 Ford united the state 's Democratic Party , allowing them to capture a seat in the U.S. Senate in 1972 for the first time since 1956 . The seat was vacated by the retirement of Republican John Sherman Cooper and won by Ford 's campaign manager , Walter " Dee " Huddleston . Ford 's friends then began lobbying him to try and unseat Kentucky 's other Republican senator , one @-@ term legislator Marlow Cook . Ford wanted lieutenant governor Julian Carroll , who had run on an informal slate with Combs in the 1971 primary , to run for Cook 's seat , but Carroll already had his eye on the governor 's chair . Ford 's allies did not have a gubernatorial candidate stronger than Carroll , and when a poll showed that Ford was the only Democrat who could defeat Cook , he agreed to run , announcing his candidacy immediately following the 1974 legislative session . 
