Carroll Ashmore Campbell Jr. (July 24, 1940 – December 7, 2005), was an American Republican politician who served as the 112th governor of South Carolina from 1987 to 1995. Prior to this, he served as a member of the South Carolina Senate representing the 2nd district from 1977 to 1978 and as a congressman representing South Carolina's 4th district from 1979 to 1987.
Early life
Campbell was born in Greenville, South Carolina, the oldest of six children. His father, Carroll A. Campbell Sr. worked in the textile mills and the furniture business, and later owned a motel in Garden City, South Carolina.
In 1970, Campbell took a leading role opposing the racial integration of public schools in Greenville. He spoke to a crowd of thousands in front of Parker High School against integration, and on January 25 he led a motorcade of 800 vehicles to the state capitol in Columbia to protest "forced busing" of students to integrated schools.[1]
As governor, Campbell coordinated the state's response to Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Campbell was also known for his role in luring BMW to build its first U.S. manufacturing facility in Greer, South Carolina.[3] In recognition of his role, in 2002 it was announced that BMW had donated $10 million for a facility at the site of Clemson University's International Center for Automotive Research.[4] Like nearly all such large donations, it came with naming rights: the company chose to call the new facility the Carroll A. Campbell Jr. Graduate Engineering Center.
When Campbell was governor, the state was confronted with two major controversies shaking taxpayers' confidence in the trustworthiness of public officials. Allegations of financial mismanagement at the University of South Carolina led to university president James B. Holderman's resignation. Operation Lost Trust, a federal investigation of bribery and drug use allegations against members of the South Carolina General Assembly, led to convictions of twenty-seven legislators, lobbyists and others in a vote-buying scandal.[5]
Campbell eloped with Iris Faye Rhodes in 1959.[7] They had two sons, Carroll Campbell III, and Mike Campbell, the former of whom unsuccessfully sought the 2010 Republican nomination for South Carolina's 1st congressional district to succeed Representative Henry Brown; and the latter of whom was an unsuccessful candidate for Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina in 2006. The family owns franchises for Wendy's restaurants in South Carolina.
In October 2001, at the age of 61, Campbell was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.[5] The revelation forced him to abandon plans to run for governor again in 2002. He was admitted to a long-term residential treatment facility for Alzheimer's patients in August 2005. He died of a heart attack on December 7 of that year at Lexington Medical Center in West Columbia. After lying in state at the State House, he was eulogized at memorial services at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Columbia and at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pawleys Island.[6][7] He was buried in the church cemetery of All Saints Episcopal Church.[8]
^Graham, Cole Blease (Spring 1998). "Between a Rock and a Hard Place: South Carolina's Republican Presidential Primary". Southern Cultures. 4 (1): 48. doi:10.1353/scu.1998.0091. JSTOR26235530. S2CID145306010.
^ abc"Carroll A. Campbell". National Governors Association. January 12, 2011. Retrieved April 2, 2020.