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elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1958 as a Democrat. He served as a delegate for 20 years, but in 1972 he left the Democratic Party.
He ran for the State House as an independent in 1974 and 1976, and in 1980 he formally joined the Republican Party.
As a state delegate, Mr. Slaughter joined a growing Republican force in the Commonwealth, fueled partly at first by opposition to some civils rights causes, especially forced busing to achieve integration of public schools.
In 1966, for example, Republicans won half the Virginia congressional seats, the best showing for the GOP since Reconstruction.
Rappahannock County was, and remains, part of the Seventh District, which was then represented by Republican J. Kenneth Robinson. When Rep. Robinson retired in 1984, Mr. Slaughter beat Democrat Lou Costello in a race for the open seat. He has not been opposed since, until this year.
At the beginning of his third term, Slaughter said he would push for legislation that he had worked on during the previous two terms, particularly a bill to establish a health savings plan.
The health plan would be similar to an IRA, in that savings would be protected from taxes. The money accumulated during working years would be available during old age for health care expenses.
The bill has yet to pass, and Smith aide Ellis Woodward maintains that Congressman Slaughter “is not a player in Washington.”
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