NC Political Quiz - Part 1

While you're still in a political state of mind I thought I would throw a quiz at you? How strong is your knowledge of Tar Heel politics? I grew up in Morganton listening to political stories from my father and Senator Sam Ervin who headed up the Watergate hearings. My father and Sam's wife Margaret were first cousins. I remember many walks to the Burke County Courthouse just across the street from my parents store. There at the town square statewide political candidates would come calling on the locals. I recall getting a huge handshake from Dan Moore one autumn Saturday. Moore was from Canton, the mountain town with a foul smelling pulp mill. He was a real gentleman who impressed me with his down home nature. I was glad when he became governor. Plus, it was a honor many years later as a young television reporter to cover his funeral at Edenton Street United Methodist Church in Raleigh. Probably the most charismatic politician I met in Morganton was Skipper Bowles who would later lead the fund raising effort to build the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill. Bowles was blessed with a Southern grace that made you feel like you were the most important person in the world when you were around him. Senator Jesse Helms once told me I reminded him a lot of a "young Skipper Bowles" in Monroe where the two grew up together. I took that as a wonderful compliment.

Okay, here is the quiz. I think it's fairly tough. Let me hear your responses. I will check in later today with the correct answers. I will come up with a prize for the fifth person who gets all of these right.

1. Since 1973 three North Carolina governors have shared the same first name. Who are they?

2. Who were the first two African Americans elected to Congress from NC since Reconstruction?

3. What current and prominent state government leader was a Morehead Scholar at UNC - Chapel Hill?

4. What former candidate for governor served a subpoena on President Nixon at the White House?

5. What former US Senator once managed a textile mill in Saxapahaw?