He lost in the Republican primary to Congressman Bob Riley and subsequently returned to the private sector.
[3] During his time in the Senate, he was selected to be the Banking and Insurance Committee chairman for 8 years.
[5] He was a delegate for George Bush at the 2000 Republican National Convention, and served as co-chair of the Alabama Bush-Cheney campaign.
Windom's 1998 campaign for Lieutenant Governor was marked by scandal when false allegations involving a prostitute were made against him by supporters of his opponent.
Garve Ivey, an Alabama plaintiffs' attorney, was eventually convicted of witness tampering and criminal defamation for conspiring with private investigator Wes Chappell to defame Windom.
A former call girl, who had been paid to make false allegations, testified at the trial.
Windom gained notoriety in 1999 for discreetly urinating into a jug behind his desk while presiding over the Senate, purportedly to avoid being stripped of most of his powers as presiding officer by the Democratic majority while going to the bathroom.