Lauch Faircloth

An active Democrat for many years, Faircloth began his political career as a driver for North Carolina U.S. Senator Kerr Scott, who rewarded his young chargé by helping him get out of service in the Korean War via a hardship discharge. An early supporter of Terry Sanford's 1960 gubernatorial bid, Sanford rewarded him with an appointment to the state highway commission. After helping Robert W. Scott in his bid for the governorship in 1968, Scott named Faircloth chairman of the commission, which he served as from 1969 to 1972, and he later went on to serve as Secretary of Commerce during Jim Hunt's time as governor. Faircloth aspired to the governor's office himself, but was defeated in the Democratic primary in 1984. During his 1984 gubernatorial campaign, he and three other passengers narrowly avoided death when a small plane they were on crashed and exploded after they had escaped, which a survivor credited to Faircloth forcing the plane's door open.[3] He also considered running for the Senate seat being vacated by Senator John East in 1986, but was discouraged by the entry of Sanford, the eventual victor, into the race.

In 1990, after 40 years as a Democrat, Faircloth switched his party registration and began preparations to seek the Republican Senate nomination in 1992. Enjoying the support of Senator Jesse Helms's political organization, Faircloth defeated Charlotte mayor Sue Myrick and former congressman Walter E. Johnston III in the primary. His opponent in the general election was his former ally Terry Sanford, who, although helping Faircloth raise money for his failed gubernatorial bid in 1984, provoked Faircloth's anger two years later when Sanford allegedly denigrated Faircloth's earlier bid for the Senate with alleged comments dismissing Faircloth's chances in a statewide contest against him.[4] Faircloth attacked Sanford as a tax-and-spend liberal, and despite a mediocre performance in a televised debate that September, Faircloth won the seat by a 100,000-vote margin.

Faircloth served a single term from 1993 to 1999. He once joked that he wanted to be known as the conservative senator from North Carolina; in comparison to the state's other seat held by the arch-conservative Helms. [5]

In the Senate, Faircloth chaired the Appropriations Subcommittee on the District of Columbia, on which he stripped Washington, D.C. mayor Marion Barry of his authority to deal with a large deficit, handing it to a financial control board created by Faircloth, and placing several city agencies into a receivership. He was a staunch proponent of a work requirement for welfare recipients, supported cutting benefits to single mothers under 21 and to recipients with more children, and championed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act despite it not including some of his suggestions. He also served on the Senate Whitewater Committee, on which he wanted to subpoena Hillary Clinton. [3]

Campaigning for reelection in 1998, Faircloth lost to Democrat John Edwards. Despite originally being the marginal favorite, Faircloth was beaten by Edwards by 51.2% to 47.0%—a margin of some 83,000 votes. In conceding to Edwards, Faircloth admitted to his supporters, "I feel that I let you down...because we should have won."[6]

That night, Barry said Faircloth had been "so busy picking on me and the residents of the District of Columbia that he neglected his constituents in North Carolina. Now he can go back and deal with the pigs. Goodbye, Faircloth."[7]