Albert William Watson

Albert Watson (1965)

Albert William Watson (born August 30, 1922 in Sumter , South Carolina , † September 25, 1994 in Columbia , South Carolina) was an American politician . Between 1963 and 1971 he represented the state of South Carolina in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Albert Watson attended Columbia public schools and North Greenville Junior College . Between 1942 and 1946 he served in the US Army Air Corps during World War II . After the war, he studied law at the University of South Carolina . Then he started to work in his new profession.

Politically, Watson became a member of the Democratic Party . From 1955 to 1958 and again from 1961 to 1962 he was a member of the House of Representatives from South Carolina . Watson was a racist and a friend of Strom Thurmond . In 1962 he was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the second constituency of South Carolina , where he succeeded Corinne Boyd Riley on January 3, 1963 . It was confirmed two years later. Since Watson supported the conservative Republican Barry Goldwater in the 1964 presidential election , he fell out of favor with his party. Therefore, on February 1, 1965, he resigned his mandate after just one month in his second term in Congress . He became a member of the Republicans, who immediately nominated him for the by-elections for the seat vacated by his resignation. After his election victory, he became the first Republican since 1896 to represent the state of South Carolina in Congress. On June 15, 1965, Watson resumed the seat he had given up in February. After two re-elections, he could remain in the House of Representatives until January 3, 1971.

In 1970 he decided not to run again. Instead, he ran unsuccessfully for governor of South Carolina. His defeat was also partly a result of his racist stance, which was considered too radical even in conservative South Carolina. Watson later became a judge with the Social Security Agency. He died in Columbia on September 25, 1994.

Web links

• Albert William Watson in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Albert William Watson in the database of Find a Grave (English)