Kenneth Bridgeforth Spaulding (born November 29, 1944) is an American politician and attorney from

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 ...

. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

from

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

, Spaulding served in the

North Carolina House of Representatives The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the President pro-tem in the North Ca ...

from 1978 to 1984.

Early life and career

Spaulding is the son of Asa T. Spaulding Sr., former president of

North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company NC Mutual (originally the North Carolina Mutual and Provident Association and later North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company) was an American life insurance company located in downtown Durham, North Carolina and one of the most influential Afr ...

, and

Elna Spaulding Elna Virginia Bridgeforth Spaulding ( Bridgeforth; January 23, 1909 – January 7, 2007) was an American civic leader and politician. She served on the Board of Commissioners for Durham County from 1974 to 1984, the first African American wom ...

, Durham County's first female

county commission A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the county government in some states of the United States; such commissions usually comprise ...

er. His grandfather,

George Ruffin Bridgeforth George Ruffin Bridgeforth (October 5, 1873 – January 30, 1955) was an American farmer and educator. He was the first African American to attend the University of Massachusetts Amherst (then Massachusetts Agricultural College), graduating in 190 ...

, was a former

Tuskegee Institute 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 de ...

administrator and Alabama farmer. Spaulding is a graduate of Howard University (cum laude, 1967), where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government with minors in Business Administration and Sociology. He received his Juris Doctor from the

University of North Carolina School of Law The University of North Carolina School of Law is the law school of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Established in 1845, Carolina Law is among the oldest law schools in the United States and is the oldest law school in North Carol ...

in 1970.

Political career

Spaulding served in the

from 1978 to 1984. He ran for the

United States House of Representatives 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

to represent in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

, challenging incumbent Democrat

Tim Valentine Itimous Thaddeus "Tim" Valentine Jr. (March 15, 1926 – November 10, 2015) was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina from 1983 to 1995. Early life Valentine was born on March 15, 1926, in Ro ...

in the primary. Spaulding lost, taking 60,535 votes (47.88%) to Valentine's 65,893 (52.12%). Spaulding ran for the

to represent in

, challenging incumbent Democrat

in the primary. Spaulding lost, taking 60,535 votes (47.88%) to Valentine's 65,893 (52.12%). Ken Spaulding for Governor

Spaulding later served on the

North Carolina Board of Transportation The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is responsible for building, repairing, and operating highways, bridges, and other modes of transportation, including ferries in the U.S. state of North Carolina. History The North Carolina ...

under

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 ...

Mike Easley Michael Francis Easley (born March 23, 1950) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 72nd governor of North Carolina from 2001 to 2009. He is the first governor of North Carolina to have been convicted of a felony. A member of ...

. He announced in 2013 that he would run for the Democratic nomination in the

2016 North Carolina gubernatorial election The 2016 North Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2016, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate and elections to the United States House of Representatives ...

. He lost the primary to

Roy Cooper Roy Asberry Cooper III (born June 13, 1957) is an American attorney and politician, serving as the 75th governor of North Carolina since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th attorney general of North Carolina from 20 ...

, who ended up winning the election.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spaulding, Kenneth Living people Democratic Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives North Carolina lawyers Politicians from Durham, North Carolina African-American state legislators in North Carolina 1944 births Howard University alumni University of North Carolina School of Law alumni 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people Spaulding family