John Anderson, former Ill. rep and presidential candidate, dies at 95

Former Illinois congressman and independent presidential candidate John Anderson died Sunday at age 95, according to a statement from his family.

Additional details were not immediately available.

Anderson served in World War II and was elected to Congress as a Republican in 1960, and served in the House for 20 years.

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Anderson voted in unison with his fellow Republicans for his first few years in Congress, but broke away in 1968 to support the Fair House Act, which prohibited racial discrimination in housing.

Anderson cast the deciding vote to send the bill to the House floor.

He ran for president in 1980 as an independent, finishing third in the popular vote behind Republican nominee Ronald Reagan and then-President Jimmy Carter. Anderson earned almost 6 million votes.

He spent the last few decades working as a lawyer, but periodically weighed in on politics.

He supported Ralph Nader’s 2000 presidential campaign, and in 2010 told The New Yorker he disapproved of the Tea Party movement in Congress.

He is survived by his wife, five children and 11 grandchildren.