Career
A resident of Reidsville, North Carolina, he represented the state"s sixty-fifth House district, which includes constituents in Rockingham County, for eight terms. A graduate of the University of South Carolina (1962), Cole worked as a manager for Ford Motor Company until becoming an auto dealer in 1980. As of the 2009-2010 session, he was the co-chairman of the legislature"s Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee.
Cole was defeated for re-election to his House seat by conservative independent candidate Bert Jones on November 2, 2010.
In the 2012 election, Cole is running to attempt a comeback and return to his former seat.