William L. Scott

William Lloyd Scott (July 1, 1915 – February 14, 1997) was a Republican politician from Virginia.

Scott was born in Williamsburg, Virginia. He received a law degree from George Washington University, and was employed by the federal government 1934–1961, principally as trial attorney with Department of Justice. He engaged in private practice of law in Fairfax, Virginia, 1961–1966.

Scott won the Republican nomination for Virginia's 8th congressional district in 1966. He expected to face 18-term Democratic incumbent and House Rules Committee chairman Howard W. Smith in November, but Smith was defeated by a more liberal Democrat, State Delegate George Rawlings, in the Democratic primary. Gaining support from more conservative Democrats, Scott handily defeated Rawlings in November. He was easily re-elected twice.

In 1972, he won the Republican nomination for the United States Senate and defeated freshman Democrat William B. Spong, Jr. in a close race, making him the first Republican Senator from Virginia since Reconstruction. Scott probably would not have won had it not been for Richard Nixon's landslide victory in that year's presidential election. Nixon won Virginia by almost 38 points and carried all but one of the state's counties. Scott did not run for re-election in 1978 and resigned on January 1, 1979.

Scott was a resident of Fairfax Station, Virginia, but confined to a nursing center in Fairfax, Virginia for Alzheimer's Disease until his death. Interment was in Fairfax Memorial Park, Fairfax, Va.

New Times Magazine reported in 1974 that he had been ranked "Dumbest Congressman" by a Ralph Nader-affiliated research group; Scott held a press conference to deny this judgment. The author of the article in New Times Magazine (Harry Stein) has since admitted the label of "Dumbest Senator" was a political hit piece and not based on any objective criteria.