Bob Dole, World War II veteran, senator and presidential nominee, has died at 98

Washington — Former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, the World War II veteran who Republicans hoped would oust President Bill Clinton from the White House in 1996, has died, the Elizabeth Dole Foundation said Sunday. He was 98. He had been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in February 2021.

The Elizabeth Dole Foundation said Dole died early Sunday morning in his sleep. 

When Dole became the Republican presidential nominee in 1996, it was the high point of more than a half-century in the national spotlight as a congressman, senator, vice-presidential candidate, two runs for the presidency, national chair of the Republican Party and longtime leader of Senate Republicans.