Early Life and Career
Born in Montgomery, Alabama, he is the son of legendary two-term Alabama Governor James E. "Big Jim" Folsom, Sr. Despite being well over six feet tall, he is popularly known as "Little Jim" as a result. 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 to incumbent Congressman Tom Bevill in a Democratic primary by an overwhelming margin. However he was elected to the Alabama Public Service Commission in 1978 and re-elected in 1982.
In 1980, he ran for the U.S. Senate and defeated incumbent Donald W. Stewart in the Democratic primary. During a campaign Folsom attacked Stewart as being too liberal for Alabama and called him "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.
Folsom narrowly lost the 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.
Read more about this topic: Jim Folsom, Jr.
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