Nick Galifianakis (politician)

Nick Galifianakis (July 22, 1928 – March 27, 2023) was an American politician, military veteran, and lawyer who served three terms as a Democratic U.S. Congressman from North Carolina from 1967 to 1973. He served in the North Carolina House of Representatives from 1961 to 1967.

Early life
Galifianakis was born in Durham, North Carolina, the son of Greek immigrants Sophia (née Kastrinakis) and Mike Galifianakis. He attended local public schools and then Duke University, earning a bachelor's degree in 1951 and a law degree in 1953.

After serving in the United States Marine Corps from October 1953 to April 1956, Galifianakis entered the Marine Corps Reserves, retiring as a major. He was admitted to the bar and practiced law in Durham. In 1960, he became an assistant professor of business law at Duke.

State legislature
In 1966, he was elected to the first of three consecutive terms in the North Carolina House of Representatives. During his service in the state legislature, he was a leader in North Carolina’s modernization of the state’s judicial system.

U.S. Congress
In 1966, Galifianakis was elected to represent NC's 5th congressional district in the United States Congress. After the state was forced to conduct a mid-decade redistricting for the 1968 elections, he was placed in NC's 4th congressional district, a much more compact district stretching from Durham through Chatham County to Raleigh. He was reelected to the House in 1968 and 1970. Galifianakis voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1968, but was a supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment and opposed the Vietnam War.

Rather than seek a fourth term in the House, Galifianakis instead sought the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat held by B. Everett Jordan in the 1972 election, defeating him in the primary. While Galifianakis led his Republican challenger, former television commentator Jesse Helms, by a substantial margin for most of the campaign, Helms closed the gap by tying Galifianakis to his party's presidential nominee George McGovern and with the late-campaign slogan "Jesse Helms: He's One of Us," which some perceived as a reference to Galifianakis's Greek heritage. Galifianakis knew that McGovern was unpopular in his state and tried to distance himself from him. His prospects were also damaged when several conservative Democrats defected to Helms. Helms defeated Galifianakis by eight points in the general election.

Galifianakis sought the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate in 1974. He lost in the primary election, 50–32%, to Robert Morgan, the state's attorney general.

Later career
After leaving politics, Galifianakis returned to his law practice in Durham and retired in his mid-80s.

Personal life and death
Galifianakis and his wife Louise had two children.

His nephew Nick Galifianakis is a cartoonist.

His nephew Zach Galifianakis is an actor and comedian.

Galifianakis died on March 27, 2023, at age 94, in Raleigh, North Carolina, following several years of suffering from Parkinson's disease.