Short Biography: Cal Cunningham

Cal Cunningham is a Lexington native who last year competed for the Democratic Party nomination for U.S. Senate, coming in second place in a primary run-off. He is an attorney in private practice, specializing in commercial litigation.

During 2008, Cal served as a military prosecutor at the Multi-National Corps-Iraq where he coordinated efforts to hold contractors accountable for serious crimes and fraud. During his tour, he was government counsel on the first court-martial of a contractor under military law since 1968. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the General Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award for his service.

In November 2000, Cal was elected one of North Carolina’s youngest state Senators, representing Davidson, Rowan and Iredell Counties. He served as Vice Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and on the Senate’s education committees. He did not run for re-election after redistricting in 2002. He has since served on the Executive Committee of the North Carolina Democratic Party.

In addition to a Juris Doctor from UNC Law, Cal’s education includes a Masters of Science from the London School of Economics. He also holds a Bachelors degree with Honors from UNC-Chapel Hill. At UNC he served as the Student Body President and later as the Chief Justice of the Student Supreme Court.

He serves as a Governor’s appointee to the Board of Trustees of the Davidson County Community College, and has served as a public member of the North Carolina Banking Commission and as an Elder of the First Presbyterian Church of Lexington.

Cal and his wife Elizabeth have two children – Caroline (9) and Will (8) and a real "Yellow Dog" Democrat, a Golden Retriever named Davidson.

For more information:

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cal_Cunningham
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cal_cunningham#/