US Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, who died at 92, had Placer, Sacramento roots
Former U.S. Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, a Placer County native who became the first Native American to serve in the Senate in more than 60 years, died Tuesday in Colorado. He was 92, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said.
Campbell, who was the only Native American in the Senate during his 12 years in office, was born in Auburn and attended public schools in Placer County. He dropped out of Placer High School to join the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War, serving from 1951 to 1953. After the war, he earned a degree from San Jose State University in 1957.
Before his political life, Campbell later became a national judo champion and represented the United States on its first Olympic-level judo team at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, according to USA Judo. He operated a judo dojo in the Sacramento area before relocating to Colorado, according to the U.S. Judo Federation.
He also worked as a jewelry maker and horse trainer, and once had his handmade jewelry sold in a Galt shop, a 1976 article in the Galt Herald reported.
He represented Colorado in Congress from 1987 to 1993, when he became a Senator, his Congressional bio shows. In 1995, he changed his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican.
Campbell served Colorado in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1987 to 1993 before being elected to the U.S. Senate, where he served until 2005. In 1995, he switched his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican.
In the Senate, Campbell was the first Native American to serve since Robert Owen, a Cherokee Nation citizen who represented Oklahoma from 1907 to 1925. A citizen of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, Campbell was a consistent advocate for tribal sovereignty and Native communities throughout his career. He remained the only Native American in the Senate during his tenure, and it would be nearly two decades after his retirement before another senator with tribal affiliation — Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma — was elected in 2022.
“I was sad to hear of the passing of Senator Nighthorse Campbell,” Polis said. “From being an Olympic athlete, to jewelry designer, horse trainer and then public servant at the state and federal level, he lived many different lives in his own unique way and always found a way to give back and serve.”
The Bee’s Graham Womack contributed to this story.
