James Eubert Holshouser Jr. (October 8, 1934 – June 17, 2013) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 68th Governor of North Carolina from 1973 to 1977.

Born in Boone, North Carolina, Holshouser initially sought to become a sports journalist before deciding to pursue a law degree.

While in law school he developed an interest in politics and in 1962 he was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives where he focused on restructuring government and higher education institutions, and drug abuse legislation.

Made chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party in March 1966, he established the organization's first permanent staff and gained prominence by opposing a cigarette tax.

Holshouser ran for the office of Governor of North Carolina in 1972, winning the Republican nomination and narrowly defeating his Democratic opponent in the general election.

Though not empowered with veto power and facing a Democrat-dominated legislature, he cultivated a working relationship with Lieutenant Governor Jim Hunt.

Together, they backed the expansion of the state's kindergarten program and environmental legislation and unsuccessfully pursued the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.

People in Watauga County described the Holshouser family as "good livers", meaning they lived comfortably and had respectable social standing.

[5] He served as senior class president (he was elected unopposed), editor of the school newspaper, and was a member of the National Honor Society.

[20] Holshouser campaigned on a platform of raising teachers' salaries, reducing class sizes, expanding the public kindergarten program, building new roads, supporting a war on drugs, and opposing taxes on gasoline and tobacco.

[21] Despite the reservations of his wife, he authorized the broadcasting of an ad declaring his opposition to desegregation busing at the encouragement of his media consultant, Roger Ailes.

[1][23] Holshouser led in the traditionally-Republican mountain and western Piedmont counties, while also gaining a majority in the Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Raleigh, and Wilmington metro areas.

After months of study the board recommended 700 cost-cutting measures, including five-year license plates, use of compact cars by state agencies, and centralized printing services.

[29] To mitigate the effects of the 1973 oil crisis, he issued instructions to lower speed limits and reduce heating in government buildings.

[21] Concerned about citizen confusion and disillusionment with the increasing complexity of government, he created the Office of Governor's Ombudsman on March 21, 1973, to field questions and complaints from the public about state administration.

[16] He appointed Republican James H. Carson Jr. to serve as North Carolina Attorney General in August 1974 following Democratic incumbent Robert Burren Morgan's resignation[38] and appointed Republican Thomas Avery Nye Jr. to become North Carolina Commissioner of Labor in September 1975 to fill a vacancy created by the death of the previous Democratic incumbent, William C.

[40] With no veto power over the Democratic-dominated General Assembly, Holshouser tried to avoid political conflict with legislators except over explicitly partisan issues.

[26] Party association aside, Holshouser maintained a good relationship with the Assembly, as most of its members had known him when he was a state representative,[41] including Senate majority leader Gordon Allen and Speaker of the House James E.

[25] He enjoyed a good working relationship with Lieutenant Governor Jim Hunt, who held sway in the legislature, and during their first two years in office they minimized partisanship in dealing with each other.

[43] His budget also expanded funding for state parks[44] and he worked with Hunt to create the Coastal Area Management Act to control development along the Eastern Seaboard.

"[54] A feud began in June 1973 when one of Holshouser's close aides, Gene Anderson, fired several conservative Democrats from state office, even though they were ideologically similar to Helms' supporters.

[50] Republican Party chairman Frank Rouse, a conservative who had supported Gardner and Helms, visited Holshouser to ask him to fire Anderson.

[57] The governor continued to maintain good relations with Democratic legislators, but began experiencing more opposition from Helms' wing of the Republican Party.

[1] Helms supported the more conservative Ronald Reagan,[58] who Holshouser publicly appealed to, to drop out of the race, to preserve party unity.

"[59] The National Congressional Club, a political action committee associated with Helms, produced advertisements attacking Holshouser to bolster Reagan's position.

[34] Holshouser joined with Hunt and former governor Terry Sanford in 1977 in supporting the amending of the North Carolina Constitution to allow gubernatorial succession.

"[75] Journalist Rob Christensen wrote, "Few people played a greater role in turning North Carolina into a two-party state than Holshouser".

[76] Reflecting on his time in office, Holshouser said in an interview that his service proved that "North Carolina could operate for four years with a Republican governor without the world coming to an end and without causing a major political crisis or anything like that.