James Holshouser

James Eubert Holshouser Jr. was born on October 8, 1934, in Boone, North Carolina, United States, to James E. Holshouser and Virginia Dayvault Holshouser. His father was an active member of the Republican Party who attended party meetings and served on the North Carolina State Board of Elections and as a United States Attorney under President Dwight Eisenhower. His mother was a registered member of the Democratic Party, though she eventually left the party before becoming a Republican in 1972. People in Watauga County described the Holshouser family as "good livers", meaning they lived comfortably and had respectable social standing. James Jr. was a sickly child and suffered from asthma and periodic afflictions of pneumonia, preventing him from pursuing an interest in sports. Holshouser enrolled at Appalachian High School in 1948. He served as senior class president (he was elected unopposed), editor of the school newspaper, and was a member of the National Honor Society. Graduating in June 1952, and married Patricia Hollingsworth on June 17, 1961. They had one daughter, Virginia, born in 1963. == Early political career ==

Though politics was a "casual part of life" in his household while growing up, Holshouser paid little interest in pursuing a political career for much of his early life. He grew more interested in public affairs while at law school, particularly in court reform. During this time he began attending sessions of the North Carolina General Assembly. In 1962 he was elected chairman of the Watauga County Young Republicans. Holshouser was elected in November 1962 to the North Carolina House of Representatives representing Watauga County, campaigning on a platform of court reform, low taxes, and creating an automobile inspection law. Throughout his tenure he focused on restructuring government and higher education institutions, and drug abuse legislation. Made chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party in March 1966, Holshouser directed Republican Richard Nixon's 1968 presidential campaign in North Carolina One of his friends, Harry S. Dent Sr., offered to help him get appointed as general counsel for the United States Navy, but he turned the offer down. == Gubernatorial career ==

Election Holshouser declared his candidacy for the office of Governor of North Carolina in the 1972 election on November 15, 1971. Suffering from kidney disease, he ran in spite of his doctor's concerns about his health. In the Republican primary he faced Jim Gardner, a conservative U.S. Representative who hailed from eastern North Carolina and had run as the Republican candidate in 1968. Holshouser focused his campaign on the traditionally Republican counties in the mountainous west and the urban Piedmont. Gardner won the first primary by a small margin, 84,906 votes to Holshouser's 83,637, while minor candidates took 2,040 votes. Holshouser called for a runoff, and in the second round voter participation dropped, giving Holshouser a victory by 1,782 votes. Holshouser campaigned on a platform of raising teachers' salaries, reducing class sizes, expanding the public kindergarten program, building new roads, supporting a war on drugs, and opposing taxes on gasoline and tobacco. Despite the reservations of his wife, he authorized the broadcasting of an ad declaring his opposition to desegregation busing at the encouragement of his media consultant, Roger Ailes. He narrowly defeated Democrat Skipper Bowles in the general election, 767,470 votes to 729,104, likely benefitting from the coattails of Republican Richard Nixon's large victory in North Carolina in the presidential election. and he later estimated that the changes saved the state government $80 million annually. and appointed Republican Thomas Avery Nye Jr. to become North Carolina Commissioner of Labor in September 1975 to fill a vacancy created by the death of the previous Democratic incumbent, William C. Creel. He also filled two vacancies on the North Carolina Court of Appeals and four on the North Carolina Superior Court. Legislative actions With no veto power over the Democratic-dominated General Assembly, Holshouser tried to avoid political conflict with legislators except over explicitly partisan issues. Party association aside, Holshouser maintained a good relationship with the Assembly, as most of its members had known him when he was a state representative, including Senate majority leader Gordon Allen and Speaker of the House James E. Ramsey. He enjoyed a good working relationship with Lieutenant Governor Jim Hunt, who held sway in the legislature, and during their first two years in office they minimized partisanship in dealing with each other. In some instances the legislature attempted to weaken the powers of his office but Allen, Ramsey, and Hunt—all aspiring to be governor one day—stopped these challenges. The legislature rejected his 1973 proposal to authorize governors to run for a consecutive term. == Later life ==

After leaving office, Holshouser returned to the practice of law, Out of office he served on several steering and advisory committees for Republican gubernatorial and senatorial candidates. In 1984 he campaigned for James G. Martin's election as governor In 1997 he and Sanford opened a law firm together. He served on Pat McCrory's political transition team after the latter was elected governor. His body was cremated and a funeral was held for him on June 21 at Brownson Memorial Presbyterian Church in Southern Pines. ==Legacy and honors==

A building bearing Holshouser's name was erected at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in 1975 and a stretch of U.S. Route 321 outside of Boone was named for him in 1986. Professorships were endowed in his honor at Appalachian State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1997 and 2012, respectively. His official desk is kept at the governor's office in the Department of Administration building. Historian Karl Campbell described his record as falling "well within the parameters of the moderate progressive Democratic governors who preceded him." Journalist Rob Christensen wrote, "Few people played a greater role in turning North Carolina into a two-party state than Holshouser". Reflecting on his time in office, Holshouser said in an interview that his service proved that "North Carolina could operate for four years with a Republican governor without the world coming to an end and without causing a major political crisis or anything like that." Hunt referred to him as one of North Carolina's "better angels". ==References==

• • • • • • • • • • - See profile at Google Books • • • • • • • • • • • ==External links==