- Edward Lunn Young
Edward Lunn Young (born
September 7 ,1920 ) is a former Republican U.S. Representative fromSouth Carolina .Biography
Young was born in
Florence, South Carolina . He graduated from Clemson College (nowClemson University ) in 1941. Not long after graduating, he joined theUnited States Army Air Corps and served as a fighter pilot in the Pacific during the last part ofWorld War II . He was awarded theDistinguished Flying Cross (United States) and theAir Medal with nineoak leaf clusters .After World War II, he stayed in the reserves for one year and was discharged as amajor . He then returned to Florence and worked as a farmer, real estate broker and businessman.Young was elected to the
South Carolina House of Representatives as a Democrat from Marion County in 1958 and served one term. He became a Republican sometime in the early 1960s and was active in state Republican politics, attending the state Republican conventions of 1968 and 1970. He was also a delegate to the1968 Republican National Convention .In 1972, Young won the Republican nomination for ushr|South Carolina|6, in the state's northeast corner. He expected to face 17-term incumbent
John L. McMillan (who lived in nearby Mullins in the general election. However, in a considerable upset, McMillan was defeated in the primary by a considerably more liberal Democrat, State RepresentativeJohn Jenrette . Due to the gigantic Republican landslide of that year, Young won by over nine points, becoming the first Republican to represent this part of South Carolina, ever.Young's tenure in Congress was short-lived, however. The Republican Party did not have strong roots in this part of the state at the time, so Young was particularly vulnerable in the 1974 elections, which saw a nationwide backlash against Republicans due to
Watergate . Jenrette sought a rematch against Young, and this time won by four points. Another rematch in 1976 resulted in Young being soundly defeated.Young was the Republican candidate for Governor in 1978, but was soundly defeated by Democratic State Senator Dick Riley.When Jenrette was ensnared by
Abscam in 1980, Young jumped into the Republican primary, only to be soundly defeated byJohn Napier , who went on to defeat Jenrette in November.After his 1980 defeat, Young retired from politics and still lives in Florence.
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