Lewis Franklin (L.F.) Payne Jr. (born July 9, 1945) is an American businessman, politician and lobbyist who served as a member of 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 ...

from the Commonwealth of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

from 1988 to 1997. He served five terms representing the of the state, covering much of Southside Virginia.

Biography

Payne was born in

Amherst, Virginia Amherst (formerly Dearborn) is a town in Amherst County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,231 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Amherst County. Amherst is part of the Lynchburg metropolitan area. History Amherst was fo ...

. He is a graduate of the

Virginia Military Institute The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is a public senior military college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1839 as America's first state military college and is the oldest public senior military college in the U.S. In k ...

and is a veteran and former officer of the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

. He also earned an

M.B.A. A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

. Prior to entering Congress, he was the founder and president of Wintergreen Resort.

Congress

Payne was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the

100th United States Congress The 100th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 19 ...

, in a special election to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Representative Dan Daniel. Payne legislated as a conservative Democrat and was reelected to the four succeeding Congresses (serving from June 14, 1988, to January 3, 1997). In 1994, his share of the vote fell sharply. Payne retired from Congress in 1997 and ran for

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

in that same year. He lost a close general election contest to

John H. Hager John Henry Hager (August 28, 1936August 23, 2020) was an American politician who served as the 37th Lieutenant Governor of Virginia from 1998 to 2002. He was the first person with a disability to be elected to that office. He proceeded to act as ...

, failing to overcome the tide of

Jim Gilmore James Stuart Gilmore III (born October 6, 1949) is an American politician, diplomat and former attorney who served as the 68th governor of Virginia from 1998 to 2002. A member of the Republican Party, Gilmore also chaired the Republican Nation ...

's gubernatorial victory over Democrat

Don Beyer Donald Sternoff Beyer Jr. ( ; born June 20, 1950) is an American businessman, diplomat, and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, his district is located in Northern Virginia and includ ...

Later career

He then joined McGuireWoods Consulting, a Washington, D.C.–based government relations and lobbying firm associated with the Richmond-based law firm McGuireWoods, LLP.

Electoral history

*1988 – Payne was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives with 59.3% of the vote in a special election, defeating Republican Linda L. Arey; Payne was re-elected with 54.19% of the vote in the general election, defeating Republican Charles Robert Hawkins and Independent J.F. Cole. *1990 – Payne was re-elected unopposed. *1992 – Payne was re-elected with 68.9% of the vote, defeating Republican W.A. Hurlburt *1994 – Payne was re-elected with 53.28% of the vote, defeating Republican George C. Landrith.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Lewis F. Jr. 1945 births 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia Living people McGuireWoods people Members of Congress who became lobbyists People from Amherst, Virginia United States Army officers University of Virginia Darden School of Business alumni Virginia Military Institute alumni