Ernest Hollings

From dKosopedia

Category: South Carolina Democrats

Ernest Frederick "Fritz" Hollings (born January 1, 1922) was a U.S. Senator from South Carolina from 1966 until 2005. Hollings was elected in a 1966 special election to fill the remaining two years of the term of deceased Senator (and fellow Democrat) Olin Johnston.

Hollings sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984, but lost to former Vice President Walter Mondale of Minnesota.

As a Senator, he was noted for his support of legislation that benefitted the media industry, and was called the "Senator from Disney" by detractors. When it came to civil rights, however, Hollings was much more liberal than most southerners, and was the only southern Senator who voted to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act in 1982.

Hollings faced easy reelections through most of his career, but won very tight races in 1992 and 1998. Some say that this is what convinced him not to seek a sixth full term in 2004. Republican Jim DeMint won his seat in the 2004 election with 54% of the vote.

External Links

• HOLLINGS, Ernest Frederick from Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-Present