Preceded by Jon Hinson Role Politician Succeeded by Michael Parker Name Wayne Dowdy Party Democratic Party | Religion Methodist Education Millsaps College Political party Democratic Spouse Susan Dowdy | |
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Born July 27, 1943 (age 80)
Fitzgerald, Georgia ( 1943-07-27 ) | ||
A conversation with wayne dowdy
Charles Wayne Dowdy (born July 27, 1943) is an American politician and lawyer from Mississippi. He served four terms in the United States House of Representatives and served as chairman of the Mississippi Democratic Party.
Contents
- A conversation with wayne dowdy
- A conversation with wayne dowdy pt 2
- Early life
- Political career
- Personal life
- References
A conversation with wayne dowdy pt 2
Early life
Dowdy was born in Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Georgia. He grew up in the Methodist Church and is a graduate of Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi. He set up a law practice in Mississippi and purchased two local radio stations. He entered politics and was elected as mayor of McComb, Mississippi, serving from 1978 to 1981.
Political career
On July 7, 1981, Dowdy was elected to the House of Representatives as a Democrat in a special election for the 4th District. In this election the Democrats recaptured a Southern district from the Republicans, in a period when the white electorate in the South was shifting to the Republican Party. Dowdy carefully managed to avoid drawing strong Republican challengers in the general election or African-American opponents in the Democratic primary.
He won re-election narrowly in 1982 and 1984, with 53 percent and 55 percent of the vote, before being re-elected with 72 percent of the vote in the 1986 elections. He was notable for being a rather progressive Democrat by Mississippi standards of the time in a district with a 37 percent African-American population; in 1982 he voted for renewal of the Voting Rights Act.
In 1988, when John Stennis retired from the Senate, Dowdy won the Democratic nomination. His opponent was Republican Congressman Trent Lott. Dowdy was unable to implement his rural strategy and lost to Lott by a 54 percent-45 percent margin. He was severely hampered by George H.W. Bush carrying Mississippi with a 59 percent to 39 percent margin. He also lost badly in Lott's congressional district, taking only 30 percent of the vote.
Dowdy attempted to stage a comeback against Governor Ray Mabus in the 1991 Democratic gubernatorial primary, but lost with 41 percent of the vote.
Personal life
Dowdy and his wife, Susan, have three children. His wife is from Grenada, Mississippi.
He practices law in Magnolia, Mississippi. His family owns several radio stations in Mississippi and Louisiana. He is a former staff announcer for television station WJTV-TV in Jackson, Mississippi.