Floyd Spence
Floyd Spence | |
---|---|
Chair of the House National Security Committee | |
In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2001 | |
Speaker | Newt Gingrich Dennis Hastert |
Preceded by | Ron Dellums |
Succeeded by | Bob Stump |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina's 2nd district | |
In office January 3, 1971 – August 16, 2001 | |
Preceded by | Albert William Watson |
Succeeded by | Joe Wilson |
Member of the South Carolina Senate from the 7th district | |
In office January 14, 1969 – December 15, 1970 Serving with Michael Lukens Laughlin, Gilbert Edward McMillen | |
Preceded by | Frank Laney Roddey |
Succeeded by | Albert John Dooley |
Member of the South Carolina Senate from the 22nd district | |
In office January 10, 1967 – January 14, 1969 Serving with Eugene Cannon Griffith | |
Preceded by | District created |
Succeeded by | District abolished |
Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from Lexington County | |
In office January 8, 1957 – January 8, 1963 | |
Preceded by | Jack Reel Callison[4] |
Succeeded by | Pat Lindler[5] |
Personal details | |
Born | Floyd Davidson Spence April 9, 1928 Columbia, South Carolina, U.S. |
Died | August 16, 2001 Washington, D.C., U.S. | (aged 73)
Resting place | Saint Peter's Lutheran Cemetery, Lexington, South Carolina |
Political party | Democratic (c. 1946–1962) Republican (1962–2001) |
Spouses | Lula Hancock Drake
(m. 1952; died 1978)Deborah E. Williams (m. 1988) |
Children | 4 |
Alma mater | University of South Carolina (BA) University of South Carolina School of Law (JD) |
Profession | Attorney |
Signature | |
Military service | |
Branch/service | United States Navy Reserve |
Years of service | 1947–1988 |
Rank | Captain |
Battles/wars | Korean War Vietnam War |
Floyd Davidson Spence (April 9, 1928 – August 16, 2001) was an American attorney and a
He lost a contested seat that year for United States Representative from
Early life and education
Born in
Political career
This section needs additional citations for verification. (August 2020) |
After law school, Spence joined the Democratic Party. He was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1956 as a Democrat from Lexington County. He was reelected in 1958 and 1960, but on April 14, 1962, Spence announced that he was switching to the Republican Party, having become uncomfortable with the national Democrats' increasingly liberal platform. He also opposed a loyalty oath required by South Carolina Democrats. He was the first Republican to serve in either house of the state legislature since Reconstruction–an example of the political realignment that had begun in South Carolina and in the entire South during the 20th century.
On the same day, he announced that he would seek the Republican nomination for the state's 2nd congressional district, based in Columbia.
He had been urged by several friends to run before his switch, especially after the death of the previous congressman, John J. Riley, but declined to do so. Spence faced the Democratic nominee, fellow state representative Albert W. Watson of Columbia. Watson won his party nomination with 52 percent of the vote over Frank C. Owens, the former mayor of Columbia and the choice of party regulars. Watson defeated Spence with 53 percent of the general election vote, the closest congressional race in South Carolina in memory. The 2nd had a conservative bent; the area's old-line Democrats had begun splitting their tickets in national elections as early as the 1940s. Watson's win was helped by the support of U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond, the former governor who had run for president in 1948 as the nominee of the one-election only third party, the States Rights Party, popularly known as the Dixiecrats.
In 1966, Spence was elected to the South Carolina Senate; he became the minority leader of a six-member caucus. He was reelected to the senate in 1968.
In 1970, Spence ran for the 2nd congressional district seat again. Watson had become a Republican in 1965, a year after Thurmond's own switch; he was giving up his congressional seat ran in 1970 for
Aided by
Congressional career
For his first eleven terms, Spence represented a relatively compact district in the central portion of the state. Redistricting after the 1990 census resulted in shifting most of Spence's African-American constituents to the 6th District, which was reconfigured as a black-majority district. That district was taken by Columbia resident and state human affairs commissioner Jim Clyburn, who became the first Democrat to represent Columbia since Watson's party switch in 1965.
To compensate for this loss in population, Spence's district was pushed to the south and west, as far south as the resort city of
In 1993, Spence became the ranking Republican on the
Spence renamed the House Armed Services Committee the "Committee on National Security" when he took over as chairman. He focused on military readiness, calling it "the best insurance we have both for peace and freedom." Spence was also a strong advocate of missile defense.[6] He stepped down as chairman after the 106th Congress because of caucus-imposed term limits. He later served as chairman of the House subcommittee on military procurement.[7]
Personal life
Spence married his first wife, Lula Hancock Drake, on December 22, 1952. She died in 1978.[8] They had four sons.[8] On July 3, 1988, he married his second wife, Deborah E. Williams.[8]
Death and succession
Spence died in
Upon Spence's death, his former aide, Republican State Senator
See also
- List of American politicians who switched parties in office
- List of United States Congress members who died in office (2000–)#2000s
References
- ^ "South Carolina During the 1900s - the 92nd General Assembly (1957-1958)".
- ^ "South Carolina During the 1900s - the 93rd General Assembly (1959-1960)".
- ^ "South Carolina During the 1900s - the 94th General Assembly (1961-1962)".
- ^ "South Carolina During the 1900s - the 91st General Assembly (1955-1956)".
- ^ "South Carolina During the 1900s - the 95th General Assembly (1963-1964)".
- ^ Shenon, Philip (17 August 2001). "Floyd Spence, South Carolina Congressman, Dies at 73". The New York Times.
- ^ Shenon, Philip (17 August 2001). "Floyd Spence, South Carolina Congressman, Dies at 73". The New York Times.
- ^ a b c "Spence, Floyd Davidson". South Carolina Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
- ^ http://www.airforcetimes.com/legacy/new/0-292925-435254.php [dead link]
- ^ United States House of Representatives
External links
- Floyd Davidson Spence Papers at South Carolina Political Collections at the University of South Carolina
- United States Congress. "Floyd Spence (id: S000718)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Appearances on C-SPAN