Bob Dole, a former Republican U.S. Senator from Kansas and GOP presidential candidate, has died at age 98, his family confirmed in a statement on Sunday. “Senator Robert Joseph Dole died early this morning in his sleep. At his death, at age 98, he had served the United States of America faithfully for 79 years,” said his family in a statement via the Elizabeth Dole Foundation. Earlier this year, it was announced that Dole was being treated for advanced lung cancer. President Joe Biden visited Dole shortly before his diagnosis in February. “While I certainly have some hurdles ahead, I also know that I join millions of Americans who face significant health challenges of their own,” Dole said in a statement in February. For 30 years, Dole was a senator for Kansas, and in 1976, he was President Gerald Ford’s vice presidential nominee. The pair was defeated by then-Democrat candidate …