Political Career
In 1961, his brother Stewart Udall, the congressman for Arizona's second congressional district, located in the southern portion of the state, was appointed Secretary of the Interior in the Kennedy administration. Udall won a special election for his brother's vacant seat by only 2,000 votes. He won the seat in his own right in 1962, and was reelected 13 more times. He only faced one close race, in 1978, when he was held to 52 percent of the vote.
During his tenure in Congress, Udall was best-noted for his championing of environmental causes. He was also known for his devotion to campaign finance reform and the welfare of Native Americans. He authored the Alaska Lands Act of 1980, which doubled the size of the National Park System, as well as legislation to protect archaeological finds, enacting civil service reform, legalizing Indian casinos, and providing for the safe disposal of radioactive waste.
In 1979, Udall was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. While he managed to stay in Congress for another 12 years, by 1991 his health had deteriorated to the point where he was forced to resign from Congress on May 4. He died on December 12, 1998 of complications from his illness.
Read more about this topic: Mo Udall
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