Alex Sanders: key obituary facts
Is Alex Sanders dead? Yes. Alex Sanders died on October 20, 2026, at age 88.
Cause of death: Alex Sanders's cause of death has not been publicly confirmed.
What was Alex Sanders known for?
He was an American politician.
More about Alex Sanders
Born: 29 September 1939.
Place of birth: Columbia.
Gender: male.
Occupation: lawyer, politician, judge, academic administrator, university teacher.
Nationality: United States.
Education: University of Virginia, University of South Carolina, Dreher High School.
Employer: Harvard University, College of Charleston, Charleston School of Law.
Alexander Mullings Sanders Jr., an American jurist, politician and academic administrator, died October 20, 2026, aged 88.
Born and raised in Columbia, South Carolina, he served in the U.S. Army before earning bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of South Carolina and a master’s degree in judicial process from the University of Virginia.
His mother was a schoolteacher, and his father arranged hunting and fishing trips; as a young man, Sanders briefly worked for a traveling carnival. A Democrat, he served in both the South Carolina House of Representatives and the state Senate before becoming the first chief judge of the South Carolina Court of Appeals in 1983. He later led the College of Charleston as its president from 1992 to 2001, then remained involved as a teacher until 2020. In 2002, he was the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, losing to Lindsey Graham. Sanders also co-founded the Charleston School of Law. His career spanned state politics, the judiciary and higher education, including leadership at two South Carolina institutions.