He is the son of Luther H. Hodges, who was Secretary of Commerce under John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson between 1961 and 1965, and the 64th governor of North Carolina.
[1] From 1962 to 1977, Hodges worked for North Carolina National Bank alongside Hugh McColl, eventually rising to the position of chairman.
[3] Hodges entered politics in 1978, running for the nomination of the Democrats in the United States Senate election in North Carolina, 1978.
He won the first round of the primary, with 40% of the vote, but, having failed to receive the 50% required to win on the first ballot, lost to populist North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance John Ingram with only 46% in the run-off.
In 2004, Hodges contributed more than $30,000 to Republican candidates including George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Senator Richard Burr.