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'''James Strom Thurmond, Sr.''' (December 5, 1902 – June 26, 2003) was a [[United States Senate|United States Senator]] from [[South Carolina]] for over fifty years.  He served from 1954 to 1964 as a [[Democrat]] and from 1964 to his death in 2003 as a [[Republican]]. He holds the record for length of service in the Senate, and he is the only major office holder in [[American]] history to serve at age 100.  Prior to 2010, Thurmond was the only senator in US history to have been elected by write-in vote; [[Lisa Murkowski]] was elected senator of Alaska by write-in during the [[2010 Midterm Elections]].

'''James Strom Thurmond, Sr.''' (December 5, 1902 – June 26, 2003) was a [[United States Senate|United States Senator]] from [[South Carolina]] for almost fifty years.  He served from 1954 to 1964 as a [[Democrat]] and from 1964 to his death in 2003 as a [[Republican]]. He holds the record for length of service in the Senate, and he is the only major office holder in [[American]] history to serve at age 100.  Prior to 2010, Thurmond was the only senator in US history to have been elected by write-in vote; [[Lisa Murkowski]] was elected senator of Alaska by write-in during the [[2010 Midterm Elections]].

After switching to the Republican party, Thurmond was one of the first Senators to hire an African American staff aide, sponsored a black man to be a federal judge, and voted for the [[Martin Luther King]] federal holiday.  Thurmond said he had made the move because Democrats were "leading the evolution of our nation to a [[socialist]]ic [[dictatorship]]."<ref>https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/legacy/obituary.aspx?pid=1118046</ref>  [[Joe Biden]] eulogized Thurmond at a memorial service noting that after Thurmond left the [[History of Democrat racism|Democrat party and its racist history]] by becoming a Republican, he "came over to the good side."<ref>https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/henrygomez/joe-biden-strom-thurmond-eulogy</ref>

After switching to the Republican party, Thurmond was one of the first Senators to hire an African American staff aide, sponsored a black man to be a federal judge, and voted for the [[Martin Luther King]] federal holiday.  Thurmond said he had made the move because Democrats were "leading the evolution of our nation to a [[socialist]]ic [[dictatorship]]."<ref>https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/legacy/obituary.aspx?pid=1118046</ref>  [[Joe Biden]] eulogized Thurmond at a memorial service noting that after Thurmond left the [[History of Democrat racism|Democrat party and its racist history]] by becoming a Republican, he "came over to the good side."<ref>https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/henrygomez/joe-biden-strom-thurmond-eulogy</ref>