George McInvale Grant was a Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

.

Grant was born in Louisville, Alabama

Louisville, Alabama

Louisville is a town in Barbour County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 612.-Geography:Louisville is located at 31°46'49.112" North, 85°33'26.629" West .According to the U.S...

. He obtained a law degree from University of Alabama

University of Alabama

The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....

 in 1922. He was admitted to the bar

Admission to the bar in the United States

In the United States, admission to the bar is the granting of permission by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in that system. Each U.S. state and similar jurisdiction has its own court system and sets its own rules for bar admission , which can lead to different admission...

 the same year and opened a law practice in Troy, Alabama

Troy, Alabama

Troy is a city in Pike County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 18,003. Troy experienced a growth spurt of over 4,000+ people since 2000. The city is the county seat of Pike County....

, near Montgomery

Montgomery, Alabama

Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...

.
He served as a private and aviation cadet in the aviation section of the Signal Corps of the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 in 1918 and 1919. He was county solicitor (district attorney

District attorney

In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...

) of Pike County, Alabama

Pike County, Alabama

Pike County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of General Zebulon Pike, of New Jersey, an explorer who led an expedition to southern Colorado and discovered Pikes Peak in 1806. As of 2010 the population was 32,899. Its county seat is Troy.- History :In 1819 the State...

 from 1927 to 1937.

When 2nd District Congressman Lister Hill was appointed to the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 in 1938, Grant won the Democratic nomination to succeed him in the special election. In those days, Democratic nomination was tantamount to victory in Alabama, and he took office on June 14. He won a full term that November and was reelected 11 more times from the Montgomery-based district.

In 1964, Grant faced his first credible opponent in the Democratic primary when former rear admiral

Rear Admiral

Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...

 John G. Crommelin

John G. Crommelin

Rear Admiral John Geraerdt Crommelin, Jr. was a prominent United States Navy officer and later a frequent political candidate who championed white supremacy.-Early life and naval career:...

 challenged him. Crommelin ran well to Grant's right, giving speeches full of racist

Racism

Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...

 and anti-Semitic

Anti-Semitism

Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...

 rhetoric. Grant managed to fend him off, but in November faced a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 for the first time ever in Bill Dickinson

Bill Dickinson

Bill Dickinson is a former rugby union player who was appointed the first official national coach of in 1971. Richard Bath points out that Dickinson's appointment made an "immediate impact" in performance, leading to a one point loss to a "rampant side" and wins against and others...

. Grant lost by a shocking 25-point margin, which was all the more remarkable since most of the district's living residents had never been represented by a Republican. However, most of the 2nd's residents turned against the Democrats due to the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Civil Rights Act of 1964

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed major forms of discrimination against African Americans and women, including racial segregation...

--a major factor behind Barry Goldwater

Barry Goldwater

Barry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. An articulate and charismatic figure during the first half of the 1960s, he was known as "Mr...

 carrying the state that year. The 2nd remained in Republican hands until 2008.

Grant returned to his law practice in Troy, but later moved to Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 and became a lobbyist. He lived in Washington until the time of his death on November 4, 1982, at sea, aboard the Queen Elizabeth II.
He was interred at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia.