The Man From Manteo: Marc Basnight, Northeast N.C. and the Last Great Democratic Organization (2014)

Undergraduate: Alex Gottschalk

Faculty Advisor: James Leloudis
Department: American Studies

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For eighteen years, from 1993 through the end of 2010, Marc Basnight was the President Pro Tem of the North Carolina State Senate. During this period, Senator Basnight acted as a power-wielder, exerting influence on the entirety of government operations within the Tar Heel State. Just as important as his contributions to the state at large, however, came Senator Basnight¿s focus on securing improvements to the quality of life in his rural northeastern senate district. Thus, in this presentation, I examine the extraordinary story of Marc Basnight. In doing so, I will show how a poorly educated small-town son of the Coast rose to became one of the most influential persons in the state. Further, I will address how Senator Basnight never neglected to use this newfound status to better Northeast North Carolina, and how, in the face of more expensive and centralized legislative elections, Basnight built a political force, perhaps the state¿s last, within North Carolina.