President Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney on Sunday remembered George McGovern, the Democratic nominee in 1972, who died early in the day at age 90.

McGovern, a former US senator from South Dakota, was a liberal icon who lost the general election 40 years ago to Richard Nixon.

“George McGovern dedicated his life to serving the country he loved,” Obama said in a statement. “He signed up to fight in World War II and became a decorated bomber pilot over the battlefields of Europe. When the people of South Dakota sent him to Washington, this hero of war became a champion for peace. And after his career in Congress, he became a leading voice in the fight against hunger.”

Romney tweeted: “Ann and I extend our condolences to the family of George McGovern, the unwavering standard bearer of his party and a hero of World War II.”

During his Senate career, McGovern helped to develop and expand the nation’s food stamps program and was a leading voice of opposition to the Vietnam War.

McGovern ran for president in the second of his three Senate terms but was beaten badly by Nixon, 520 electoral votes to 17.