Former Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker, a Republican who reshaped Tennessee politics and was once thought to be a contender for the presidency, has died.

Baker, 88, passed away Thursday at his home in Huntsville, Tenn., following complications from a stroke suffered last week. His wife, former Kansas Sen. Nancy Kassebaum Baker, was present.

Howard H. Baker, Jr., served 18 years in the U.S. Senate starting in 1966, when he became the first Republican to be popularly elected to the Senate from Tennessee. Baker was also a chief of staff to President Ronald Reagan, an envoy to Russia under President George H.W. Bush and a U.S. Ambassador to Japan for President George W. Bush's administration.