Richard Stone

Richard Bernard Stone (September 22, 1928 – July 28, 2019) was an American politician who served as a Democratic United States Senator from Florida from 1975 to 1980 and later served as Ambassador at Large to Central America and Ambassador to Denmark. Early life and career Stone was born in New York City, the son of Lily (Abbey) and Alfred Stone, who was born in Belgium. His family was Jewish. He moved to Florida and attended public schools in Dade County. Stone graduated cum laude with a B.A. from Harvard University in 1949 and received a LL.B. from Columbia Law School in 1954. He returned to Florida and was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1955, practicing in Miami. In 1966, Stone became Miami City Attorney and was elected to the Florida Senate in 1967, representing Dade County. In 1970, he was elected Secretary of State of Florida. He resigned in July 1974, before his term ended, to focus on his campaign for the U.S. Senate. Senate In 1974, Stone ran in an 11-candidate Democratic primary election. Congressman Bill Gunter finished first but Stone won a close subsequent runoff, 51% to 49%. On the Republican side, incumbent Senator Edward Gurney chose not to run for re-election after being indicted for allegedly taking bribes in return for his influence with the Federal Housing Administration. Millionaire Eckerd drug store chain owner, Jack Eckerd, defeated Paula Hawkins for the Republican nomination. In the general election, Stone narrowly defeated Eckerd in a race that saw the American Party candidate, John Grady, claim nearly 16% of the vote. Stone was the second Jewish U.S. Senator from Florida (after David Levy Yulee) and the first since the U.S. Civil War. Outgoing Senator Gurney resigned on December 31, 1974, and Stone was officially appointed senator by Governor Reubin Askew on January 1, 1975, two days before his term was scheduled to begin.