Carroll A. Campbell, Jr.

Infobox Governor
name = Carroll Ashmore Campbell, Jr.


caption =
order = 112^th
office = Governor of South Carolina
term_start = January 14, 1987
term_end = January 11, 1995
lieutenant = Nick Theodore
predecessor = Richard Riley
successor = David Beasley
birth_date = birth date |1940|07|24
birth_place = Greenville, South Carolina
death_date = Death date and age|2005|12|07|1940|07|24,
heart attack
death_place = West Columbia, South Carolina
spouse = Iris Faye Rhodes
religion =
profession =
party = Republican
footnotes=

Carroll Ashmore Campbell, Jr. (July 24, 1940 – December 7, 2005) was a U.S. Republican Party politician who served as Governor of South Carolina from 1987 to 1995.

Upon Campbell's death, David Wilkins, U.S. Ambassador to Canada and former Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives, described him as "the master architect" of the South Carolina Republican Party's speedy rise to dominance.ref|obit

Early life

He was born in Greenville, South Carolina, the oldest of six children. His father, Carroll Campbell, Sr., worked in the textile mills and the furniture business, and later owned a motel in Garden City, South Carolina.

He grew up in Greenville and the nearby small towns of Liberty and Simpsonville. He attended Greenville Senior High School, dropping out during a period that "The Greenville News" characterized as an "unsettled adolescence amid a disintegrating family" ref|obit; his uncle then enrolled him at McCallie School in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He attended the University of South Carolina but withdrew due to financial concerns ref|obit and later graduated with a masters of arts degree from American University ref|GBPL. While at college, he joined Pi Kappa Phi fraternity.

Early political career

He served in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1970 to 1974. With Lee Atwater as a key political strategist, he made an unsuccessful bid for Lieutenant Governor in 1974, losing to Democrat Brantley Harvey; despite the loss Campbell would continue to seek Atwater's counsel throughout his career.

From 1976 to 1978, he served in the South Carolina Senate. In between his two stints in the General Assembly, he served as Executive Assistant to Governor James B. Edwards. In 1978, Campbell won election to the United States House of Representatives from the South Carolina's 4th Congressional District and became the first Republican to hold the seat since Reconstruction.

He served as state campaign chairman for Ronald Reagan's presidential campaign in 1980 and 1984, and as southern regional chairman for George H. W. Bush's presidential campaign in 1988.

Governor

As Governor, he coordinated the state's response to Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Campbell was also known for his role in luring BMW to build its first U.S. manufacturing facility in Greer, South Carolina. In recognition of his role, in 2002 it was announced that BMW had donated $10 million for a facility at the site of Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research.ref|BMW Like nearly all such large donations, it came with naming rights: the company chose to call the new facility the Carroll A. Campbell Jr. Graduate Engineering Center.

When Campbell was governor, the state was confronted with two major controversies shaking taxpayers' confidence in the trustworthiness of public officials. Allegations of financial mismanagement at the University of South Carolina led to university president James B. Holderman's resignation. Operation Lost Trust, a federal investigation of bribery and drug use allegations against members of the South Carolina legislature, led to convictions of 27 legislators, lobbyists and others in a vote-buying scandal.ref|losttrust

During 1993-1994, he served as Chairman of the National Governors Association.

Term limits prevented him from seeking a third term in 1994. He left office with an unprecedented job approval rating of 72%.

ubsequent career

From 1995 to 2001, he was a Washington, D.C. lobbyist, serving as President and CEO of the American Council of Life Insurers.

In 1996, he briefly considered running for President of the United States, but concluded that the fundraising hurdles were too high. He was later mentioned as a possible vice presidential running mate for Bob Doleref|nationalreview, but was ultimately passed over in favor of Jack Kemp.

Personal life

Campbell eloped with Iris Faye Rhodes in 1959ref|obit. They had two sons, Carroll Campbell III. and Mike Campbell, the latter of whom was an unsuccessful candidate for South Carolina Lieutenant Governor in 2006. The family owns franchises for Wendy's restaurants in South Carolina.

In October 2001, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease at the age of 61. As a result of his diagnosis, he was forced to abandon plans to run for Governor again in 2002. He was admitted to a long-term residential treatment facility for Alzheimer's patients in August 2005. He died of a heart attack on December 7, 2005, at Lexington Medical Center in West Columbia, South Carolina. After lying in state at the State House, he was eulogized at memorial services at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Columbia and at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pawleys Island. He was buried in the church cemetery of All Saints Episcopal Church in Pawleys Island, South Carolina.

Election history

South Carolina Governor, 1986
* Carroll Campbell (Republican), 51%
* Mike Daniel (Democrat), 47%

South Carolina Governor, 1990
* Carroll Campbell (Republican), 69%
* Theo Mitchell (Democrat), 27%

References

* [http://web.archive.org/web/20060901212837/http://www.greenvillenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051207/NEWS03/51207003/1004/NEWS01 Former Gov. Carroll Campbell dead at 65] , from "The Greenville News"
* [http://www.statehousereport.com/columns/2002/02.0614.ethicsreform.htm Tougher ethics laws needed for public officials] , a 2002 column from South Carolina Statehouse Report
* [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment062100d.html The Once and Future King?] , from a June 2000 column in "National Review"
* [http://www.ces.clemson.edu/earnest/fall_wint_03/features/carroll_center.htm The Carroll A. Campbell Jr. Graduate Engineering Center] at Clemson University
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20041114032141/http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/research/papers/1989/89082904.html Nomination of Carroll A. Campbell, Jr., To Be a Member of the Board of Trustees of the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation]

External links and general sources

* [http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=C000079 Biography] from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
* [http://www.sciway.net//hist/governors/campbell.html South Carolina Information High Profile]
* [http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2001-10-05-campbell.htm Former S.C. governor has Alzheimer's] , an October 2001 "USA Today" article
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20070310120540/http://bobmcalister.thecolumbiarecord.com/default.asp?item=116511 It's been a really bad day] , a December 7, 2005 blog entry from Campbell's former Chief of Staff
* [http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.29fab9fb4add37305ddcbeeb501010a0/?vgnextoid=c917ae3effb81010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD&vgnextchannel=e449a0ca9e3f1010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD NGA Biography of Carroll A. Campbell, Jr.]