Jack W. Carlson - who in 1976 was upset by then-political-newcomer Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, for the Republican nomination in Utah's Senate race - died Monday at a hospital in suburban Olney, Md., after a heart attack.
Mr. Carlson, 59, also had served as a high official in the Interior Department, Office of Management and Budget, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Realtors and the American Association of Retired Persons.In the 1976 race, Mr. Carlson was favored by most political observers to cruise to the Republican nomination for the Senate and then face incumbent Sen. Ted Moss, D-Utah.
But Hatch entered the race at the last moment. Even though he was then a little-known lawyer, Hatch used a base of conservative voters to win upset victories against both Mr. Carlson and Moss.
Mr. Carlson, who lived in Potomac, Md., was born in Salt Lake City. As a young man, he was a Utah Highway patrolman. He graduated from the University of Utah, from which he also had a master's degree in business administration.
From 1956 to 1966, he was in the Air Force and served as a fighter pilot. While in the Air Force, he also received a master's in public administration and a doctorate in economics from Harvard University.
Mr. Carlson later served as a senior economist on the Council of Economic Advisers. Then from 1968 to 1974, he was assistant director of the Office of Management and Budget.
From 1974 to 1976, Mr. Carlson was assistant secretary of Interior for energy and minerals. After his loss in the Utah U.S. Senate race, he was president and chief economist of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce from 1976 to 1979.
From 1979 to 1986, he was vice president and chief executive officer of the National Association of Realtors. In 1988, he served briefly as executive director of the AARP and since then did economic consulting.