Howard Coble
| Howard Coble | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina's 6th district |
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In office January 3, 1985 – January 3, 2015 |
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| Preceded by | Robin Britt |
| Succeeded by | Mark Walker |
| Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives | |
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In office 1979–1985 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
John Howard Coble March 18, 1931 Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | November 3, 2015 (aged 84) Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Alma mater |
Appalachian State University Guilford College University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Religion | Presbyterianism |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 United States
|
| Service/branch | United States Coast Guard |
| Years of service | 1952–1956 1977–1978 1960–1982 (USCGR) |
| Rank |
 Captain
|
| Battles/wars | Korean War |
John Howard Coble (March 18, 1931 – November 3, 2015) was a U.S. Representative for North Carolina's 6th congressional district, serving from 1985 to 2015. He was a member of the Republican Party. The district includes all or portions of ten counties in the northern-central part of the state, including portions of Greensboro and Durham.
Coble was born in Greensboro, North Carolina, the son of Johnnie E. (Holt) and Joseph Howard Coble. After high school, he initially attended Appalachian State University, but after a year joined the United States Coast Guard, serving for over 5 years and staying on as a reservist for an additional 18 years. Upon discharging from military service, he attended Guilford College, from which he received a history degree. He was a member of the Epsilon Iota Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Coble then moved on to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned a degree in law.
After graduating from college, Coble first worked as an insurance agent. He then spent nearly 20 years as a practicing attorney, and he was also Secretary of Revenue under North Carolina Governor James Holshouser. In 1979, Coble was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives, serving until his election to Congress.
Coble was first elected to Congress in 1984, narrowly defeating Walter Cockerham in the primary 51%–49%. In the general election, he defeated one-term Democratic incumbent Robin Britt 51%–49%. Coble was likely the beneficiary of long coattails from Ronald Reagan, who carried the district by a nearly 2-to-1 margin. In 1986, he defeated Britt in a rematch, which was an even closer 50.03%–49.97% and Coble won by only 79 votes (closest margin of victory that year). Since then, he has never won re-election with less than 61% of the vote. In July 2008, Coble won the Republican primary unopposed and became North Carolina's longest-serving Republican U.S. congressman, surpassing former U.S. Congressman Jim Broyhill (who was also elected to 12 terms but left the House in July 1986 to fill a vacant U.S. Senate seat). Coble announced in 2013 that he would not run for another term in 2014, and would retire after 30 years in Congress.
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