Dr. Walter P. Witherspoon, better known as Buddy Witherspoon, served as the National Executive Committeeman of the South Carolina Republican Party from 1996 to 2008. In that capacity, he served as a voting member of the Republican National Committee.
In 2008, he started an exploratory committee to challenge incumbent U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham in the Republican Party primary for the 2008 South Carolina Senate Race. On June 10, 2008, he lost by more than a 2–1 margin.