George McGovern Dead at 90

Sen. George McGovern, the Democrat who lost to President Richard Nixon in 1972 in a historic landslide, has died this morning at the age of 90. A family spokesman said that McGovern died at 5:15am today at a hospice in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, surrounded by family and friends. "We are blessed to know that our father lived a long, successful, and productive life advocating for the hungry, being a progressive voice for millions, and fighting for peace," read a family statement. "He continued giving speeches, writing, and advising all the way up to and past his 90th birthday, which he celebrated this summer."

McGovern was a bomber pilot in World War II who became an early critic of the Vietnam War and a leader of the Democrats' liberal wing. He was elected to his first of three Senate terms in 1962, and ran for president three times, also making a try for the nomination in 1968 and 1984. Despite the 1972 Watergate break-in, Nixon won a second term in one of the biggest landslides in modern history. McGovern's family had previously said he was "no longer responsive" and in Hospice care. (More George McGovern stories.)