Harvey Cloyd Philpott

In 1934 Philpott was elected to the Lexington School Board. He later attributed his interest in politics to his time on the school board. He served on the board until 1945, acting as chairman for the last two years. In 1945 he was elected Mayor of Lexington. He held the office for four years, and thereafter served on the Lexington Utilities Committee until 1956.[1]

Philpott as a Representative, circa 1953

In 1953, Philpott was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives.[1] Over the course of his tenure he served on various House committees, including those on Agriculture, Education, Roads and Highway Safety, Appropriations, and Finance.[8]

On June 21, 1955, Governor Luther H. Hodges added Philpott to the North Carolina Advisory Committee on Education—commonly dubbed the Pearsall Committee after its chairman, Thomas J. Pearsall. The committee's task was to create the state's response to the United States Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education to mandate the racial integration of public schools.[9] It released its recommendations to the governor in early 1956, advising the state to respect the legality of the Supreme Court's decision but urging the government to refrain from compelling white children to attend integrated schools and establish grants to allow for white children to enroll in segregated white schools.[10] In July 1956, Governor Hodges, heeding the advice of the Pearsall Committee, called the North Carolina General Assembly into special session to discuss its proposals. Philpott joined three other legislators in introducing a joint resolution "of condemnation and protest against oppressive usurpation of power by the Supreme Court of the United States."[11]

In 1957, Philpott urged the legislature to adopt a state minimum wage law, arguing that the previous adoption of a federal minimum wage law had spurred economic growth in the American South.[12]

Although many conservatives and businessmen were opposed to the measure, Philpott's support helped ensure that a minimum wage statute was adopted.[1] In 1958, he chaired the Commission of Reorganization of State Government and served as finance director for the North Carolina Democratic Party during that year's election cycle.[13] He supported much of Hodges' legislative program during the 1959 Assembly session,[14] but vacated his House seat later that year.[13]

On January 29, 1960, Philpott declared his candidacy for the office of Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina. In his announcement he declared that he would seek to raise the average income of state residents to match the national earnings average.[8] Terry Sanford, who was launching a candidacy to become Governor of North Carolina, had considered making Philpott his campaign manager until Philpott announced his own bid for office. The two became friends over the course of their respective bids, and Philpott endorsed Sanford's plans to increase spending on public education.[15] Philpott enjoyed the tacit support of Sanford's campaign manager, Bert Bennett, and the retiring Governor Hodges.[16] In the Democratic primary election he faced C. V. Henkel. He earned 238,353 votes to Henkel's 175,150, thus securing the Democratic nomination.[17] In the general election he faced Republican S. Clyde Eggers. He won 765,519 votes to his opponent's 532,445 votes.[18] Sanford also won his election and became Governor. The two were sworn-in on January 5, 1961.[19][20]

As Lieutenant Governor, Philpott had the responsibility of making committee appointments in the North Carolina Senate and had considerable influence over the body's workflow.[21] Instead of honoring the tradition of awarding committee chairs to senators with seniority, he appointed first-term Senator Thomas Jackson White—his friend—as Chairman of the Committee on Finance.[22] The 1961 session of the General Assembly had the responsibility of redrawing Congressional districts throughout the state in wake of the 1960 United States census. Philpott made an agreement with presumptive with Speaker of the State House of Representatives Joseph M. Hunt Jr. before the opening of the session to appoint special committees to draft relevant bills on the matter in each respective house. Contrary to precedent, the committees consisted of 12 Democrats each with no Republicans represented.[23]

Philpott acted as Sanford's main ally in the Senate,[22] and Sanford later credited him with helping to convince the General Assembly to raise taxes to increase education funding.[24] He hoped to support Philpott in a bid to succeed him as Governor in 1964.[25] Philpott went on a trip to Hawaii during the last week of the 1961 legislative session, leaving the responsibility of presiding over the Senate to the president pro tempore.[26]