Jim Broyhill

Who is Jim Broyhill?

James Thomas "Jim" Broyhill is a Republican former U.S. Representative and Senator from the state of North Carolina. 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 J. E. Broyhill. The senior Broyhill was a member of the Republican National Committee 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 after the 1960 census, which cost North Carolina a congressional district. The Democratic-controlled General Assembly saw a chance to get rid of the then lone Republican in the congressional delegation, Charles Raper Jonas of the Charlotte area by 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 Hugh Quincy Alexander 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.