Mike Gravel was a Democratic U.S. Senator from Alaska as well as a two-time presidential candidate.A native of Massachusetts, Gravel made his way to Alaska in 1956, after serving in the U.S.
Army during the Korean War. He had his sights set on politics, but with few connections in that world, he thought his chances would be better on the frontier – Alaska was then not yet a state.
It was a successful gamble, and Gravel was elected to Alaska’s House of Representatives in 1963 and served two terms. He then took a long shot against an incumbent U.S.
Senator in 1968 and won. In his favor were his visits to remote Alaskan towns, which he got to by sea plane – and his implied support for the war in Vietnam.
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