Walter Walker [1883-1956]

Individual, Walker, Walter

Lifetime

1883 – 1956

About

Walter Walker (April 3, 1883 – October 8, 1956) was a newspaper owner and editor in Colorado who briefly served as Democratic United States Senator in late 1932 after being appointed to fill a vacancy pending a special election. A native of Marion, Kentucky, Walker was educated in the schools of Marion and moved to Colorado as a young man.

He became a resident of Grand Junction, where he began a career in the newspaper business. He became an editor of The Daily Sentinel and eventually became the paper's owner.

When the Ku Klux Klan was revived in the 1920s, Walker became a member. He later came out in opposition to the Klan, which led to members of the group attacking him in the street, but Walker refused to end his anti-Klan activities.

Active in the Democratic Party, he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1924, 1928, and 1932. From 1930 to 1932, he served as chairman of Colorado's Democratic state committee. In September 1932, Colorado's governor appointed Walker to fill a vacancy in the United States Senate. He ran in the special election to complete the term, but was defeated by Republican nominee Karl C. Schuyler, who was sworn in to office in December.

He continued to own and publish the Daily Sentinel and was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1936, 1940, 1944, 1948, and 1952. In 1936, he was a presidential elector for the ticket of Franklin D. Roosevelt and John Nance Garner. Walker died in Grand Junction on October 8, 1956. He was buried in Grand Junction's Orchard Mesa Cemetery. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Walker_(politician)

Timeline of Walker's Involvement with the KKK

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