He lived in Tunbridge all his life, and attended South Royalton High School before dropping out after the tenth grade to begin a career as a dairy farmer.

Tuttle defeated McMullen by 5,034 votes out of 52,813 cast in the Republican primary after a campaign of humorous and memorable incidents.

The campaign added to Tuttle's growing status as a folk figure and cult hero, and a steady stream of public appearances followed.

However, many Republicans in Vermont resented his false candidacy which they felt denied them the right to a legitimate candidate in the Senate race since McMullen was seen as their best chance to unseat Leahy in years.

After his retirement, he appeared in several movies directed by Vermont filmmaker John O'Brien, including Nosey Parker and Man with a Plan.

O'Brien and Tuttle targeted McMullen as a carpetbagger who apparently moved to Vermont for the sole purpose of establishing residency for a Senate run.

In the primary, Tuttle defeated McMullen by ten percentage points and promptly endorsed the incumbent Democrat, Patrick Leahy.

Tuttle died in Burlington, Vermont, after being hospitalized with a heart attack following a day spent digging potatoes at his home in Tunbridge.

[8] He was buried at Tunbridge's Spring Road Cemetery[8] wearing his overalls, with a pen in his pocket for autograph signing and a can of Moxie by his side.