the White House and control of Congress, McCarthy and Kohler (they officially supported each other) were reelected, and Republicans retained control of the state legislature. Walter admitted to being offered various positions in Washington, D.C., including at least one on the White House staff during his second term as governor. He turned them all down largely because of the resistance of his wife to further political activity. The Republican sweep intensified the commitment of local Democrats to gain power. Bill Proxmire, the man Kohler defeated handily, began to campaign the day after the election to win the governorship in 1954. Kohler defeated Proxmire again in 1954. At the conclusion of his third two-year term in 1956, he had built an impressive record that included advances in higher education, redistricting, highway construction, public welfare, conservation, and the criminal and children's law codes. During his terms in office, 89 of the governor's 92 vetoes were sustained by the Republican-dominated legislatures. State government under Walter's watch was efficient, clean, and fiscally responsible. Senate campaign In the meantime, Anti-McCarthy forces from the political center and left stepped up their nationwide efforts to bring down the Wisconsin Senator and end the Second Red Scare. In May 1957, Senator McCarthy died unexpectedly. A special election was called to fill the remaining years of his term and, for the third time in five years, Walter Kohler Jr. faced off against William Proxmire in a Wisconsin statewide election. Kohler and Proxmire campaigned diligently for the vacant Senate seat. The McCarthyite wing of the GOP in large part turned against Walter (as it had against Eisenhower), and this lack of support, accompanied by Proxmire's populist rhetoric and financial support from labor unions, prompted a dramatic upset win for the tireless Democrat. Proxmire would represent Wisconsin in the United States Senate for the next 32 years. Later years and death Kohler played a role in the 1960 Republican National Convention, but he then saw himself primarily as a businessman and fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. Walter's health declined in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He had shingles and was diagnosed with skin cancer and had an operation to remove some cancerous tissue in 1972 at the Mayo Clinic. Then in 1975, Walter underwent heart surgery, which did nothing to improve his condition. He continued to deteriorate until he died of a massive heart attack at Sheboygan Memorial Hospital