Howell Heflin - Political Career

Political Career

In 1970, Heflin was elected to the post of Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, serving from 1971 to 1977.

In 1978, Heflin was elected to the United States Senate to succeed fellow Democrat John Sparkman, who had been Adlai E. Stevenson's running-mate in 1952, when slated against Richard M. Nixon on the Republican ticket. Heflin won his party's nomination to succeed Sparkman by defeating U.S. Representative Walter Flowers of Tuscaloosa, a long-time George C. Wallace ally. The 1966 Republican gubernatorial nominee, former U.S. Representative James D. Martin of Gadsden, announced that he would challenge Heflin. In 1962, Martin had waged a strong but losing Republican campaign against then U.S. Senator J. Lister Hill of Montgomery. However, Martin switched to a second Senate race for a two-year term created by the sudden death of Senator James B. Allen. The change in races left Heflin without Republican opposition in 1978.

In 1984, Heflin won his second Senate term by handily defeating Republican former U.S. Representative Albert Lee Smith, Jr., of Birmingham, who had hoped to win by running on the coattails of U.S. President Ronald W. Reagan.

Heflin became Chairman of the Select Committee on Ethics. While on the Ethics Committee, he led the prosecution against fellow Democratic Senator Howard Cannon of Nevada for violations of Senate rules.

Heflin's stances on cultural issues most often reflected his cultural region. He strongly opposed legal abortion and all gun control laws. Heflin supported prayer in public schools and opposed extending federal laws against discrimination to homosexuals. He supported the Gulf War of 1991 and opposed cuts in defense spending. With Fritz Hollings from South Carolina, he was one of only two Democrats in the Senate to vote against the Family and Medical Leave Act. He occasionally voted with Republicans on taxes. On other economic issues he was more in sync with the populist wing of his party. He voted against the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and attempts to weaken enforcement of consumer protection measures. He strongly supported affirmative action laws. He memorably voted against the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the United States Supreme Court, having complained of the nominee's lack of experience.

During his tenure, Heflin was considered to have bipartisan support if he were nominated by President Reagan for a vacancy on the Supreme Court. Nevertheless, Heflin did not wish to serve on the highest court in the United States.

On July 19, 1994, Senator Heflin was dining in the Capitol with some Alabama reporters, and felt like he had to sneeze. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bit of fabric and began to wipe his nose with a pair of ladies underwear. His office later released the following press release: "I mistakenly picked up a pair of my wife's white panties and put them in my pocket while I was rushing out the door to go to work. Rather than take a chance on being embarrassed again, I'm going to start buying colored handkerchiefs."

Upon seeing photos in the National Enquirer showing U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy copulating with an unknown woman on the deck of Kennedy's boat, he was said to have noted that he was glad Senator Kennedy had "changed his position on offshore drilling".

Senator Heflin lived at his long-time residence in Tuscumbia until his death on March 29, 2005 of a heart attack.