He resigned in the final weeks of his gubernatorial term and was appointed to the United States Senate, where he was defeated by Fred Harris in his campaign for election to the seat.
J. Howard Edmondson (1925–1971), Governor of Oklahoma from 1959 to 1963
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He was successful, defeating former Governor J. Howard Edmondson, who had been appointed to succeed Kerr, in the Democratic primary, then narrowly upsetting Republican nominee and legendary Oklahoma football coach Bud Wilkinson by 51% to 49%, and was sworn in as soon as the vote totals could be verified, becoming, again, one of the youngest members of the body in which he was serving.