Green served in the
North Carolina House of Representatives from 1961 through 1976. He was elected lieutenant governor in 1976 after defeating
Howard Nathaniel Lee in a Democratic primary runoff. He was sworn in on January 8, 1977. In 1980, after a change to the
Constitution of North Carolina, Green became the first lieutenant governor elected to a second term. He defeated fellow former House Speaker
Carl J. Stewart, Jr. in the 1980 Democratic primary, and then went on to defeat Republican
Bill Cobey in the general election. Green was charged in 1983 with accepting a bribe from an
undercover FBI agent, but he was acquitted. The next year, he ran for
Governor of North Carolina but finished fifth in the Democratic primary behind
Rufus Edmisten. Green then threw his support to the Republican nominee,
Jim Martin, giving him critical backing among conservative Democrats in eastern North Carolina. Martin went on to win the election. ==Later life and death==