Harold L. Runnels, American soldier and politician (b. 1924)
Harold Lowell Runnels (March 17, 1924 – August 5, 1980) was a U.S. Representative from New Mexico.
Runnels attended Dallas public schools and Cameron State Agricultural College (now Cemeron University) in Lawton, Oklahoma. He was employed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Washington D.C. in 1942. From 1945 to 1951, Runnels was a manager for the Magnolia Amusement Co. in Magnolia, Arkansas. He moved to Lovington, New Mexico in 1951 and became a partner in Southland Supply Co., in 1952. In 1953 he formed Runnels Mud Co. and in 1964 RunCo Acidizing & Fracturing Co. In 1960, he was a founder of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association. He served as a member of the New Mexico Senate from 1960 to 1970, and served as delegate to New Mexico State Democratic conventions from 1960 to 1979.
Runnels was elected as a Democrat to the Ninety-second and to the four succeeding Congresses and served from January 3, 1971, until his death. He died in New York City on August 5, 1980 of respiratory failure while being treated for pleurisy and cancer. He was interred at Rest Haven Memorial Gardens in Lovington, New Mexico.
The Harold Runnels Papers (1971-1980) from his time in the U.S. Congress are held in the Special Collections of Eastern New Mexico University. Within the Golden Student Success Center is the Runnels Room, an art gallery name in Runnels' honor after a portion of his estate was bequeathed to the university.
His son, Mike Runnels, served as Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico from 1983 to 1987.