William Wadsworth Evans Jr. (May 6, 1921 – August 19, 1999) was an American Republican Party politician who served in the
New Jersey General Assembly
The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature.
Since the election of 1967 (1968 session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...
from 1960 to 1962 and was a candidate for the Republican nomination for president in 1968.
Early life
Evans was born in
Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.William Wadsworth Evans (1886–1972) and Isabel Urquhart Blauvelt (1892–1967). Raised in Paterson and Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, Evans attended Newark Academy,
Lawrenceville School
The Lawrenceville School is a Private school, private, coeducational College-preparatory school, preparatory school for boarding and day students located in the Local government in New Jersey, unincorporated community of Lawrenceville, New Jers ...
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...
Wyckoff, New Jersey
Wyckoff ( ) is an affluent township in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 16,585, a decrease of 111 (−0.7%) from the 2010 census count of 16,696, which in turn ...
in the 1950s.
New Jersey Assemblyman
He was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly in 1959. He was the top vote-getter in the 1959 election, receiving 141,222 votes countywide to win one of
Bergen County
Bergen County is the List of counties in New Jersey, most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Democratic rival by 33,381 votes. He was not a candidate for re-election to a second term in 1961.
Evans took two months off from his law firm in 1960 to work on
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
's 1960 presidential campaign. He had been the co-chairman of
Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and major general in the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve who served as a United States senator from 1953 to 1965 and 1969 to 1987, and was the Re ...
's New Jersey campaign in 1964.
Presidential candidate
On September 16, 1967, Evans announced that he would seek the Republican nomination for president in 1968. He said by entering the
New Hampshire primary
The New Hampshire presidential primary is the first in a series of nationwide party primary elections and the second party contest, the first being the Iowa caucuses, held in the United States every four years as part of the process of cho ...
, he would seek to use his candidacy as a platform to expound upon his opposition to the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
and seek to pressure other candidates to clarify their views on Vietnam. Evans "campaigned extensively, visiting the offices of nearly every newspaper in the state." A ''New York Times'' story on the New Hampshire primary in January showed a picture of an Evans for President billboard at the south end of Main Street in Concord, which the newspaper said was the first billboard of the campaign. Evans received just 151 votes statewide.
Later life
He was married to Marie Archbold Evans (1923–2012) and had five children. He retired from the practice of law in the early 1980s and moved to
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
. Evans died in
Stuart, Florida
Stuart is a city in and the county seat of Martin County, Florida, United States. Located in southeastern Florida, Stuart is the largest of five Municipal corporation, incorporated municipalities in Martin County. The population is 17,425 accordi ...