Lee Hart, wife of presidential hopeful Gary Hart, dies

Lee Hart, the wife of former U.S. Sen. Gary Hart of Colorado, has died. She was 85.

Lee Hart died Friday at a hospital in Lakewood after a brief illness.

She campaigned for her husband during his runs for the Senate and the White House.

Gary Hart in 1984 sought the Democratic presidential nomination, losing narrowly to former Vice President Walter Mondale. He declined to seek reelection to the Senate in 1986 and sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988. He was widely viewed as the front-runner until reports of a scandal caused him to withdraw from the race.

Lee Hart was born Oletha Ludwig in Lawrence, Kansas, on Feb. 20, 1936. She graduated from Bethany Nazarene College in 1958 and married Gary Hart that summer.

She is survived by her husband, her two children, and her sister, former U.S. Rep. Martha Keys.