James Evans is an American political executive and businessman who served as Chair of the

Utah Republican Party The Utah Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party in the U.S. state of Utah. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling all four of Utah's United States House of Representatives ...

from 2013 to 2017, the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

to serve in the role. Evans previously served as the first African-American Utah State Senator.

Early life and education

Evans was born and raised in

Orangeburg, South Carolina Orangeburg, also known as ''The Garden City'', is the principal city in and the county seat of Orangeburg County, South Carolina, United States. The population of the city was 13,964 according to the 2010 United States Census and declined to 12 ...

. He graduated from Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School before earning a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from

Tuskegee University Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature. The campus was d ...

Career

Evans served in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

, reaching the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. He owned a

payday lending A payday loan (also called a payday advance, salary loan, payroll loan, small dollar loan, short term, or cash advance loan) is a short-term unsecured loan, often characterized by high interest rates. The term "payday" in payday loan refers to ...

franchise called Chekline. Evans served as a member of the

Utah State Senate The Utah State Senate is the upper house of the Utah State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. The Utah Senate is composed of 29 elected members representing an equal number of senate districts. Each senate district is ...

from 2002 to 2004, representing the 1st district. After serving as Chair of the

for four years, Evans was defeated for re-appointment and succeeded by Rob Anderson. Evans had faced mounting pressure to resign amid a lawsuit against his business and growing financial debts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, James (Utah politician) Living people African-American state legislators in Utah Republican Party Utah state senators People from Salt Lake County, Utah State political party chairs of Utah United States Air Force officers Businesspeople from Utah Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School alumni Tuskegee University alumni 1962 births 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people