Richard Ottinger

U.S. Senate campaign In the 1970 elections, Ottinger gave up his House seat to run on the Democratic ticket for United States Senator from New York. In the 1970 election, Ottinger split the liberal vote with the Republican (and Liberal-endorsed) nominee, incumbent Senator Charles Goodell (who was appointed by Governor Nelson Rockefeller after the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy). Both were defeated by the nominee of the Conservative party, James L. Buckley, in a three-way race.

Return to U.S. House of Representatives (1975–1985) In 1974, Ottinger was elected to the House from New York's 24th congressional district. (He previously sought to return to Congress in 1972, but was defeated.)

Academic career After retiring from Congress, Ottinger became a professor at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University. He founded an environmental law program there and served as the law school dean from 1995 to 1999. Ottinger was hospitalized on January 30, 2026, undergoing surgery for an intracerebral hemorrhage. He spent his final days in palliative care at his home in Mamaroneck, New York, until his death on February 16, 2026, at the age of 97. He was survived by his wife, June (née Godfrey), whom he had married in 1987, as well as four children and 10 grandchildren.