Everything about Albert Watson Politician totally explained
Albert William Watson (
August 30,
1922 -
September 25,
1994) was a
South Carolina politician.
Watson was born in
Sumter, South Carolina and served in the
U.S. Army Air Corps. He graduated from the
University of South Carolina law school in
1950 and opened a law practice in the state capital,
Columbia. Watson was elected to the
South Carolina House of Representatives in
1954, representing
Richland County. He served from
1955 to
1958 and from
1961 to
1962.
In
1962, Watson won the
Democratic nomination for
South Carolina's 2nd congressional district. He faced
Floyd Spence, a fellow state representative from neighboring
Lexington County who had turned
Republican a few months earlier. The election was far closer than expected, with Watson winning by only five percentage points largely due to the support of his mentor,
Senator Strom Thurmond. The district, based in Columbia, had been under growing Republican influence for some time.
Like Thurmond, Watson was an ardent
segregationist. He supported
Barry Goldwater's campaign for President in
1964 and headed South Carolina's "Democrats for Goldwater" organization. Partly because of his support for Goldwater, he was reelected without opposition as Goldwater swept the state. However, the Democratic caucus stripped him of his seniority for his support of Goldwater. He resigned on
February 1,
1965 and ran as a Republican in a
June 15 special election to fill his vacant seat. He won with 69% of the vote, becoming the first Republican to represent South Carolina in the House since Reconstruction. He was comfortably reelected in
1966 and
1968.
In
1970, Watson ran for
Governor of South Carolina. He won the Republican nomination due to a major assist from Thurmond, who had become a Republican himself in 1964 and aggressively campaigned for him. However, Watson's obstinate support of racial bars caused many Republicans to shy away from him. Watson lost the election by over 29,000 votes to Democratic Lieutenant Governor
John C. West. Historians consider Watson's gubernatorial campaign to be the last openly racist campaign in South Carolina, and one of the last in the South.
(External Link
) Floyd Spence, whom Watson defeated in 1962, succeeded Watson in his House seat. Spence went on to hold the seat for 30 years.
Watson retired from public life and practiced law in Columbia until his death.
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