About G. K. Butterfield
George Kenneth Butterfield Jr. (born April 27, 1947) is an American lawyer, lobbyist, and retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 1st congressional district from 2004 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected in a special election after the resignation of Frank Ballance. His district was in the state's northeastern corner, which included all or parts of 19 counties. A longtime advocate of civil rights, Butterfield was appointed an associate justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court by Governor Mike Easley in 2001, retaining the position until 2003. He was a member of the Congressional Black Caucus and served as its chair from 2015 to 2017. In November 2021, Butterfield announced that he would not run for re-election in 2022. On December 30, 2022, Butterfield resigned from his position to take up a lobbying position. Butterfield was first elected to the House of Representatives in a special election on July 20, 2004, to fill the seat of Frank Ballance, who had resigned due to health issues. On July 20, 2004, Butterfield won the Democratic primary, entitling him to run in the November general election. In 1953, he became the first African American elected to the city council in Wilson and the first black elected official in eastern North Carolina since Reconstruction.
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