Longtime N.C. congressman briefly served in the U.S. Senate
RALEIGH, N.C. — Jim Broyhill, a longtime North Carolina Republican congressman who served briefly in the U.S. Senate to fill a vacancy before losing a bid to keep the job, died early Saturday at age 95, his family said.
Broyhill, a scion of the Broyhill Furniture business in the North Carolina foothills that brought jobs and prestige to the region, died at Arbor Acres retirement home in Winston-salem, according to his son, Ed. He had suffered from congestive heart failure for years that worsened in recent months, his son said Saturday.
The moderate Republican served more than 23 years in the House. He was considered a reliable conservative who helped North Carolina turn into a competitive two-party state, particularly as the GOP made national gains in the 1980s with Ronald Reagan.
In a video interview in honor of receiving a state award in 2015, Broyhill recalled the dearth of Republicans on the first state ballot he filled out in 1948.
“I was determined that I’m going to do what I could to see if we could not develop a two-party system in our state,” Broyhill said. “And I think I had a great deal to accomplish that, but with the help and the leadership of many other people.”
GOP Gov. Jim Martin appointed Broyhill to replace Republican Sen. John East when East died by suicide in June 1986.
Broyhill had already won the GOP primary a month earlier against David Funderburk, who had the support of Sen. Jesse Helms’ national organization that backed hardline Republicans.
The Senate appointment was viewed as an asset to help Broyhill against former Gov. Terry Sanford, a Democrat and outgoing Duke University president. Sanford narrowly defeated Broyhill in two elections that November — one to serve out the rest of 1986 and another for the next six years.