Gil Carmichael

Gilbert Ellzey Carmichael (June 27, 1927 – January 31, 2016) was an American businessman and politician.

Born in Columbia, Mississippi, he attended Texas A&M University and served in the United States Coast Guard during the Korean War, earning a Silver Lifesaving Medal for helping rescue crewmen from a sinking tanker.

Gilbert Ellzey Carmichael was born on June 27, 1927, in Columbia, Mississippi, United States to Calvin Ellzey Carmichael and Clyde Myrna Smith Carmichael.

His father died when he was young, forcing his mother to provide for the family.

He graduated from Columbia High School in 1944, served in the United States Military from 1945 to 1946.

In June 1950 Carmichael was hired by the Dow Jones & Company to sell its newspaper, The Wall Street Journal.

After eight years, he joined a friend in distributing cars in Shreveport, Louisiana.

He later became a partner in a car dealership in Meridian, Mississippi, before taking over the business.

He thereafter attended Texas A&M University, where he graduated in 1950 with a business degree and a minor in petroleum engineering.

He married and had a son.

Carmichael was commissioned as an officer in the United States Coast Guard during the Korean War.

In June 1950, Carmichael was hired by the Dow Jones & Company to sell its newspaper, The Wall Street Journal.

Assigned to a distribution area comprising southern Mississippi, southern Louisiana, and the city of New Orleans, he would go door-to-door in office buildings and pitch the paper and teach potential customers how it should be read.

After eight years, he joined a friend in distributing Fiat cars in Shreveport, Louisiana.

He later became a partner in a car dealership in Meridian, Mississippi, before buying out the entire business.

While serving at the rank of ensign in 1952, he participated in the rescue of crewmen from the sinking tanker SS Fort Mercer off the coast of Cape Cod, when the ship broke apart in a storm.

He commanded a boat which retrieved two men off of the ship's bow, and for his efforts was awarded a Silver Lifesaving Medal for "heroic action".

A member of the Republican Party, he became involved in politics in the 1960s, making two unsuccessful bids for a seat in the Mississippi State Legislature.

He became involved in politics in the 1960s, making two unsuccessful bids for a seat in the Mississippi State Legislature and chairing Rubel Phillips's 1963 gubernatorial campaign organization in Lauderdale County.

He established a Volkswagen dealership in 1961 and later expanded to sell Audi and Mercedes vehicles.

He also acquired dealerships in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

He sold his dealerships in Meridian upon his appointment to the Federal Railroad Administration, but retained their buildings and later used them as he became involved in his son's commercial real estate company, Missouth Properties.

Carmichael was a member of the Republican Party.

From the 1970s to the 1990s he served on various national transportation advisory boards.

In 1971 he considered running for the office of Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi, but was convinced not to by Republican leaders who were fearful that his bid would associate the Republican Party with the gubernatorial campaign of black independent Charles Evers.

Carmichael also ran for a U.S. Senate seat in 1972 and in 1975 ran for the office of Governor of Mississippi, the first serious Republican contender for the post in decades.

In 1972 black civil rights activist James Meredith declared himself a candidate for the Republican nomination to contest the U.S. Senate seat held by Democrat James Eastland.

A group of Mississippi Republicans felt that Meredith was not a strong enough contender and did not want the party to become associated with another black candidate, and recruited Carmichael to run instead.

He won the Republican primary election, but faced opposition in his bid from national Republicans.

President Richard Nixon, though a Republican, wanted to maintain good relations with Eastland so as to ease his political interests in the federal government.

A Nixon campaign official visited Carmichael and told him that if he withdrew from the race, Nixon would appoint him as an ambassador.

Carmichael refused.

When Vice President Spiro Agnew traveled to Mississippi to host a rally, he was instructed to specifically not invite Carmichael.

This action backfired, as the press learned of the maneuvering and covered Carmichael as an underdog.

Carmichael ultimately lost the general election to Eastland, taking only 39 percent of the vote.

In 1975, Carmichael declared his candidacy for the office of Governor of Mississippi.

He was the first serious Republican candidate for gubernatorial office in decades.

He lost a narrow race and made another unsuccessful bid in 1979.

He also launched an unsuccessful independent campaign in 1983 to be elected Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi.

He died in 2016.