Cal Cunningham
James Calvin Cunningham III is an American politician, lawyer, and veteran who served as the North Carolina State Senator from the 23rd district from 2001 to 2003. A member of the Democratic Party, he is a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army Reserve. After an unsuccessful primary campaign for the United States Senate in the 2010 election, Cunningham became the Democratic nominee in the 2020 election.
Early life and education
Cunningham was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and grew up in Lexington, North Carolina. He attended Vanderbilt University before transferring to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He graduated from UNC in 1996 with a bachelor's degree in political science and philosophy. Cunningham received a Master of Science in public policy and public administration from the London School of Economics. He then earned a Juris Doctor in 1999 from University of North Carolina School of Law.During the summer of 1993, Cunningham attended American University and interned on Capitol Hill for a subcommittee chaired by Senator Carl Levin.
Career
State Senate
In November 2000, Cunningham was elected to represent the 23rd Senate District of the North Carolina General Assembly. At the time of his election, he was North Carolina’s youngest legislator and represented parts of Davidson, Rowan and Iredell Counties. After the campaign, another candidate challenged Cunningham’s residency. The challenge was denied by the local and state Boards of Elections, North Carolina Superior Court, and the North Carolina Court of Appeals. The North Carolina Supreme Court later refused to grant a stay against the earlier decision of the Court of Appeals.In the Senate, Cunningham served as Vice Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and on the Education Appropriations, Policy and Joint Oversight Committees. He did not run for reelection after the 23rd district was split into three Republican-leaning districts by redistricting.
Kilpatrick Townsend
In 2004, after serving in the North Carolina Senate, Cunningham joined the Kilpatrick Townsend law firm. From 2003 to 2004 he was at the Wallace & Graham law firm.U.S. Army Reserve
Cunningham was commissioned in the Army Reserve, Judge Advocate General's Corps in 2002 and has been mobilized for two active duty tours. In the Reserve, he serves with an airborne unit at Fort Bragg.In 2007, Cunningham was mobilized by XVIII Airborne Corps and served as the senior trial counsel, Multi-National Corps–Iraq. He was lead counsel in the first court-martial of a contractor/civilian under the Uniform Code of Military Justice since 1968. For his service in Iraq, Cunningham was awarded the Bronze Star Medal. He also received the General Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award.
In 2005, Cunningham also served with XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg as a Special Assistant United States Attorney.
Cunningham was assigned to work with a special operations task force in Afghanistan in 2011. He is a graduate of the Judge Advocate Officer Advanced Course, Airborne School and the Officer Basic Course.
Boards and commissions
Since 2003, Cunningham has served as an appointee of the Governor on the Board of Trustees of Davidson County Community College. He also served as an appointee of the Governor on the North Carolina Banking Commission. He is a former vice chair of the Governor's Crime Commission.2010 Senate campaign
In 2010, Cunningham ran for the U.S. Senate seat held by Richard Burr. Other candidates in the May 4 Democratic primary included Elaine Marshall and Ken Lewis. Retired NATO Supreme Allied Commander General Wesley Clark endorsed Cunningham, saying that he would be "the first veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to serve in the U.S. Senate." Cunningham also received the endorsement of the state's largest organization of teachers, the North Carolina Association of Educators. Cunningham finished in second place in the primary, but since no candidate received 40% of the vote, he advanced to a runoff with the first-place finisher, Marshall. He lost the runoff election on June 22, 2010.WasteZero
In 2013 Cunningham joined the environmental services company WasteZero as vice president, government affairs and general counsel. WasteZero helps support pay-as-you-throw waste reduction systems, which municipalities in North Carolina and elsewhere have debated implementing. Cunningham stopped acting as the company's vice president and general counsel on March 20, 2020.On May 3, 2020, WasteZero was approved for a PPP loan betwen $1 million and $2 million. Cunningham supported PPP but said it needed better oversight and to do better at reaching minority-owned businesses.
2020 Senate campaign
In November 2018, Cunningham filed as a potential candidate for lieutenant governor of North Carolina in 2020. On January 8, 2019, Cunningham declared his candidacy in the Democratic primary. He withdrew on June 17, 2019, to run for the United States Senate instead.Awards, honors, community service
Cunningham was selected as one of the Jaycees' Outstanding Young North Carolinians and received the group's Distinguished Service Award. In 2007, he was selected as one of the Triad's Forty Leaders Under Forty.In 2009, Cunningham was awarded the General Douglas MacArthur Award for Leadership as one of the outstanding company grade officers in the Army, including for his service in Iraq.
During college at UNC-Chapel Hill, Cunningham was inducted into the Golden Fleece Honorary Society and the Order of the Grail-Valkyries.
In 2007, Cunningham was selected for a Marshall Memorial Fellowship and traveled to Belgium, France, Italy, Denmark, and Poland to meet with government and civic leaders about Trans-Atlantic security, combating Islamic extremism, and terrorism.
Cunningham has received a Pro Bono Impact Award and recognition from Legal Aid of Forsyth County for legal representation of victims of domestic violence and of tenants in disputes with their landlords.