COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – Former Gov. Carroll Campbell Jr., who helped turn South Carolina into a Republican stronghold and recruited big-name industries, died Wednesday of a heart attack. He was 65.

Campbell was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease more than four years ago and was admitted this summer to a residential facility. The staff discovered he wasn’t breathing Wednesday morning, and he was taken to Lexington Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, said Campbell’s former chief of staff Bob McAlister.

Politicians credited Campbell for working across party lines to get things done, especially spurring the economy.

“I think it would be nearly impossible to find someone who has contributed more to South Carolina than Carroll Campbell,” Republican Gov. Mark Sanford said. “His efforts to transform South Carolina’s economy and raise our state’s income levels are still paying dividends today.”

Campbell was a four-term congressman before he took office in 1987, becoming only the second Republican governor in the state since Reconstruction. He easily won re-election in 1990; term limits kept him from running again in 1994.

In 1996, Campbell had been on Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole’s short list for vice president, but Jack Kemp ultimately got the nod.

“I am what I am,” he told The Associated Press that year. “It’s all out there for the people of South Carolina to judge. I am proud of the record. I am proud of being sensitive to many different views. I was always willing to listen to others and respect that.”

Campbell’s two terms may be most remembered for the former real estate developer’s focus on economic development, capped by luring German automaker BMW to build its first North American manufacturing plant near Greer. He also helped recruit Hoffmann-La Roche and Fuji Photo Film Co.

In 1993, Campbell signed legislation that abolished many state agencies’ governing boards, giving the governor power to appoint some department heads. Legislators had elected those governing boards and relinquished that power reluctantly after several years of pressure from the governor.

“He was a tremendous pioneer in government restructuring and moving South Carolina forward in economic prosperity,” said Campbell’s successor, former Gov. David Beasley, who was in China on Wednesday. “He was second to none, bringing in BMW. He set the stage that South Carolina could get the best.”

As governor, Campbell also welcomed Pope John Paul II to Columbia, saw the first woman ever elected to the South Carolina Supreme Court and shepherded the state through the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo in 1989.

After leaving office, Campbell headed the Washington-based American Council of Life Insurance. He remained active in politics and was instrumental in helping George W. Bush win South Carolina’s 2000 Republican presidential primary, which saved Bush’s faltering campaign after a loss in New Hampshire.

Campbell is survived by his wife, Iris, and two sons, Carroll III and Mike. Mike Campbell is running for lieutenant governor.