James Strom Thurmond served as a city and county attorney before being elected to the South Carolina state senate in 1932. Following military duty during World War II, Thurmond served as governor of South Carolina from 1947 to 1951. He was the States’ Rights Democrat candidate for president in 1948, winning four states. In 1954 Thurmond won election to the Senate as a write-in candidate and was subsequently appointed to fill a vacancy, but pledged to resign in 1956 to allow for a full election process. Carrying out that pledge, Thurmond was again elected in 1956. He took the oath of office again on November 7, 1956, and continued to serve until his retirement January 3, 2003. He joined the Republican Party in 1964. Thurmond chaired the Judiciary and Armed Services Committees and was elected president pro tempore. He turned 100 years old in 2002, becoming the oldest person ever to serve as a senator. He also holds the Senate's record for the longest individual speech, his filibuster against the 1957 Civil Rights Act.
