Joseph Melville Broughton Jr. (November 17, 1888 – March 6, 1949) was an American politician who served as the 60th governor of North Carolina from 1941 to 1945.

[1] The North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources describes Broughton as the typical white moderate of the time.

[4] Winstead himself later pleaded guilty to assault with intent to commit rape and was sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

He spurned criticism from the NAACP and claimed that racism had no impact on North Carolina's judicial system.

[1]Broughton was among twelve nominated at the 1944 Democratic National Convention to serve as Franklin D. Roosevelt's running mate in the presidential election that year.

[7] In 1948, Broughton was elected to the United States Senate, after defeating William B. Umstead, an appointed incumbent, in the Democratic primary.

Appearing healthy, Broughton suddenly collapsed from a heart attack and died in Washington, D.C., on March 6, 1949.

Governor W. Kerr Scott appointed Frank Porter Graham to fill his vacant office until the next election.