Simplify the following text for a Grade 6 native English-speaking person.
Original: Dole represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996 , was Gerald Ford 's Vice Presidential running mate in the 1976 presidential election , and was Senate Majority Leader from 1985 to 1987 and in 1995 and 1996 .
Simplified: He was the Republican leader of the Senate from 1985 until 1996 .