W. D. Workman, Jr.

William Douglas (W. D.) Workman, Jr. (August 10, 1914 - November 23, 1990), was a conservative journalist and a pioneer in the development of the modern South Carolina Republican Party. He carried his party's banner as an unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1962 and for the governorship in 1982.

Workman was born in Greenwood to Mr. and Mrs. W.D. Workman, Sr. He graduated from The Citadel in Charleston and became a journalist. He entered the United States Army during World War II. After the war, Workman returned to South Carolina to resume his journalism career.

Workman entered politics as a Republican and challenged incumbent Democrat Olin D. Johnston in November 1962. The election occurred shortly after the Cuban missile crisis bolstered Democratic prospects nationwide. He alleged that Johnston was too closely connected to the national Democratic Party and that South Carolina deserved a senator more in line with the "conservative traditions" of the state. Workman's campaign was the first significant Republican effort in South Carolina since Reconstruction. Two years later Strom Thurmond would defect from the Democratic Party to become the first Republican state officeholder in South Carolina. Thurmond would serve for more than 36 years as a GOP senator.

Workman polled 133,390 votes (42.8 percent) to Johnston's 178,712 (57.2 percent), but his campaign was credited with helping to build the structure for a future viable Republican Party in South Carolina.

After the 1962 campaign, Workman returned to journalism. He ran for governor in 1982 and scored an easy primary victory for the Republican nomination over Roddy T. Martin. However, he was badly beaten by Democrat Richard W. Riley, who secured a second term in office. Riley was later the secretary of education under President William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton. Riley received 468,819 votes (69.8 percent) to Workman's 202,806 (30.2 percent).

Workman thereafter contracted Parkinson's disease.

External links

* [http://www.sc.edu/library/socar/uscs/1995/workma95.html William D. Workman Papers]

"Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections", U.S. Senate, 1962; Governors, 1982