Hal Suit

Harold Columbus "Hal" Suit (April 1, 1922 – November 20, 1994) was an American local television news personality and political figure who won the 1970

A native of Youngstown, Ohio, and styling himself as a "Taft Republican", Suit had Southern ancestry, as both his parents were born in North Carolina.^[2] A 19-year-old college student in 1941 at the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he studied history and political science at the University of Florida at Gainesville, Florida and later studied at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. During the remaining years of World War II, he served in the United States Army, was twice wounded and decorated for valor with a Silver Star, and two Bronze Stars. He lost a leg in the war on October 11, 1944, in Germany.

Upon leaving the military, he became, in 1947, a radio news announcer. In 1954, he moved to

In 1970, Suit was named his state's most outstanding citizen by Georgia's Toastmasters. That year, according to The New York Times, his picture was identified by 91 percent of registered voters who watched WSB, the station described as "the most powerful and influential in Georgia".^[3]

In 1970, Suit, an opponent of

Suit subsequently lost the general election to Carter, 424,983 (40.6 percent) to 620,419 (59.3 percent).[5]

Thereafter, Suit became president of the Atlanta-based communications company, Production 70's, through which he continued to deliver opinion pieces on radio and in newspapers. In 1972, Suit announced that he would run again for governor in 1974. However, he did not get the nomination.^[6]

Hal Suit and his wife were longtime residents of the Atlanta suburb of Kennesaw, where they reared four children. He died there at the age of seventy-two.

See also

• 1970 Georgia gubernatorial election

References