James Thomas Broyhill (born August 19, 1927) is an American former businessman and Republican

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 ...

and

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from the state of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. He represented much of the Foothills region of the state in the House from 1963 to 1986, and served in the Senate for four months in 1986. He was born in Lenoir, North Carolina, the youngest son of North Carolina furniture magnate

James Edgar Broyhill James Edgar "Ed" Broyhill (May 5, 1892 – July 1, 1988) was an American industrialist and the founder of Broyhill Furniture Industries, Inc. Early life Broyhill was born on a small farm in Boomer Township located in Wilkes County, North Caro ...

. The senior Broyhill was a member of the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in fu ...

for 28 years. However, for most of that time the party was almost nonexistent in the former Confederacy, including North Carolina. After attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Jim Broyhill joined his father's company in 1945 and served in various capacities there until 1962. He was also active in several state industry associations, as well as a civic leader in Lenoir. He made his first run for elected office in 1962 for North Carolina's 9th Congressional District. Broyhill was the unexpected beneficiary of

redistricting Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral dist ...

after the 1960 census, which cost North Carolina a congressional district. 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 ...

saw a chance to get rid of the then lone Republican in the congressional delegation, Charles Raper Jonas of the

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

area, by re-drawing his district from under him. In the process, they shifted some strongly Republican areas into the 9th, a district where growing Republican influence had kept five-term

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Hugh Quincy Alexander Hugh Quincy Alexander (August 7, 1911 – September 17, 1989) was a Democratic U.S. Representative from North Carolina between 1953 and 1963. Born on a farm near Glendon, North Carolina in Moore County in 1911, Alexander attended local public ...

from establishing a foothold. At the same time, they shifted some strongly Democratic areas of the 9th into the new 8th District designed to defeat Jonas. However, the plan backfired disastrously when Jonas handily defeated 8th District incumbent A. Paul Kitchin and Broyhill defeated Alexander by just under one percentage point in an upset. Broyhill never faced another contest nearly that close again. Due to his very conservative stances on nearly all issues and an emphasis on taking good care of his constituents (most of whom had never been represented by a Republican before), he became very popular in his district. He won reelection by 11 points in the midst of the gigantic Democratic

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...

of 1964, in which Lyndon B. Johnson carried 87 of North Carolina's 100 counties. Broyhill won reelection 10 times thereafter, never receiving less than 54 percent of the vote and only winning by less than 10 points twice in what became the most Republican district in North Carolina. His district was renumbered the 10th in 1969. On June 29, 1986, Senator John P. East, who was not seeking re-election, committed suicide. Broyhill already had won the Republican nomination for the race to succeed East, and

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Jim Martin appointed Broyhill to the seat for the remainder of the term. The plan was to give Broyhill an incumbency advantage over the Democratic nominee, former Governor

Terry Sanford James Terry Sanford (August 20, 1917April 18, 1998) was an American lawyer and politician from North Carolina. A member of the Democratic Party, Sanford served as the 65th Governor of North Carolina from 1961 to 1965, was a two-time U.S. pre ...

. However, Sanford narrowly defeated Broyhill in November and took office immediately. Broyhill later served as chairman of the North Carolina Economic Development Commission and then as the state's Secretary of

Commerce Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...

. He retired from politics in 1991 but was appointed to the board of trustees of Appalachian State University two years later. Broyhill was inducted into the North Carolina Republican Party Hall of Fame and the Lenoir, North Carolina Post Office was renamed in his honor. He now lives in

Winston-Salem Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

with his wife, Louise Broyhill. He has a daughter, Marilyn Beach, and two sons, Ed and Phillip (died 2014). His daughter Marilyn and his son Ed also reside in Winston-Salem. He has six grandchildren: Elizabeth Broyhill Morris, James Broyhill, Penn Broyhill, Laura Beach Dugan, Lindsay Beach Grdina and Ashley Beach Brooks. His son Ed was a candidate for the Republican nomination in the 5th Congressional District in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

Notes

Works cited

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Broyhill, James Thomas 1927 births Living people People from Lenoir, North Carolina Republican Party United States senators from North Carolina Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina Jesse Helms State cabinet secretaries of North Carolina Conservatism in the United States