Former Senator Bob Dole salutes the coffin with the flag of former President George HW Bush at the United States Capitol roundabout on December 4, 2018 in Washington, DC.
Alex Edleman | AFP | Getty Images
Bob Dole, the former US senator and Republican presidential candidate, announced on Thursday that he was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer.
“My first treatment will start on Monday. Although I certainly have some obstacles ahead, I also know that I will join millions of Americans facing their own significant health challenges,” said Dole in a statement.
Dole, 97, served as a United States senator for Kansas for almost 30 years.
He was also the candidate for Gerald Ford’s vice presidency in his 1976 campaign and, shortly after, tested the waters in the Republican presidential primaries in 1980.
Dole secured the Republican nomination for the presidency in 1996, but fell short of Bill Clinton in the Democratic run for re-election. Conservative H. Ross Perot set up a third party dispute in the election.
Dole supported Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, telling “PBS NewsHour” that Trump “is a strong leader and someone who can work with Congress. There are many similarities between my days in the Senate and what Donald is proposing.”
More recently, Dole said he felt the Presidential Debate Committee treated Trump unfairly during the 2020 presidential debates.