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Jim Folsom Jr.

Jim Folsom Jr.
Jim Folsom Jr..jpg
50th Governor of Alabama
In office
April 22, 1993 – January 16, 1995
Preceded by Guy Hunt
Succeeded by Fob James
25th and 29th Lieutenant Governor of Alabama
In office
January 15, 2007 – January 17, 2011
Governor Bob Riley
Preceded by Lucy Baxley
Succeeded by Kay Ivey
In office
January 19, 1987 – April 22, 1993
Governor Guy Hunt
Preceded by Bill Baxley
Succeeded by Don Siegelman
Personal details
Born James Elisha Folsom Jr.
(1949-05-14) May 14, 1949 (age 67)
Montgomery, Alabama, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Marsha Guthrie
Alma mater Jacksonville State University
Religion Episcopalianism
Military service
Allegiance  Alabama
Service/branch Alabama National Guard
Years of service 1968-1970

James Elisha Folsom Jr. (born May 14, 1949) is an American Democratic politician who was the 50th Governor of Alabama from April 22, 1993 to January 16, 1995. He has also served as Lieutenant Governor of Alabama on two separate occasions.

Born in Montgomery, Alabama, he is the son of former First Lady of Alabama Jamelle Folsom and legendary two-term Alabama Governor James E. "Big Jim" Folsom Sr. Jim Folsom Jr. is therefore known as "Little Jim" even though he is well over six feet tall. In 1974, he graduated from Jacksonville State University, where he presently serves as a trustee.

During his first run for a political office, he lost the primary to incumbent Democratic Congressman Tom Bevill by an overwhelming margin. However he was elected to the Alabama Public Service Commission in 1978.

In 1980, he ran for the U.S. Senate and attacked the incumbent, Donald W. Stewart, as being too liberal for Alabama and called him a "puppet of the great Washington power structure." Although Stewart outspent Folsom with 500,000 to 75,000 USD, he very narrowly missed winning majority in the primary and lost in the runoff. He was re-elected to the Alabama Public Service Commission in 1982.

Folsom narrowly lost the next general election to Republican Jeremiah Denton, who was aided by the Ronald Reagan landslide, which helped Republican candidates across the country.

Folsom was elected Alabama Lieutenant Governor and served from January 19, 1987 to April 22, 1993 (being re-elected in 1990), where Folsom served as President and Presiding Officer of the Alabama State Senate and also served on the National Association of Lieutenant Governors. He served under Governor H. Guy Hunt, the first Republican Alabama Governor since Reconstruction. Hunt and Folsom also happen to be from the same (Cullman) county.


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