James Carson Gardner (born April 8, 1933) is an American businessman and politician who served as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

(1967–1969) and as the 30th

Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina The lieutenant governor of North Carolina is the second-highest elected official in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is the only elected official to have powers in both the legislative and executive branches of state government. A member o ...

(1989–1993).

Early life

Gardner was born in

Rocky Mount, North Carolina Rocky Mount is a city in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, Edgecombe and Nash County, North Carolina, Nash counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The city's population was 54,341 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it ...

. He went to the public schools and

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

. Gardner served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

from 1953 to 1955.

Business career

In May 1961, Gardner, along with Joseph Leonard Rawls, Jr., opened the first franchise store of the fast food restaurant Hardee's in

. Later, in 1969, he bought the troubled

Houston Mavericks The Houston Mavericks were a charter member of the American Basketball Association (ABA). They played in the upstart league's first two seasons, from 1967 to 1969. Their home arena was the Sam Houston Coliseum. In 1947–48, there was an unrela ...

of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

and moved them to North Carolina a year later as the

Carolina Cougars The Carolina Cougars were a basketball franchise in the American Basketball Association that existed from 1969 through 1974. The Cougars were originally a charter member of the ABA as the Houston Mavericks in 1967. The Mavericks moved to North Ca ...

Political career

Active in

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politics from the days the party barely existed in North Carolina, Gardner first made a splash when he ran for Congress in 1964 and nearly defeated 30-year Democratic incumbent Harold D. Cooley, the powerful chairman of the

United States House Committee on Agriculture The U.S. House Committee on Agriculture, or Agriculture Committee is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The House Committee on Agriculture has general jurisdiction over federal agriculture policy and oversight of s ...

. In 1966, Gardner (by then chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party) toppled Cooley by a shocking 13-point margin to represent a district that included

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

as well as his home in Rocky Mount. He was an unsuccessful candidate for

Governor of North Carolina The governor of North Carolina is the head of government of the U.S. state of North Carolina. The governor directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander in chief of the military forces of the state. The current governor, ...

in 1968, 1972, and 1992. In both 1968 and in 1992, he won the Republican nomination, but lost to Democrats Robert W. Scott and

Jim Hunt James Baxter Hunt Jr. (born May 16, 1937) is an American politician and retired attorney who was the List of governors of North Carolina, 69th and 71st Governor of North Carolina (1977–1985, and 1993–2001). He is the longest-serving governo ...

, respectively. In 1972, he lost the nomination to Jim Holshouser, the first of only two Republican governors of North Carolina in the 20th century.

Lieutenant Governor

In 1988, Gardner defeated Democrat

Tony Rand Anthony Eden Rand (September 1, 1939 – May 1, 2020) was an American attorney and politician who served as a member of the North Carolina General Assembly from 1981 to 1989 and again from 1995 to 2009. Early life Rand was born in southern Wake ...

and became the first Republican elected lieutenant governor since

Charles A. Reynolds Charles Albert Reynolds (November 10, 1848 – July 2, 1936) was a civil engineer and North Carolina Republican politician who served as the eighth Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina from 1897 to 1901 under Governor Daniel L. Russell. ...

, who served from 1897 to 1901. Gardner served from January 1989 to January 1993, during the second term of Republican Governor

James G. Martin James Grubbs Martin (born December 11, 1935) is an American organic chemist and politician who served as the 70th governor of North Carolina from 1985 to 1993. He was the third Republican elected to the office after Reconstruction, and the ...

. In response to the election of Republican Gardner, the Democratic-controlled

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

transferred many of the powers of the Lieutenant Governor over to the

President Pro Tempore A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase ''pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being". ...

of the

North Carolina Senate The North Carolina Senate is the upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The term of office for e ...

Political activity after retirement

In September 2011, Gardner endorsed the (ultimately unsuccessful) 2012 candidacy of Wake County Commissioner

Tony Gurley Tony Gurley (born April 3, 1956) is an American businessman and political figure from North Carolina, currently serving as chief operating officer for the Office of State Budget and Management. He served on the Wake County Board of Commissioners ...

for

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

. As an "elder

statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...

," Gardner has been called one of the "Four Jims" of the North Carolina Republican establishment, the others being former Governors Holshouser and Martin and former U.S. Sen.

Jim Broyhill James Thomas Broyhill (born August 19, 1927) is an American former businessman and United States Republican Party, Republican United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative and United States Senator, Senator from the state of North ...

. (Holshouser died in 2013) In January 2013, Gardner served as master of ceremonies at the

inauguration In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugu ...

ceremony for newly elected Gov.

Pat McCrory Patrick Lloyd McCrory (born October 17, 1956) is an American businessman, politician and radio host who served as the 74th governor of North Carolina from 2013 to 2017. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 53rd Mayor ...

, Lt. Gov.

Dan Forest Dan Forest (born October 15, 1967) is an American politician who served as the 34th lieutenant governor of North Carolina from 2013 to 2021. He is the son of former congresswoman Sue Myrick. An architect by trade, he was the Republican nominee ...

and other members of the

North Carolina Council of State The North Carolina Council of State is the collective body of ten elective executive offices in the state government of North Carolina, all of which are established by the state constitution. The Council of State includes the Governor, Lieut ...

. The ceremony celebrated the return of Republicans to the governor's office for the first time since Gardner's defeat in 1992. Forest also became the first Republican Lieutenant Governor since Gardner (Democrats Dennis Wicker, Beverly Perdue, and

Walter Dalton Walter H. Dalton (born May 21, 1949) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 33rd Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina. A member of the United States Democratic Party, Democratic Party, he served six terms in the state senate bef ...

served in the post after Gardner). At age 79, Gardner came out of retirement when McCrory appointed him chairman of the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission (a full-time position) in 2013.

References

External links

, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Jim 1933 births American Basketball Association executives American food industry businesspeople Businesspeople from North Carolina Lieutenant Governors of North Carolina Living people Military personnel from North Carolina North Carolina State University alumni People from Rocky Mount, North Carolina Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina