Eugene Joseph McCarthy served as a representative and senator from Minnesota from 1949 to 1971. He is probably best-known and remembered for his presidential candidacy in 1968 when he ran for the Democratic nomination against incumbent President Lyndon Johnson. McCarthy's antiwar policies were in direct opposition of Johnson during the controversial Vietnam-era when the war was becoming vastly unpopular and he gained the support of many liberals. McCarthy's strong showing in the primaries convinced Johnson to not seek re-election. Although the '68 Democratic nomination ultimately went to Hubert Humphrey, McCarthy ran for the presidential nomination again in 1976, 1988 and 1992, albeit unsuccessfully.
Sometime in the late '60s or '70s, McCarthy took up primary residence in Rappahannock County, Virginia. He also was an author and poet and published many books during his lifetime.
Some sources say he died at a retirement home in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., others say he died in Woodville, VA. He was buried in Woodville at the St. Paul's Episcopal Cemetery
. His final resting place is next to Marya McLaughlin. McCarthy and his wife separated in 1969 although they never divorced. According to a memoir
written by James Kilpatrick, a neighbor in Rappahannock County, Eugene had a long-term relationship with Marya who was a CBS correspondent.
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