William David Upshaw (October 15, 1866 – November 21, 1952) served eight years in Congress (1919–1927), where he was such a strong proponent of the temperance movement that he became known as the "driest of the drys."

In Congress, Upshaw was a staunch defender of the Ku Klux Klan, which was founded in his congressional district, and lost reelection because of major KKK scandals in the mid-1920s.

Leaving college, he worked in agriculture and as a merchant in his father's business until being incapacitated by an accident in 1895 when he fell from a wagon and injured his back.

Incumbent Democrat William S. Howard retired to run for the United States Senate, and Upshaw ran unopposed in the general election.

Upshaw was also exposed for taking payments from the Anti-Saloon League, which his opponent used to claim he was only supporting prohibition for financial reasons.

Upshaw lost the primary election and failed to secure the Democratic nomination to run for Congress for a fifth term.

Leaving Congress in 1927, Upshaw was elected as a vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention where he served two terms and made repeated attempts to restart his political career.

In 1942 Upshaw was a candidate in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate in Georgia, but again lost the election and failed to secure his party's nomination.

He served as vice president and teacher at the Linda Vista Baptist Bible College and Seminary in San Diego.

[1] While in California, he became involved with Roy Davis, a leading member of the KKK, to found an orphanage in San Bernardino County.

[9][10] At age 85, a few months before Upshaw's death, he claimed to have been miraculously healed and had regained the ability to walk in a William Branham revival meeting.