Robert L. Gavin

Robert Lee Gavin (May 22, 1916 – June 11, 1981) was an American attorney and politician.

Robert Lee Gavin
United States Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina
In office 1957–1958
President	Dwight D. Eisenhower
Preceded by	Edwin Monroe Stanley
Succeeded by	James E. Holshouser, Sr.
Personal details
Born	May 22, 1916 Roseboro, North Carolina, United States
Died	June 11, 1981
Political party	Republican
Education	University of North Carolina

Early life and education

Robert Gavin was born on May 22, 1916 in Roseboro, North Carolina, United States to Edward Lee Gavin and Mary Caudle Gavin. Soon thereafter his family moved to Sanford, where he attended public schools. He then attended the University of North Carolina, but left after the outbreak of World War II to serve in the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps.[1] After the war Gavin finished his education at the University of North Carolina School of Law and was admitted to the North Carolina State Bar in 1946.[1][2] He married Grace McNiell Blue and had three children with her.[1]

Career

In 1954 Gavin was appointed Assistant United States District Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina.[1] In 1957 he was made United States District Attorney for the Middle District,[3] temporarily filling in a vacancy created by the departure of his predecessor.[4] In 1958 he left the post to engage in private legal practice.[1]

In 1960 Gavin, a Republican, ran to become Governor of North Carolina in 1960. He faced Democrat Terry Sanford in the general election. Gavin denounced Sanford as a tool of the liberal leadership of the national Democratic Party and organized labor.[5] He identified himself as a conservative but denied being a reactionary. He called for a "fusion" of Democratic and Republican voters to support his candidacy, and promised to institute a civil service system to reduce the amount of patronage available to state politicians.[6] Though he said he would not make race an issue of his campaign, he criticized the national Democratic Party's support for civil rights.[7] He lost the gubernatorial race, 613,975 votes to Sanford's 735,258 votes,[8] but performed well in the traditionally Republican mountain region.[9] In 1962 he became Chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party.[2] Gavin initially announced that he would not seek the Republican nomination for the 1964 North Carolina gubernatorial election, but changed his mind at the state Republican convention and accepted the nomination that year after being urged to do so by his colleagues.[6] He lost the general election to Democrat Dan K. Moore, earning 606,165 votes to Moore's 790,343 votes.[10]

References

1. "Republicans To Open Local Headquarters". Statesville Record And Landmark. July 30, 1960. p. 1.
2. "Robert L. Gavin Will Visit Here Friday, Oct. 16". The Cherokee Scout. 75 (12). October 15, 1964. p. 1.
3. Bicentennial Celebration 1989, p. 208.
4. "Holshouser Is Nominated For Federal Court Post". Watauga Democrat. LXX (36). March 13, 1958. p. 1.
5. Eamon 2014, p. 70.
6. Yancey, Noel (April 21, 1964). "Gavin Bails GOP Out Of Trouble". The High Point Enterprise. Associated Press. p. 13.
7. Drescher 2000, p. 237.
8. North Carolina Manual 1965, p. 276.
9. McCoy, George (December 25, 1960). "State's Republican Stronghold Is In The Mountains". Asheville-Citizen Times. p. 37.
10. North Carolina Manual 1965, p. 277.

Works cited

• Bicentennial Celebration of the United States Attorneys (PDF), United States Department of Justice, 1989
• Drescher, John (2000). Triumph of Good Will: How Terry Sanford Beat a Champion of Segregation in and Reshaped the South. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 1-57806-310-8.
• Eamon, Tom (2014). The Making of a Southern Democracy: North Carolina Politics from Kerr Scott to Pat McCrory. UNC Press Books. ISBN 9781469606972.
• North Carolina Manual. Raleigh: North Carolina Secretary of State. 1965.