Bob Dole, for one, is a Kansan, a six-letter word. Bob Dole is a former United States Senator from Kansas and the Republican Party's 1996 presidential nominee. He served in the Senate from 1969 to 1996 and was the longest-serving Republican leader in Senate history. Dole also served as the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee from 1971 to 1973 and as the chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1973 to 1974. He was also the United States Secretary of Transportation from 1975 to 1976.