Key Denson Pittman (September 19, 1872 – November 10, 1940) was a United States senator from Nevada and a member of the Democratic Party, serving eventually as president pro tempore as well as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.

[2] Nevada held a popular vote for the Senate in 1910, in which Pittman was the Democratic nominee; he lost to Republican incumbent George S. Nixon.

After Nixon died on June 5, 1912, Pittman faced Republican interim appointee William A. Massey in a special election that November.

[citation needed] The Key Pittman Wildlife Management Area near Hiko, Nevada, which encompasses the Frenchy and Nesbitt lakes, is named in his honor.

It was falsely rumored for years that Pittman died before his final election in 1940, and that Democratic party leaders kept the body at Tonopah's Mizpah Hotel in a bathtub full of ice until after he was reelected so Governor Edward P. Carville, a fellow Democrat, could appoint a replacement.

The Pittman section of the Alaska Railroad, more commonly known today as the community of Meadow Lakes west of Wasilla, was also named for him.

[5] Pittman Road runs north from its intersection with the George Parks Highway at "downtown" Meadow Lakes.