[1] He also served as a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals for Greenville and as the Bond County coordinator for James R. Thompson in the 1976 Illinois gubernatorial election.
[7] In 1981, Democratic incumbent James Donnewald vacated his Senate seat to run successfully for Illinois Treasurer.
In the 1982 general election, Watson defeated Mayor of Trenton and Democratic candidate Herbert Schlarmann.
[14] On November 4, 2008, he sent a letter to the Republican Caucus stating that he would not seek re-election for the Senate Minority Leadership.
[15] Watson returned to the Senate for one day in late November, where he was greeted by reporters and House Speaker Michael Madigan.
On February 21, 2009, the Legislative Committee of the Republican Party of the 51st Legislative District, composed of chairmen of county-level Republican party organizations, appointed Kyle McCarter, a member of the St. Clair County Board to the vacancy.