Democratic lawmaker became a Republican
Former U.S. Rep. Bill Dickinson, 82, a Democrat turned Republican who championed a strong national defense and helped make Alabama a two-party state, died Monday at his home in Montgomery, Ala., after suffering from colon cancer.
Dickinson served in the House from 1965 to 1993. A former judge in city, juvenile and circuit courts in his native Opelika, Ala., he was one of several Democrats recruited to change parties in 1964 and run as Republicans for Congress in a state that had been solidly Democratic for a century.
Sen. Barry Goldwater, the Republican presidential nominee, lost in a landslide to President Lyndon Johnson but carried five Southern states, plus his own Arizona. His win in Alabama helped Republicans claim five of Alabama’s eight seats in the House.
Dickinson served on the House Armed Services Committee, where he became the ranking Republican member.
On the committee, Dickinson was an ardent defender of military spending through the Vietnam War and protected military bases that were an important part of Alabama’s economy. He also was a key backer of Reagan’s defense buildup in the 1980s.
Born in 1925, Dickinson served in the Navy during World War II and earned a law degree at the University of Alabama in 1950.
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