Floyd Spence
Encyclopedia
Floyd Davidson Spence was a Republican politician
from South Carolina
.
in 1928, but spent most of his life in nearby Lexington County. Shortly after graduating from high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve
, retiring as a captain in 1988. He graduated from the University of South Carolina
with a degree in English in 1952 and earned his law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law
four years later.
as a Democrat
. He was reelected in 1958 and 1960. However, on April 14, 1962, Spence announced he was switching
to the Republican Party. He was very uncomfortable with the national Democrats' increasingly liberal
platform, and also opposed a loyalty oath required by the state Democrats. On the same day, he announced that he would seek the Republican nomination for the state's 2nd congressional district
, based in Columbia. He'd been asked by several of his friends to run before his switch, especially after the death of its previous congressman, John J. Riley
, but declined. He faced fellow state representative Albert Watson of Columbia in November and wasn't given much of a chance.
At the time, the Democratic Party was virtually the only party in South Carolina, and Democratic presidential candidates frequently won the state with close to 90% of the popular vote. Indeed, Spence's party switch made him the first Republican in either house of the state legislature since 1902. However, he lost to Watson by only 5%. In 1966, Spence was elected to the South Carolina Senate
, becoming minority leader of a six-member caucus. He was reelected in 1968.
In 1970, Spence ran for the 2nd Congressional District again. Watson, who had defeated Spence eight years before, had become a Republican in 1965 and was running for governor
. This time, it was Spence who won a narrow victory. He became the first freshman Republican congressman from South Carolina since 1896, and only the second to win an undisputed victory in a House election held in the state since Reconstruction. He was unopposed for reelection in the gigantic Republican landslide of 1972 and reelected 14 times thereafter.
In 1974, Spence defeated Matthew J. Perry
, who later became South Carolina's first African American U.S. District Court judge, in what was otherwise a very bad year for Republicans. He faced no credible opposition again until 1980, when state Senator Tom Turnipseed
ran against him. However, one of Spence's consultants, Lee Atwater
, ran several "push poll
s"—a new tactic at the time—informing voters that Turnipseed was a member of the NAACP and made an issue of treatments Turnipseed had undergone as a teenage, telling reporters the Democrat had been hooked up to "jumper cables". In a letter to Turnipseed after his diagnosis for brain cancer, Atwater called the jumper cable incident "one of the low points" of his career. This episode is covered in the award-winning documentary film Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story
. Due to this and Ronald Reagan
's strong performance in the district, Spence was reelected with 55 percent of the vote. After cruising to reelection in 1982 and 1984, he won by only 7% in 1986. He faced another tough campaign in 1988. However, he faced no other Democratic opponent again until 1998.
suburbs.
Spence became ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee in 1993; he'd been a member of the committee since his first term. The 2nd includes several military bases, including Fort Jackson
. He became the committee's chairman in 1995 after the Republicans took control of the House. He renamed the 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 for missile defense. He stepped down as chairman after the 106th Congress due to caucus-imposed term limits. He later served as chairman of the House Armed Services' subcommittee on military procurement.
He was succeeded by State Senator Joe Wilson
, who had been an aide to Spence in the 1970s.
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
from South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
.
Early life and education
Spence was born in Columbia, South CarolinaColumbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
in 1928, but spent most of his life in nearby Lexington County. Shortly after graduating from high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve
United States Navy Reserve
The United States Navy Reserve, until 2005 known as the United States Naval Reserve, is the Reserve Component of the United States Navy...
, retiring as a captain in 1988. He graduated from the University of South Carolina
University of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...
with a degree in English in 1952 and earned his law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law
University of South Carolina School of Law
The University of South Carolina School of Law, also known as South Carolina Law or SC Law, is one of the professional schools of the University of South Carolina. South Carolina Law was founded in 1867 in Columbia, South Carolina and is the only public and non-profit law school in the state of...
four years later.
Electoral history
Just after leaving law school, Spence was elected to represent Lexington County in the South Carolina House of RepresentativesSouth Carolina House of Representatives
The South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly, the upper house being the South Carolina Senate. It consists of 124 Representatives elected to two year terms at the same time as US Congressional elections...
as a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
. He was reelected in 1958 and 1960. However, on April 14, 1962, Spence announced he was switching
Party switching in the United States
In the United States politics, party switching is any change in party affiliation of a partisan public figure, usually one who is currently holding elected office...
to the Republican Party. He was very uncomfortable with the national Democrats' increasingly liberal
Liberalism in the United States
Liberalism in the United States is a broad political philosophy centered on the unalienable rights of the individual. The fundamental liberal ideals of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion for all belief systems, and the separation of church and state, right to due process...
platform, and also opposed a loyalty oath required by the state Democrats. On the same day, he announced that he would seek the Republican nomination for the state's 2nd congressional district
South Carolina's 2nd congressional district
The 2nd Congressional District of South Carolina is a congressional district in central and eastern South Carolina. It includes all of Lexington, Beaufort, Jasper, Hampton, Allendale and Barnwell counties; most of Richland County and parts of Aiken, Calhoun and Orangeburg counties...
