Tennessee House Democratic Caucus mourns passing of U.S. Senator Jim Sasser

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Members of the Tennessee House Democratic Caucus are mourning the loss of former U.S. Senator Jim Sasser. Senator Sasser, who was born in Memphis, passed away at his North Carolina home yesterday just a few days shy of what would have been his 88^th birthday.

The former Senator had strong ties throughout the state: he grew up in Nashville and was a public school student there, he attended both the University of Tennessee and Vanderbilt University, and received his law degree from Vanderbilt Law School.

After becoming active in Democratic politics, Sasser served three terms in the Senate from 1977 to 1995 and served as chair of the powerful Senate Budget Committee. In 1996, President Bill Clinton appointed him as the U.S. Ambassador to China.

House Democratic Caucus Chair John Ray Clemmons also issued the following personal statement about Senator Sasser:

“I would like to respectfully extend my family’s heartfelt condolences to the Sasser family. Tennessee lost a fierce champion today. My earliest memories of Tennessee politics involve then-U.S. Senator Jim Sasser visiting my hometown of Lebanon. From that moment and throughout his illustrious career, he represented the consummate public servant to me and a model what an elected official should be – a fighter and a true representative of the people and above all, a thinker. Simply put, he listened, he did the work, and he made a difference. While his accomplishments were many and his travels were far, his steadfast commitment and loyalty to Tennessee never wavered. For a life well-lived, I join many others by being forever grateful to the first U.S. Senator to look me in the eyes and shake my hand.”

Jim Sasser, a former 18-year U.S. senator from Tennessee who went on to become the nation’s ambassador to China, has died. He was 87. The former Democratic politician’s son, Gray Sasser, confirmed his father had passed away in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on Tuesday evening.

Sasser, a Memphis native and long-time active in Democratic circles, managed Albert Gore Sr.’s unsuccessful 1970 reelection campaign. A Vanderbilt law school graduate, Sasser won back the seat in 1976 from Republican U.S. Sen. Bill Brock of Lookout Mountain.

Sasser won the post-Watergate era contest and went on to serve three terms, from 1977 to 1995. He rose to become chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. Sasser lost his 1994 reelection bid to Nashville heart-transplant surgeon and Republican Bill Frist. During the campaign, the Frist campaign’s rallying cry was: “18 years are long enough.”

Despite his three six-year terms in office, Sasser was only 58 when he left the Senate. President Bill Clinton later named him ambassador to China in 1995. Admiral Joseph W. Prueher, a Nashville native, succeeded Sasser as U.S. ambassador to China in 1999.

Jim Sasser had first become active in the Democratic Party after working ion Estes Kefauver’s 1960 Senate campaign. He served as chairman of the state party from 1973 to 1976.

Sasser is survived by his wife, Mary. His son, Gray, followed in his footsteps by serving a term as state Democratic Party chair from 2007 to 2009.

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