Frank White, 69; Governor Beat, Lost to Clinton

Frank White, who defeated Arkansas’ then-Gov. Bill Clinton in 1980 and two years later was himself ousted when Clinton recaptured the governorship, has died. White was 69.

Family members said he died Wednesday at his home. No cause was given.

“While we were opponents in the past, we established a good friendship, and I liked him very much,” Clinton said in a statement issued after White’s death.

As governor, White was known as the signer of a measure approved by the Legislature requiring Arkansas teachers to include “creation science” in the curriculum if the theory of evolution was also taught. The law was later struck down as unconstitutional by a federal judge after a trial that drew national attention.