Background
Galifianakis, Nick was born on July 22, 1928 in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Son of Mike Galifianakis and Sophia G. Kastrinakis.
United States Representative from North Carolina
Galifianakis, Nick was born on July 22, 1928 in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Son of Mike Galifianakis and Sophia G. Kastrinakis.
Galifianakis 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, he was admitted to the bar and practiced law in Durham. In 1960, he became an assistant professor of business law at Duke and was elected to the North Carolina General Assembly in 1961. Galifianakis left both positions when elected to the United States Congress in 1966.
Foreign his first term, he represented the 5th District, which stretched from his home in Durham through Winston-Salem all the way to Stokes County on the Virginia border.
However, after the state was forced to conduct a mid-decade redistricting for the 1968 elections, he was placed in the 4th District, a much more compact district stretching from Durham through Chatham County to Raleigh. Galifianakis sought the Democratic Party nomination for the seat held by Senator B. Everett Jordan in the 1972 election, and defeated him in the primary.
He also wasn"t helped by several conservative Democrats defecting to Helms. Ultimately, Helms pulled away and defeated Galifianakis by eight points.
Galifianakis, like most Southern Democrats, was significantly hurt by Richard Nixon"s gigantic landslide in the presidential election.
Two years later Galifianakis sought the Democratic nomination for the United States. Senate in 1974 but lost overwhelmingly to Robert Morgan, the state"s attorney general, by a total of 50% to 32% with the rest scattered amongst other candidates. After leaving Congress, he resumed his law practice, which continues to this day. The column is written by the younger Nick"s ex-wife, Carolyn Hax.
He is also the uncle of comedian Zach Galifianakis.
Member of Chamber of Commerce, North Carolina State & American Bar Assns, Durham Company &14th judicial District Bar Associations, Kiwanis.
Married Lousie Cheatham Ruggles. Children: Stephenie, Katherine, Jon Mark.