Wyche Fowler

William Wyche Fowler, Jr. (born October 6, 1940) is an American politician and ambassador. He is a member of the Democratic Party and served as United States Senator from Georgia from January 1987 to January 1993. He had previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1977 until his senatorial election.

In 1986, as a US Representative, Fowler defeated the incumbent Republican Senator Mack Mattingly. Fowler distinguished himself as the junior senator from Georgia (Sam Nunn was the serving senior senator at that time) in a moderate and dependable fashion. Fowler's voting record was progressive on social concerns and moderate on economic and national security issues. Despite being ranked among the most effective first term senators, he lost a tough re-election bid in 1992 to State Senator Paul Coverdell (who would later become leader of the state's Republican Party). Fowler bested Coverdell on Election Night 1992, but Georgia law dictates a requisite 50% vote for victory and a third party Libertarian candidate siphoned off enough votes to keep Fowler below 50%. In a subsequent run-off two weeks later, Coverdell upset Fowler by a narrow margin. Fowler went on to serve as an Ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 1996 to 2001, during the Clinton Administration. Today, Fowler is still remembered by Georgians as a public servant with impeccable ethical credentials and a progressive voting record.