Leek faircloth

Leek faircloth

Duncan McLauchlin "Leek" Faircloth (born January 14, 1928 in Sampson County , North Carolina ) is a former American politician who represented the state of North Carolina as a Republican in the US Senate .

Early Years and Advancement in North Carolina

The young Leek Faircloth attended high school in Roseboro and then embarked on a career as a farmer . He was also active in real estate, mechanical engineering and car trading. As a farmer he followed the concept of factory farming and was financially very successful.

Faircloth took his first steps in politics as a member of the Democratic Party . He worked as a driver for US Senator W. Kerr Scott and in 1960 assisted Terry Sanford in his application for the office of governor of North Carolina. He thanked Faircloth for this by appointing him to the state motorway committee. In 1968 he campaigned for the governor's post for Robert W. Scott , who also won and made Faircloth chairman of the highway committee, which he remained until 1972. Under Governor Jim Hunt he held the office of Secretary of Commerce of North Carolina from 1977 to 1983.

In 1984 Faircloth aspired to become governor himself. However, he was defeated in the Democratic Primary by the Attorney General of North Carolina, Rufus L. Edmisten . This in turn lost to the Republican James G. Martin . Two years later, Faircloth first considered running for the Senate to succeed the late John Porter East , but withdrew it when ex-Governor Sanford entered the election campaign, who then also won the by-election against Jim Broyhill .

Switch to the Republicans

After 40 years in the Democratic Party, Faircloth joined the Republicans in 1990. With the support of Jesse Helms , he ran for the Senate election in 1992 and initially defeated Sue Myrick and Walter E. Johnston in the primary elections . Then he met in the actual election on the re-running Terry Sanford. He had supported Faircloth's failed candidacy for governor in 1984, but later turned against him with statements that Faircloth would have no chance against him in a state-wide election. The former Democrat described his former ally in the election campaign as a Liberal, who advocates more taxes and more government spending. Despite a weak appearance in a televised debate, Faircloth ultimately won the election with a 100,000 vote lead, replacing Sanford in Congress on January 3, 1993 .

After six years in office, Faircloth stood for re-election in 1998, where he met the Democrat John Edwards , the later candidate for the vice presidency at the side of John Kerry . Although he was the favorite for a long time, Faircloth was ultimately defeated by 47:51 percent; the difference was about 80,000 votes. On the night of his defeat, he was mocked by Marion Barry , the mayor of Washington, DC , with whom he had had heated discussions over the years about the political status of the federal district: “He was so busy, me and the residents of the District of Columbia for forgetting about North Carolina voters. Now he can go home and take care of the pigs again. Goodbye, Faircloth. "

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Washington Post: Sen. Faircloth: The Man DC Loved to Hate

Web links

• Leek Faircloth in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)