Pickett was considered the unopposed favorite for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate in 1982 to run for the seat of retiring Democratic-turned-independent U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd Jr. In announcing his candidacy, Pickett paid tribute to the Byrd Organization, the political "machine" led by Senator Byrd's father, the late Virginia Governor and U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd, Sr. The reference enraged State SenatorL. Douglas Wilder of Richmond, who found Pickett's glowing references to a political machine that supported segregation unacceptable. Wilder said he would mount an independent candidacy if Pickett won the Democratic nomination.[2] Pickett realized that Wilder was serious, and concluded that he would likely lose a three-way race with Wilder and the Republican nominee, Congressman Paul Trible. He pulled out of the race, and the Democrats instead nominated Lt. Governor Richard Joseph Davis, who lost narrowly to Trible in the 1982 general election.
Congressional career
Meanwhile, voters of Virginia's 2nd congressional district elected Pickett in 1986 to become their U.S. Representative. Re-elected several times (and facing no opponent in 1998), Pickett represented the district from January 3, 1987, until January 3, 2001, announcing in 2000 that he was not a candidate for reelection to the 107th Congress. The Owen B. Pickett U.S. Custom House in Norfolk, Virginia, was named in his honor in 2001.
