Jerry Meek

Three and a half years later, he graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Duke, double majoring in Economics and Political Science.

Meek then won a fellowship to study at the University of Notre Dame, where he completed a master's degree in government.

At age 25, Meek was elected Chairman of the Cumberland County Democratic Party, an office he held while commuting from Fayetteville to Durham to attend Duke Law School.

In 2002, Meek returned to work for a Fayetteville firm, while running the Cumberland County Democratic Party's coordinated campaign for the fall of 2002 election.

In 2012, after four years as a partner at Poyner Spruill LLP, Meek opened his own law firm in the Charlotte area.