Elizabeth J. Patterson
Elizabeth Johnston “Liz” Patterson (November 18, 1939 – November 10, 2018) was a Democrat from South Carolina who served as the state's U.S. representative from the fourth congressional district for three terms in the late 1980s and early 1990s. She was previously a state senator from 1980 to 1987.
Patterson was the daughter of liberal Democrat segregationist Olin D. Johnston, who was infamous for refusing to grant clemency as governor to 14 year-old George Stinney, an African-American teenager wrongfully accused and convicted of murdering two white girls in a case with no evidence to back the prosecution.[1]
U.S. House of Representatives
Patterson ran for the House in the 1986 Midterm Elections, facing Republican Bill Workman in the general election. Campaigning on a mostly moderate platform which included advocating for fiscal conservatism though liberal on abortion,[2] she narrowly won by four percentage points.[3]
Later life
In a 2017 interview, Patterson reflected on her first House campaign:[4]
| “ | We did a poll, first of all, to see if I had a chance. And the poll said that people still remembered my dad. That a certain age remembered my dad and what he did, and that they would support me because of that. | ” |
Johnston attempted to bring back the white primary after the United States Supreme Court ruled them unconstitutional in Smith v. Allwright.[1] He won election to the U.S. Senate in 1944 by boasting himself as being more staunchly white supremacist than incumbent Democrat Ellison D. Smith, a demagogic racist.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Segregation Forever. Equal Justice Initiative. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ↑ PATTERSON, Elizabeth J.. US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ↑ SC - District 04 Race - Nov 04, 1986. Our Campaigns. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ↑ The Honorable Elizabeth J. Patterson. US House of Representatives. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
External links
- Profile at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress