was “deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Jim Buckley, who gave many years of service to our nation in the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.”

“Jim Buckley’s legacy will forever resonate within the conservative movement and the country he loved and served for decades,” he added.

New York State Conservative Party Chairman Gerard Kassar said Friday that his party owes Buckley “an enormous debt of gratitude” for his historic 1970 Senate win and expressed “great sorrow” at news of his passing. 

“The life and accomplishments of James Buckley will forever be linked with the Conservative Party,” Kassar said in a statement.

James Buckley was the older brother of influential conservative William F. Buckley. Bettmann

“A member of a family who played a key role in forming the modern conservative movement, James Buckley was a ‘man for all seasons’. He will be greatly missed,” he added. 

New York state GOP chairman Ed Cox praised Buckley as “a fine man, a true conservative, a principled senator and a superb judge.”

Rob Ortt, Republican leader of the New York Senate, said he was “saddened” by news of Buckley’s death.

“A member of the Greatest Generation, he served his nation proudly in [World War II], and after his military service, continued a long and distinguished career of serving our state and nation. His commitment to bettering the lives of his fellow Americans inspired countless individuals, including myself, to emulate the conservative ideals and principles he so truly believed in,” Ortt said in a statement. “While this is a great loss, Senator Buckley left his mark on this state and nation, and his family and loved ones should be proud of the legacy he leaves behind.”

James Buckley served as a senior official in all three branches of government. Henry Griffin

Herbert Stupp, the former state chairman of Youth for Buckley in 1970 and New York City’s commissioner on aging from 1994 to 2002, called Buckley, with whom he maintained a friendship for over 50 years,  a “personal hero.” 

“James L. Buckley was the role model you’d want for your children and yourself,” Stupp said in a statement, calling the former senator and judge “one of the great statesmen of our era.” 

“We have lost a great conservative, a man who never disappointed us in his public service nor in his private life,” he added. 

Buckley, who was living in Bethesda, Md. at the time of his death, is survived by six children, eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. His wife, Ann Frances Cooley, died in 2011.

Additional reporting by Bernadette Hogan

ncG1vNJzZmimqaW8tMCNnKamZ2Jlf3R7j3FmanBfm7yzucSrZKedp2LGsL7KZqqepl2frq6x0majZpqlmLitsdhmm6Kdo2KutXmQaWdo

 Share!