After attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Jim Broyhill joined his father's company in 1945 and served in various capacities there until 1962.

Broyhill believed there needed to be a more competitive election landscape in North Carolina, and that he could play a role in strengthening the Republican party by running for office himself.

The Democratic-controlled General Assembly saw a chance to get rid of the then lone Republican in the congressional delegation, Charles R. Jonas of the Charlotte area, by re-drawing his district from under him.

Due to his very conservative stances on nearly all issues and an emphasis on taking good care of his constituents (most of whom had never been represented by a Republican before),[citation needed] he became very popular in his district.

He won reelection by 11 points in the midst of the gigantic Democratic landslide of 1964, in which Lyndon B. Johnson carried 87 of North Carolina's 100 counties.

Broyhill won reelection 10 times thereafter, never receiving less than 54 percent of the vote and only winning by less than 10 points twice in what became the most Republican district in North Carolina.

Broyhill died at Arbor Acres United Methodist Retirement Community from complications from congestive heart failure in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on February 18, 2023, age 95.