Former Sen. James Buckley dies at 100

James Buckley, a former U.S. Senator from New York, died Friday at the age of 100, according to The Washington Post.

Buckley’s son confirmed his death to The Washington Post but did not say the cause. Born in New York City in 1923, the U.S. Navy veteran was first elected to the Senate in 1970 as part of the Conservative Party of New York. He was also the brother of late conservative firebrand William F. Buckley Jr., the founder of the National Review, a conservative magazine. 

Buckley was the oldest living senator.

Buckley is famous for his challenge of campaign finance laws in the landmark Supreme Court case Buckley v. Valeo, in which he was one of the filers. The case struck down portions of post-Watergate law governing campaign finance. 

Buckley lost his senate seat in a reelection campaign to a Democrat in 1976, the same year he switched to the Republican Party. He later served in the Reagan administration as an undersecretary for security assistance in the U.S. Department of State and was later nominated by Reagan to a position as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.