After eight years in the Senate as a moderate Democrat, he took a leftward turn toward “new populism” in a failed shot at the presidency in 1976.

Fred Harris, a former U.S. senator whose storied career in politics evolved into academia as a professor at the University of New Mexico, died on Saturday. He was 94. The Corrales resident died of natural causes,

Fred Harris, a former U.S. senator from Oklahoma, presidential hopeful and populist who championed Democratic Party reforms in the turbulent 1960s, died Saturday. He was 94. Harris’ wife, Margaret Elliston, confirmed his death to The Associated Press.

It fell to Fred Harris, chair of the Democratic National Committee in 1969 and 1970, to help heal the party's wounds from the tumultuous national convention in 1968​ when protesters and police clashed in Chicago.

Mr. Harris, a liberal populist, was once considered one of the bright young faces of the Democratic Party. He twice ran for president and chaired the Democratic National Committee.

Former Sen. Fred Harris (D-Okla.) stayed out of the national spotlight after leaving Congress, but over the years, he still had plenty to say about the nation's future to young leaders, students — and me.