Thurmond: 93, and going strong
March 8, 1996
Web posted at: 11:55 p.m. ESTFrom Correspondent Jed Duvall
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Strom Thumond, the lawmaker best known for his South Carolina drawl and shock of orange hair, picked up another distinction Friday. The Republican is now the oldest person ever to sit in the U.S. Senate.
Thurmond, 93, has been a senator from South Carolina since 1954, when Eisenhower was president.
And he shows no sign of slowing down. This year, Thurmond is running for his eighth term, which would keep him in office through his 100th birthday and would make him the longest-serving senator ever, surpassing the late Carl Hayden, D-Arizona. Hayden served 56 years in Congress, nearly 15 in the House and 42 in the Senate.
Thurmond is used to setting records. In 1957, he held the longest filibuster in Senate history -- 24 hours and 18 minutes -- when he spoke against a civil rights bill.
When Thurmond was 66, he married a 21-year-old beauty queen and they had four children. Thus, like his father and grandfather before him, Thurmond was fathering children in his 70s.
At 5'10" and 175 pounds, Thurmond can still deliver a bone-crunching handshake.
"I take 50 minutes of exercise every day," he says. "Twenty minutes of calisthenics, twist and bend and stretch. Push-ups and sit-ups. I get vitamins from fruits and vegetables."
Healthy he is, but is Thurmond is too old for political office? He survived an attempt last year to unseat him as chairman of the Armed Services Committee. But privately, detractors say Thurmond is a bit ... dotty.
At a hearing in March of 1995, Thurmond appeared confused. "I will now ask Senator Nunn for any comments he would choose to make." When he looked around, Nunn was not present.
Some wonder whether Thurmond can still deliver the goods for South Carolina. Thurmond suggests that his constituents answer that question.
Those constituents were polled in both 1995 and 1996, and their response was mixed. Younger voters said Thurmond is past his prime and should step down, while the larger majority of older voters said Thurmond still had political gusto.
In any case, after stretching and twisting, Thurmond is set on running.
Related stories:
Related sites:
- Bio from the Congressional Directory
- The Strom Thurmond Institute at Clemson University
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