Editing Charles Evers (section)

===Later political career===

In 1978, Evers ran as an independent for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Democrat [[James Eastland]].<ref name="GOP">{{cite web|url=http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2014/07/11/gates-charles-evers-rich-part-states-history/12560811/|title=Gates: Charles Evers rich part of states history|publisher=Clarion Ledger.com|access-date=January 14, 2016}}</ref> He finished in third place behind his opponents, Democrat [[Maurice Dantin]] and Republican [[Thad Cochran]]. He received 24 percent of the vote, likely siphoning off African-American votes that would have otherwise gone to Dantin.<ref name="GOP"/> Cochran won the election with a plurality of 45 percent of the vote. With the shift in white voters moving into the Republican Party in the state (and the rest of the South), Cochran was continuously re-elected to his Senate seat.<ref name="GOP"/> After his failed Senate race, Evers briefly switched political parties and became a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]].<ref name="GOP"/>

In 1983, Evers ran as an independent for governor of Mississippi but lost to the Democrat [[Bill Allain]].<ref name="Govrace">{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=799&dat=19711103&id=jo9PAAAAIBAJ&pg=1748,2187362&hl=en|title=The Bryan Times Edition 1983|access-date=January 14, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312101032/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=799&dat=19711103&id=jo9PAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7lEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1748,2187362&hl=en|archive-date=March 12, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Republican [[Leon Bramlett]] of [[Clarksdale, Mississippi|Clarksdale]], also known as a college [[All-American]] football player, finished second with 39 percent of the vote.<ref name="Govrace"/>

Evers endorsed [[Ronald Reagan]] for President of the United States during the [[1980 United States presidential election]].<ref name="GOP"/> Evers later attracted controversy for his support of judicial nominee [[Charles W. Pickering]], a Republican, who was nominated by President [[George H. W. Bush]] for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-107shrg83959/html/CHRG-107shrg83959.htm|title=NOMINATION OF CHARLES W. PICKERING|publisher=GPO.org|access-date=January 14, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826230853/https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-107shrg83959/html/CHRG-107shrg83959.htm|archive-date=August 26, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Evers criticized the NAACP and other organizations for opposing Pickering, as he said the candidate had a record of supporting the civil rights movement in Mississippi.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://votesmart.org/public-statement/24121/nomination-of-charles-w-pickering-sr-of-mississippi-to-be-united-states-circuit-judge-for-the-fifth-circuit-continued|title=Nomination of Charles W. Pickering Sr., of Mississippi, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit (continued)|publisher=Vote Smart.com|access-date=January 14, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304210459/http://votesmart.org/public-statement/24121/nomination-of-charles-w-pickering-sr-of-mississippi-to-be-united-states-circuit-judge-for-the-fifth-circuit-continued|archive-date=March 4, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

Evers befriended a range of people from [[sharecropper]]s to presidents. He was an informal adviser to politicians as diverse as [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], [[George Wallace|George C. Wallace]], [[Ronald Reagan]] and [[Robert F. Kennedy]].<ref name="PBS"/> Evers severely criticized such national leaders as [[Roy Wilkins]], [[Stokely Carmichael]], [[H. Rap Brown]] and [[Louis Farrakhan]] over various issues.<ref name="PBS"/>

Evers was a member of the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] for 30 years when he spoke warmly of the 2008 election of [[Barack Obama]] as the first black President of the United States.<ref name="Obama">{{cite web|url=http://www.msnewsnow.com/story/9677096/evers-comments-on-obama-becoming-1st-african-american-president|title=Evers comments on Obama becoming 1st African-American president|publisher=MSNewsnow.com|access-date=January 14, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615111003/http://www.msnewsnow.com/story/9677096/evers-comments-on-obama-becoming-1st-african-american-president|archive-date=June 15, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> During the [[2016 United States presidential election|2016 presidential election]], Evers supported [[Donald Trump]]'s [[Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign|presidential campaign]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/story/news/politics/2016/03/04/charles-evers-endorses-trump/81341810/|title=Brother of Medgar Evers endorses Trump|author=Bracey Harris|newspaper=[[Hattiesburg American]]|access-date=March 5, 2016}}</ref>