Willis Smith
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| Willis Smith | |
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Senator, North Carolina
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| In office November1950-June 1953 |
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| Preceded by | Frank Porter Graham (D) |
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| Succeeded by | Alton Asa Lennon (R) |
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| Born | December 19, 1887 Norfolk, Virginia |
| Died | June 26, 1953 Bethesda, Maryland |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Religion | Methodist |
Willis Smith (19 December 1887 - 26 June 1953) was a Democratic U.S. senator from the state of North Carolina between 1950 and 1953. Born in Virginia, he moved to North Carolina at age 2. After graduating from Trinity College (now the undergraduate liberal arts college of Duke University) in 1910 and Duke University Law School in 1912, he became a practicing attorney -- but interrupted his work to serve in the United States Army during World War I.
Smith served in the North Carolina House of Representatives from 1928 to 1932, and was briefly the speaker of that body. He also was selected as a U.S. observer at the Nuremberg Trials in 1946.
In the Democratic primary of 1950, Smith defeated incumbent Sen. Frank Porter Graham for the nomination. Graham had been appointed to fill the vacancy caused by the death of J. Melville Broughton and had served only a little over a year at the time of his defeat. In the campaign, Graham, who was well known for his antiracist sympathies, was supported by President Harry Truman and the state's liberal Democratic faction, while Smith employed some dubious racial overtones and was aided by a young strategist named Jesse Helms.
Smith's service in the Senate was unremarkable and brief. He died suddenly in 1953 and was interred at the Oakwood Cemetery in Raleigh, North Carolina.
| Preceded by Frank Porter Graham |
United States Senator (Class 2) from North Carolina 1950-1953 Served alongside: Clyde Roark Hoey |
Succeeded by Alton Asa Lennon |
