Albert Watson (South Carolina)
| Albert William Watson, Sr. | |
|---|---|
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina's 2nd district |
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| In office June 15, 1965 – January 3, 1971 |
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| Preceded by | Himself |
| Succeeded by | Floyd Spence |
| In office January 3, 1963 – February 1, 1965 |
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| Preceded by | Corinne Boyd Riley |
| Succeeded by | Himself |
| Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from Richland County |
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| In office 1961–1963 |
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| In office 1955–1959 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | August 30, 1922 Sumter, Sumter County South Carolina, USA |
| Died | September 25, 1994 (aged 72) Columbia, South Carolina |
| Resting place | Crescent Hill Memorial Gardens and Mausoleum in Columbia, South Carolina |
| Political party | Democratic (1955-1965) Republican (1965-1994) |
| Residence | Columbia, South Carolina |
| Alma mater | North Greenville Junior College |
| Profession | Attorney |
| Religion | Southern Baptist |
| Military service | |
| Service/branch | United States Army Air Corps |
| Rank | Weather Specialist |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Albert William Watson (August 30, 1922 – September 25, 1994) was a politician from South Carolina. Originally a Democrat, in 1965 he became the first Republican in modern times to represent the state in the United States House of Representatives. He is best known for his losing 1970 campaign for governor of South Carolina.
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Early career [edit]
During World War II, Watson served as a weather specialist in the United States Army Air Corps. In 1950, he graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law and thereafter opened his legal practice in Columbia. In 1954, he was elected from Richland County to the South Carolina House of Representatives, which he served from 1955 to 1958.[1] In 1958, Watson lost the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor to Burnet Maybank, Jr., son of a former U.S. senator. In 1961, Watson returned to the state House for a final two-year term.[1]
Congressional career [edit]
In 1962, Watson first ran for South Carolina's 2nd congressional district seat. Five-term incumbent John J. Riley had died in office in 1962, and his wife Corinne Boyd Riley, had served out the remainder of her husband's term.[2] Watson secured the Democratic nomination and then faced Floyd Spence, a fellow state representative from neighboring Lexington County who had turned Republican a few months earlier. The ensuing general election was far closer than expected, with Watson winning by only five percentage points, with crucial support from his mentor, U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond. In 1964, Watson was reelected without opposition. However, the House Democratic Caucus stripped Watson, along with Congressman John Bell Williams of Mississippi, of his seniority for supporting Barry Goldwater. Watson then resigned from Congress on February 1, 1965, and sought his former position as a Republican in a special election held on June 15, 1965. Watson won the special election with 69 percent of the vote to become the first Republican to represent South Carolina in the House since 1896, and the first to win an undisputed House election in the state since Reconstruction. He was comfortably reelected in 1966 and 1968. Watson's opposition to civil rights legislation exceeded that of most other Southern Republicans, but was normal for Southern Democrats.
In 1970, Watson won the Republican gubernatorial nomination. He then faced strong competition from the Democratic nominee, Lieutenant Governor John C. West. Watson ran television advertisements featuring scenes from riots which occurred five years earlier in Watts, Los Angeles. The spots became so controversial that the Republican mayor of Greenville, R. Cooper White, Jr., cited them in his refusal to endorse Watson.[3] Watson's running mate was James Marvin Henderson, Sr.[4] Official results gave West 251,151 votes (52.1 percent) to Watson's 221,236 (45.9 percent). Red Bethea of the American Independent Party polled 9,758 votes (2 percent).[5] Watson blamed his loss on the low turnout: 482,000.[6] Historians consider Watson's gubernatorial campaign to be the last openly segregationist campaign in South Carolina and one of the last in the South as a whole.[7]
Later years [edit]
In 1971, Thurmond asked Nixon to appoint Watson to the United States Court of Military Affairs, but opposition arose from Democratic U.S. Senator George McGovern of South Dakota, who the next year became Nixon's general election opponent. Nixon retreated from a Senate showdown over the nomination because of civil rights ramifications that would emerge from a confirmation fight.[8] In October 1972, Nixon instead named Watson to a one-year appointment which did not require Senate confirmation as special assistant in the Social Security Administration. Watson was charged with streamlining the appeals procedure. Watson later became a Social Security administrative law judge in Columbia, a position from which he subsequently retired.[9]
Watson died in Columbia at the age of seventy-two in 1994 and is interred there at Crescent Hill Memorial Gardens and Mausoleum.[10]
References [edit]
- ^ a b "Watson, Albert William". Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1775-1971 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1971), p. 1888. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
- ^ "Corinne Boyd Wiley". womenincongress.house.gov. Retrieved December 21, 2011.
- ^ The Changing Politics of Race, p. 233
- ^ "James M. Henderson". knowitall.org. Retrieved June 4, 2012.
- ^ South Carolina Election Commission, 1970 general election returns
- ^ Greenville News, November 6, 1970
- ^ http://greenvilleonline.com/news/2004/03/21/2004032127575.htm
- ^ New York Times, May 26, 1971, p. 22, and May 28, 1971, p. 8
- ^ "The Changing Politics of Race," p. 240
- ^ "Crescent Hill Memorial Gardens and Mausoleum". findagrave.com. Retrieved December 21, 2011.
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Himself |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina's 2nd congressional district 1965-1971 |
Succeeded by Floyd Spence |
| Preceded by Corinne Boyd Riley |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina's 2nd congressional district 1963-1965 |
Succeeded by Himself |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Joseph O. Rogers, Jr. |
Republican nominee for Governor of South Carolina 1970 |
Succeeded by James B. Edwards |
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- 1922 births
- 1994 deaths
- University of South Carolina School of Law alumni
- South Carolina lawyers
- South Carolina politicians
- South Carolina Republicans
- South Carolina Democrats
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina
- Members of the South Carolina House of Representatives
- People from Sumter County, South Carolina
- People from Columbia, South Carolina
- Baptists from the United States
- United States Army personnel
- American military personnel of World War II
