(NationRise.com) – Former Wisconsin Democratic Senator and Milwaukee Bucks owner Herb Kohl died at the age of 88 on December 27. In a statement, his foundation, Herb Kohl Philanthropies, confirmed his death but didn’t specify the cause of it. However, it noted that the liberal leader died after a “brief illness.”
According to different reports, Kohl became one of the most famous figures in the Badger State after he purchased the NBA team to prevent them from leaving town. He also had great popularity in Wisconsin because of his spending on educational and civic causes throughout the state. Kohl also used some of his fortune to finance his Senate races, which allowed him to portray himself as the “people’s senator.”
In the upper chamber, Kohl was one of the wealthiest members and was considered a moderate Democrat who always tried to push the issues that were important for Wisconsin. Many Republican leaders have said he wasn’t a radical and was even a liberal politician who could sometimes work along with the GOP.
He was born in Milwaukee and was a friend of baseball commissioner Bud Selig since childhood. In different interviews, Selig said that the two roomed together when they were studying at the University of Wisconsin, and noted that they remained best friends in adulthood.
Kohl got into state politics during the 1970s, when he served as chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party from 1975 to 1977. He eventually bought the Bucks for $18 million in 1985, saying at a press conference that the Milwaukee Bucks was one of the most important symbols of the city. Years later, he said that purchasing the team and keeping it in Milwaukee was one of the most fortunate and unique experiences he had in his life.
Kohl ran for Senate in 1988 and defeated the Republican candidate and then-state Senator Susan Engeleiter. He won the three subsequent reelections and was one of the few Democratic senators who voted in favor of President George W. Bush’s tax cuts.
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