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View information about Gary Hart's scandal here on famouslyscandalous.com Gary Hart. You can view information about Gary Hart's famous scandals and other celebrity scandals. You can view by name or by scandal type. We also have included the most popular famous scandals.
Gary Hart's Scandals
- Gary Hart
- Politics
- 1988
- Bombed Out Political Career
The Gary Hart / Donna Rice Scandal:
When a politician's caught with a model on a boat named "Monkey Business", how can it have a happy ending for him? Such is the story of Gary Hart.
Born Gary Warren Hartpence in Ottawa, Kansas, father and son shortened the family named to Hart because it was easier to remember.
He was a Colorado Senator and ran for the 1984 Democratic Presidential nomination in the post-Watergate years. He lost the nomination to Vice President Walter Mondale.
But he was a young, telegenic Democrat and Hart tried again in 1988, announcing his candidacy in April. He was asked to answer accusations that he was a womanizer and denied them. But the Miami Herald decided to take a closer look.
And "Monkey Business" un-raveled it all. The married Senator was caught on the boat with that name with model Donna Rice…
…who was a former Miss South Carolina.
When the Herald reported she'd spent the night at his Washington residence, Hart challenged reporters to "follow him around "and when he answered press questions that it was just a private matter, and he lashed out media.
It blew up in his face, ruining his Presidential bid and ultimately his careered
After his Senate career, Hart resumed his law practice and has linked American energy policy with national security in some of his later writing.