Current:Home > MyFormer North Carolina Sen. Lauch Faircloth dies at 95-LoTradeCoin
Former North Carolina Sen. Lauch Faircloth dies at 95
View Date:2024-12-23 22:28:42
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. Lauch Faircloth of North Carolina, a onetime conservative Democrat who switched late in his career to the Republicans and then got elected to Congress, died Thursday. He was 95.
Faircloth, who served one Senate term before losing to then-unknown Democrat John Edwards in 1998, died at his home in Clinton, said Brad Crone, a former campaign aide and close friend.
Years after an unsuccessful Democratic bid for governor in 1984, Faircloth switched to the GOP and ran in 1992 against U.S. Sen. Terry Sanford, a longtime friend and former political ally. Faircloth pulled off the upset, attacking Sanford as a big-spending liberal and benefiting politically from Sanford’s health problems in the campaign’s final weeks.
While in the Senate, the millionaire businessman and Sampson County farmer was known as one of the most partisan senators, blasting Bill and Hillary Clinton and calling for the dismantling of Cabinet departments and other federal agencies. He also got attention as a subcommittee chairman who oversaw the District of Columbia, taking on then-Mayor Marion Barry and taking away his powers.
He was eventually upstaged by the charismatic Edwards, 25 years his junior. Faircloth’s rough accent, halting speaking style and partial hearing loss didn’t help his public persona. Before the end of the 1998 campaign, Faircloth had fired his campaign consultant and tried to link Edwards to Bill Clinton and portray him as out of step with moderates and conservatives.
Faircloth left the statewide political stage after his defeat.
Faircloth was born in Salemburg, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) south of Raleigh. He took over the family farm when he was 19 after his father suffered a stroke. Four years later, he started a land-clearing business and expanded into other businesses. He was soon in the middle of big-time Democratic politics, volunteering for the campaigns of Gov. Kerr Scott and later Sanford, who was elected governor in 1960.
Sanford rewarded Faircloth with an appointment to the state Highway Commission, which he chaired later under Gov. Bob Scott. He was Gov. Jim Hunt’s commerce secretary from 1977 to 1983.
Faircloth almost lost his life during his own bid for governor. During a 1983 campaign trip in western North Carolina, the small plane he traveled in hit water on a grassy runway, crashed through trees and skidded into a river. Faircloth, Crone and two others got out of the plane and swam through burning gasoline to safety before the main fuel tank exploded.
Faircloth was putting together his own Senate bid in 1986 when his old friend Sanford entered the race, causing him to stand down. A few years later, he became a Republican, saying the Democratic Party had changed, not him.
He portrayed himself as the taxpayer’s prudent protector.
“For close to 50 years, I’ve been a businessman making a payroll on Fridays,” Faircloth said during his 1998 reelection bid. “I hope 50 years in business will bring a little common sense to Washington.”
But Faircloth’s viewpoints also drew criticism from environmentalists and gun control advocates. He later toned down his partisan rhetoric, but Faircloth had no answer in 1998 for Edwards’ toothy grin, boyish looks and verbal nimbleness as a lawyer. Edwards won by 4 percentage points.
Faircloth, who was divorced, is survived by a daughter, Anne. Funeral arrangements were incomplete late Thursday.
veryGood! (11494)
Related
- Multi-State Offshore Wind Pact Weakened After Connecticut Sits Out First Selection
- Explaining the latest heat-associated deaths confirmed amid record highs in Arizona’s largest county
- Big carmakers unite to build a charging network and reassure reluctant EV buyers
- Salmonella outbreak linked to ground beef hospitalizes 6 people across 4 states
- Army veteran reunites with his K9 companion, who served with him in Afghanistan
- Virginia athletics organization plans no changes to its policy for trans athletes
- Rob Thomas Reacts to Ryan Gosling's Barbie Cover of Matchbox Twenty's Push
- Guy Fieri Says He Was Falsely Accused at 19 of Drunk Driving in Fatal Car Accident
- Guns smuggled from the US are blamed for a surge in killings on more Caribbean islands
- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets with Russian defense minister on military cooperation
Ranking
- Cavaliers' Darius Garland rediscovers joy for basketball under new coach
- iPhone helps California responders find man who drove off 400-foot cliff, ejected from car
- 'Mother Undercover:' How 4 women took matters into their own hands to get justice
- What causes cardiac arrest in young, seemingly healthy athletes like Bronny James? Dr. Celine Gounder explains
- Why Kathy Bates Decided Against Reconstruction Surgery After Double Mastectomy for Breast Cancer
- Good as NFL's star running backs are, they haven't been worth the money lately
- DOJ asks judge to order Abbott to start floating barrier removal
- U.S. passport demand continues to overwhelm State Department as frustrated summer travelers demand answers
Recommendation
-
Former North Carolina labor commissioner becomes hospital group’s CEO
-
Summer School 3: Accounting and The Last Supper
-
AI, automation could kill your job sooner than thought. How COVID sped things up.
-
Mississippi can’t restrict absentee voting assistance this year, US judge says as he blocks law
-
'Dangerous and unsanitary' conditions at Georgia jail violate Constitution, feds say
-
'I just prayed': Oxford school shooting victim testifies about classmates being shot
-
UFO hearing key takeaways: What a whistleblower told Congress about UAP
-
USWNT vs. the Netherlands: How to watch, stream 2023 World Cup Group E match