Evans was considered for the Republican vice-presidential nomination in 1968 and in 1976, although he was passed over both times. In 1983, he was appointed to the United States Senate following the death of Henry M. Jackson, and was elected in a special election in November and served until 1989, declining to run again. Since the death of James L. Buckley in August 2023, he is the oldest living former senator and, as of 2024[update], he is the only living former Republican governor or senator from Washington.
Early life and education
Evans was born in Seattle, Washington (where he has lived as of 2007[update]),[3] descended from a family that had first arrived in the Washington Territory in 1859; his grandfather had served in one of Washington's first state senates. He grew up in the Laurelhurst neighborhood, and attended Roosevelt High School.[4]
Evans graduated from the University of Washington with degrees in civil engineering (BS, 1948; MS, 1949).[3][4] The UW later (in 2007) gave him the distinction of Alumnus Summa Laude Dignitatus, the highest distinction the university confers on its graduates.[4] He returned to the United States Navy (1951–1953)[3] before working as a structural engineer[3][4] (1953–1956); in the latter capacity, he helped draw up the plans for the Alaskan Way Viaduct.[4]
Political career
Having attended Toastmasters to improve his initially abysmal public speaking style,[2] Evans served in the Washington State House of Representatives from 1957 to 1965 before being elected governor.[3]
Despite being a Republican and a self-styled conservative,[3] Evans became known for his administration's liberal policies on environmentalism (he founded the country's first state-level Department of Ecology, which became Nixon's blueprint for the federal Environmental Protection Agency) and strong support of the state's higher education system, including founding Washington's system of community colleges. In addition, he signed a bill to legalize abortion in the first four months of a pregnancy and fought unsuccessfully for a state income tax, two additional liberal positions.[7][5]
Governor of Washington 1965–1977
Evans announced his campaign for governor in December 1963. He was elected in 1964 and served until 1977,[3] one of three to be elected to three terms, after Arthur B. Langlie and later current governor Jay Inslee, in Washington state history. A 1981 University of Michigan study named him one of the ten outstanding American governors of the 20th century.[5] He declined to run for a fourth term in 1976. Current governor Jay Inslee joined both Langlie and Evans, becoming the third Washington governor to serve three terms with his re-election victory in 2020.[8]Serial killerTed Bundy served as a campaign aide for Evans, and maintained a close relationship with the governor. During the 1972 campaign, Bundy followed Evans's Democratic opponent around the state, tape recording his speeches, and reporting back to Evans personally. A minor scandal later followed when the Democrats found out about Bundy, who had been posing as a college student.[9]
From 1977 to 1983, Evans served as the second president of Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington,[3] which Evans had created in 1967 by signing a legislative act authorizing the formation of the college. The largest building on the Evergreen campus is named the Daniel J. Evans Library, in his honor.[10]
United States Senator 1983–1989
In 1983, Governor John Spellman appointed Evans to the United States Senate, to fill a seat left vacant by the death of long-time senator Henry M. Jackson. Evans won a special election later that year against Mike Lowry, and filled the remainder of Jackson's unexpired term, retiring from politics after the 1988 elections.[3][11] He was unhappy during his term in the Senate, writing in a 1988 column in The New York Times Magazine that "debate has come to consist of set speeches read before a largely empty chamber" and adding that he felt demoralized by "bickering and protracted paralysis".[5][12]
After leaving the Senate in 1989, Evans founded his own consulting firm, Daniel J. Evans Associates.[3] Governor Mike Lowry appointed him to the Board of Regents of the University of Washington in 1993; Evans served as the board's president from 1996 to 1997,[3] and in 1999, the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Washington was named for him. Evans also went on to work in media, doing an editorial weekly on the KIRO-TV newscasts from the early- to mid-1990s. In 2012, Evans was listed as a director of the Initiative for Global Development.[17] His autobiography was published in 2022.[1] After the death of James L. Buckley in August 2023, he became the oldest living former U.S. senator.[18] On January 26, 2024, his wife of 64 years, the former Nancy Bell, who he married in 1959, died at age 90.[19]
Wilderness preservation efforts
Evans was a Boy Scout whose early experiences hiking in the Olympic Mountains nurtured a life-long love of wilderness.[20] Throughout his career, Evans has proven his dedication to the great outdoors in Washington State through his action.[21]
Evans was a crucial supporter, in 1968, when Congress created the North Cascades National Park. The then-governor persuaded President Gerald Ford to sign 1976 legislation creating the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area, when the U.S. Forest Service was urging a veto.[20]
Daniel Daniel (Old English poem) Daniel (biblical figure) Dan Daniel Daniel the Traveller Book of Daniel Four kingdoms of Daniel Daniel in the lions' den Daniel Armstrong Daniel Björnquist Thomas Daniel Daniel Addo Daniel Turner William Daniel Daniel Bennett Price Daniel Daniel Dulany Daniel Elliott Peter Daniel Daniel Clark Daniel Jiménez Daniel Johansson Daniel Lemos Daniel Stein Daniel Robertson Daniel Giménez Daniel – Der Zauberer Daniel Oliveira Daniel Gross Daniel Salomon Jack Daniel Yuli Daniel Daniel Anderson Daniel Duchovny Daniel MacDonald Daniel Anthony Daniel Miller Tomb of Da…
niel Daniel O'Keefe Daniel in Islam Daniel Gordon Daniel Martins Daniël Mijtens Daniel Freedman Daniel Franco Daniel Schmidt Daniel Davies Daniel Sobralense Daniel Carlsson The Devil and Daniel Johnston Daniel Jackson Daniel Lindström (album) Daniel Fischer Daniel Fernandes Daniel Pearson Daniel Whyte Daniel Pavlović Daniel Cramer Daniel Japonês List of people with surname Daniel Daniel Larsen Daniel Porter Daniel Luis Sáez Daniel Hunter Henry Daniel Daniel Oliver Bill Daniel Daniel Burt Daniel Lascelles Daniel Phillips Daniel Levine Daniel Weber Daniel O'Donnell Daniel K. Daniel Daniel Cross Saint Daniel Daniel Reed Daniel Fraser Daniel Sherman Daniel Carvalho Ronald Daniel Daniel Andersson Daniel da Silva Daniel Fisher Daniel King Daniel Cook Daniel Hernández Daniel Friedman Daniel Patterson Maria Gąsienica Daniel-Szatkowska Daniel Wesley (athlete) Mark Daniel Daniel Solander Daniel Lovinho Daniel Radu Daniel Köllerer Daniel Koch Daniel Waters General Daniel Governor Daniel Daniel Maze Daniel Kaufmann Daniel Pereira Daniel Gigante Daniel Küblböck Daniel Smith Daniel Masson Daniel Burgess Daniel Larsson Daniel Baker College Daniel Thomas Daniel Paulista Daniel (footballe