Robert D. Fulton

Robert D. Fulton
Fulton in 1967
37th Governor of Iowa
In office January 1, 1969 – January 16, 1969
Preceded by	Harold Hughes
Succeeded by	Robert Ray
37th Lieutenant Governor of Iowa
In office January 17, 1965 – January 1, 1969
Governor	Harold Hughes
Preceded by	W. L. Mooty
Succeeded by	Roger Jepsen
Member of the Iowa Senate
In office January 14, 1963 – January 10, 1965
Constituency	34th District
Member of the Iowa House of Representatives
In office January 12, 1959 – January 8, 1961
Constituency	66th District
Personal details
Born	(1929-05-13)May 13, 1929 Waterloo, Iowa, U.S.
Died	February 21, 2024(2024-02-21) (aged 94) Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Party	Democratic
Spouse	Rachel Breault ​ ​ (m. 1955; died 2015)​
Children	4
Education	Waterloo East High School Iowa State Teachers College (BS) University of Iowa (JD)
Military service
Branch	United States Air Force
Service years	1953-1955

Robert David Fulton (May 13, 1929 – February 21, 2024) was an American politician who briefly served as the 37th governor of Iowa during the first 16 days of 1969, making him the shortest-serving governor of Iowa. He also served as the lieutenant governor of Iowa from 1965 to 1969.¹²³⁴⁵

Fulton was born in Waterloo, Iowa, to Lester and Fern Fulton.¹²⁴⁵ He graduated from Waterloo East High School, then earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the Iowa State Teachers College in 1952 and a Juris Doctor from the State University of Iowa College of Law in 1958.¹²³⁴⁵

He served from 1953 to 1955 in the Air Force.²⁵

Fulton served as a member of the Iowa House of Representatives from 1958 to 1960, and in the Iowa Senate from 1962 to 1964.¹³⁴⁵ He then ran for and won the office of lieutenant governor, serving in that role from January 17, 1965 to January 1, 1969.¹³⁴⁵ During his tenure as Lt. Governor, he helped to get capital punishment outlawed in Iowa.⁵

He then served briefly as governor from January 1 to January 16, 1969, following Governor Harold Hughes' election to the United States Senate and subsequent resignation.¹³⁴⁵ Fulton was the last Democrat to serve as Governor of Iowa until the 1999 inauguration of Tom Vilsack.

Fulton was succeeded as governor by Robert D. Ray on January 16, 1969.⁴ Ray had won the gubernatorial election in November 1968, but, as per the state constitution, was not eligible to assume the role of governor until that day.⁶

Fulton ran for a full term as governor in 1970. He narrowly won the Democratic primary, defeating state representative William J. Gannon with just 47% of the vote.⁷ He lost in the general election against Robert Ray, the incumbent governor and Fulton's own successor, by a margin of 51% to 47%.³⁵⁸

After leaving the governor's office, Fulton served as a member of the Democratic National Committee, and was a delegate to the 1972 Democratic National Convention.¹⁴

Fulton was married to Rachel Breault on September 10, 1955.²³⁴⁵ They had four children.²⁴⁹ He met Rachel at Westover Air Reserve Base while attending an USO event.³⁵ Rachel died on July 1, 2015, of Alzheimer's disease, aged 82.³⁴⁵⁹

For the last decade of his life, Fulton resided at Jones Harrison Senior Living in Minneapolis, Minnesota.⁵

He died on February 21, 2024, in Minneapolis at age 94, of natural causes.³⁴ At the time of his death, he was the last living former American governor who left office in the 1960s.