, based in Columbia. He'd been asked by several of his friends to run before his switch, especially after the death of its previous congressman, John J. Riley
John J. Riley
John Jacob Riley was a U.S. Representative from South Carolina, husband of Corinne Boyd Riley.Born on a farm near Orangeburg, South Carolina, Riley attended the public schools in Orangeburg County....
, but declined. He faced fellow state representative Albert Watson of Columbia in November and wasn't given much of a chance.
At the time, the Democratic Party was virtually the only party in South Carolina, and Democratic presidential candidates frequently won the state with close to 90% of the popular vote. Indeed, Spence's party switch made him the first Republican in either house of the state legislature since 1902. However, he lost to Watson by only 5%. In 1966, Spence was elected to the South Carolina Senate
South Carolina Senate
The South Carolina Senate is the upper house of the South Carolina General Assembly, the lower house being the South Carolina House of Representatives...
, becoming minority leader of a six-member caucus. He was reelected in 1968.
In 1970, Spence ran for the 2nd Congressional District again. Watson, who had defeated Spence eight years before, had become a Republican in 1965 and was running for governor
Governor of South Carolina
The Governor of the State of South Carolina is the head of state for the State of South Carolina. Under the South Carolina Constitution, the Governor is also the head of government, serving as the chief executive of the South Carolina executive branch. The Governor is the ex officio...
. This time, it was Spence who won a narrow victory. He became the first freshman Republican congressman from South Carolina since 1896, and only the second to win an undisputed victory in a House election held in the state since Reconstruction. He was unopposed for reelection in the gigantic Republican landslide of 1972 and reelected 14 times thereafter.
In 1974, Spence defeated Matthew J. Perry
Matthew J. Perry
Matthew James Perry Jr. was a United States federal judge.Born in Columbia, South Carolina, Perry was in the United States Army from 1943 to 1946, and then received a Bachelor of Science degree from South Carolina State College in 1948 and an LL.B. from South Carolina State College in 1951...
, who later became South Carolina's first African American U.S. District Court judge, in what was otherwise a very bad year for Republicans. He faced no credible opposition again until 1980, when state Senator Tom Turnipseed
Tom Turnipseed
Tom Turnipseed is an attorney who has been working in South Carolina as a political and civic leader, and as an advocate for consumer, environmental and civil rights, the civil justice system and world peace since 1964. He is a former SC State Senator . In 1980, he was the Democratic nominee for...
ran against him. However, one of Spence's consultants, Lee Atwater
Lee Atwater
Harvey LeRoy "Lee" Atwater was an American political consultant and strategist to the Republican Party. He was an advisor of U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush and Chairman of the Republican National Committee.-Childhood and early life:...
, ran several "push poll
Push poll
A push poll is a political campaign technique in which an individual or organization attempts to influence or alter the view of respondents under the guise of conducting a poll. In a push poll, large numbers of respondents are contacted, and little or no effort is made to collect and analyze...
s"—a new tactic at the time—informing voters that Turnipseed was a member of the NAACP and made an issue of treatments Turnipseed had undergone as a teenage, telling reporters the Democrat had been hooked up to "jumper cables". In a letter to Turnipseed after his diagnosis for brain cancer, Atwater called the jumper cable incident "one of the low points" of his career. This episode is covered in the award-winning documentary film Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story
Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story
Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story is a 2008 U.S. documentary on the campaign tactics used by Lee Atwater while working on the George H.W. Bush 1988 presidential campaign, and how those tactics have transformed presidential campaigns in the United States....
. Due to this and Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
's strong performance in the district, Spence was reelected with 55 percent of the vote. After cruising to reelection in 1982 and 1984, he won by only 7% in 1986. He faced another tough campaign in 1988. However, he faced no other Democratic opponent again until 1998.
Congressional career
For his first 11 terms, Spence represented a relatively compact district in the central portion of the state. However, the 1990s round of redistricting shifted nearly all of his black constituents to the majority-black 6th District. To make up for the loss in population, Spence's district was pushed well to the south and west, as far south as Hilton Head Island and as far west as the fringes of the AugustaAugusta, Georgia
Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...
suburbs.
Spence became ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee in 1993; he'd been a member of the committee since his first term. The 2nd includes several military bases, including Fort Jackson
Fort Jackson, South Carolina
Fort Jackson is a United States Army installation, which TRADOC operates on for Basic Combat Training , and is located in Columbia, South Carolina. This installation is named for Andrew Jackson, a United States Army General and 7th President of the United States.-Overview:Fort Jackson was created...
. He became the committee's chairman in 1995 after the Republicans took control of the House. He renamed the 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 for missile defense. He stepped down as chairman after the 106th Congress due to caucus-imposed term limits. He later served as chairman of the House Armed Services' subcommittee on military procurement.
Death and succession
Spence died on August 16, 2001, at the age of 73 from complications following brain surgery. He had been admitted to St. Dominic Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi, three weeks earlier for testing and treatment for nerve pain in his face and neck. It was also at St. Dominic Hospital that Spence received a double lung transplant in 1988.He was succeeded by State Senator Joe Wilson
Joe Wilson (U.S. politician)
Addison Graves Wilson, Sr., most commonly known as Joe Wilson , is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2001. He is a member of the Republican Party...
, who had been an aide to Spence in the 1970s.