James Kee (April 15, 1917 – March 11, 1989) was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

for

West Virginia's 5th congressional district West Virginia's 5th congressional district is an obsolete district existing from 1903 to 1973. While the district's bounds were changed over the years, for most of its existence it was focused on Bluefield, West Virginia, Bluefield and the coal ...

from 1965 to 1973, succeeding his mother Elizabeth Kee. His father

John Kee John Kee (August 22, 1874 – May 8, 1951) was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the United States House of Representatives from 1933 until his death in Washington, D.C., in 1951. Biography He was born in G ...

served in the same House seat from 1933 to 1951.

Life and career

Kee was born in

Bluefield, West Virginia Bluefield is a city in Mercer County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 9,658 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Bluefield micropolitan area extending into Virginia, which had a populatio ...

. He was the son of

, who represented the Bluefield-based

5th District District 5, 5 District or 5th District may refer to: Europe * District 5 (Zürich) * District 5, Düsseldorf * V District, Turku * Districts of Malta#District 5, District 5, an electoral district of Malta * Districts of Malta#District 5 2, Distric ...

from 1933 until his death in 1951, and Elizabeth Kee, who succeeded her husband in Congress and served from 1951 until 1965. James Kee served as his mother's administrative assistant from 1953 to 1965. When his mother decided not to run for re-election in 1964, he ran for his mother's old seat and won, serving in the 89th through the 92nd U.S. Congress from January 3, 1965, to January 3, 1973. Kee voted in favor of the

Voting Rights Act of 1965 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights move ...

and

Civil Rights Act of 1968 The Civil Rights Act of 1968 () is a Lists of landmark court decisions, landmark law in the United States signed into law by President of the United States, United States President Lyndon B. Johnson during the King assassination riots. Titles ...

. After West Virginia lost a seat in the House of Representatives as a result of the 1970 U.S. Census, Kee's 5th District was merged with the

Huntington Huntington may refer to: Places Canada * Huntington, Nova Scotia New Zealand * Huntington, New Zealand a suburb in Hamilton, New Zealand United Kingdom * Huntington, Cheshire, England * Huntington, East Lothian, Scotland * Huntingto ...

-based 4th District, represented by fellow Democrat

Ken Hechler Kenneth William Hechler (September 20, 1914 – December 10, 2016) was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he represented West Virginia's 4th congressional district in the U.S. House of Rep ...

. The state legislature intended to force Hechler, a firm opponent of the Democratic Party machine, out of office; indeed, the new district contained 65% of Kee's former territory even though it retained Hechler's district number. However, Hechler made the most of his strong union ties and routed Kee in the primary. Kee was a resident of

Fayetteville, West Virginia Fayetteville is a town in and the county seat of Fayette County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,887 at the 2020 census. Fayetteville lies adjacent to the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve and is directly south of th ...

, until his death in

Montgomery, West Virginia Montgomery is a city in West Virginia, United States, along the Kanawha River. Most of the city is in Fayette County, West Virginia, Fayette County, with the remainder in Kanawha County, West Virginia, Kanawha County. The population was 1,280 at ...

, on March 11, 1989, at the age of 71.

References

James Kee
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 Politics of the United States, American political figures and List of United States political families, political families, along with other informa ...

United States Army Air Forces officers People from Fayetteville, West Virginia Politicians from Bluefield, West Virginia 1917 births 1989 deaths Walsh School of Foreign Service alumni Military personnel from Bluefield, West Virginia Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from West Virginia 20th-century American Episcopalians 20th-century West Virginia politicians 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives {{WestVirginia-politician-stub

Life and career

See also

References