George Armistead Smathers (born November 14, 1913) was a member of the U.S. Democratic Party; a senator from Florida. He was often forced to vote with Georgia Senator Richard B. Russell's "southern bloc" in the U.S. Senate regarding civil rights matters. In 1964, he voted against the Civil Rights Act, but he finally shook off his Confederate roots by voting for the 1965 Voting Rights Act with several other Southern senators (including Albert Gore Sr. of Tennessee and Ralph Yarborough of Texas), supporting the legislation introduced and enthusiastically supported by President Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas. Both the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts passed overwhelmingly in the U.S. House and Senate.