Kenneth Bridgeforth Spaulding (born November 29, 1944) is an American politician and attorney from

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. A member of the Democratic Party from

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

, Spaulding served in the

North Carolina House of Representatives The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives, Speaker of the House, who holds powers si ...

from 1978 to 1984.

Early life and career

Spaulding is the son of Asa T. Spaulding Sr., former president of

North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company NC Mutual (originally the North Carolina Mutual and Provident Association and later North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company) was an American life insurance company located in downtown Durham, North Carolina and one of the most influential Af ...

, and Elna Spaulding, Durham County's first female

county commission A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the county government in some states of the United States. A county usually has three to fiv ...

er. His grandfather, George Ruffin Bridgeforth, was a former

Tuskegee Institute Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU; formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute) is a Private university, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It was f ...

administrator and Alabama farmer. Spaulding is a graduate of

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

(cum laude, 1967), where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government with minors in Business Administration and Sociology. He received his Juris Doctor from the

University of North Carolina School of Law The University of North Carolina School of Law (branded as Carolina Law) is the law school of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Established in 1845, it is one of the oldest law schools in the United States and is the oldest law sch ...

in 1970. He represented notable clients and served on the O. J. Simpson dream team. He went on to represent many national developers of major residential and commercial developments in Durham, North Carolina.

Political career

Spaulding served in the

from 1978 to 1984. He ran for 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 ...

to represent in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, challenging incumbent Democrat Tim Valentine in the primary. Spaulding lost, taking 60,535 votes (47.88%) to Valentine's 65,893 (52.12%). Ken Spaulding for Governor

Spaulding later served on the

North Carolina Board of Transportation The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is responsible for building, repairing, and operating highways, bridges, and other modes of transportation, including ferries in the U.S. state of North Carolina. History The North Carolina ...

under

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Mike Easley Michael Francis Easley (born March 23, 1950) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the List of Governors of North Carolina, 72nd governor of North Carolina from 2001 to 2009. He is the first governor of North Carolina to have been ...

. He announced in 2013 that he would run for the Democratic nomination in the

2016 North Carolina gubernatorial election The 2016 North Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2016, concurrently with the 2016 United States presidential election, 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as 2016 United States Senate elections, elections to the Unit ...

. He lost the primary to

Roy Cooper Roy Asberry Cooper III ( ; born June 13, 1957) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 75th List of governors of North Carolina, governor of North Carolina from 2017 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), De ...

, who ended up winning the election.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spaulding, Kenneth Living people Democratic Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives North Carolina lawyers Politicians from Durham, North Carolina African-American state legislators in North Carolina 1944 births Howard University alumni University of North Carolina School of Law alumni 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American politicians Spaulding family 20th-century members of the North Carolina General Assembly