Bill Cobey
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William Wilfred (Bill) Cobey, Jr. (born May 13, 1939) is a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina.
Cobey was born in Washington, DC and grew up in the suburb of Hyattsville, Maryland. He is a graduate of Emory University, where he received a B.A. in Chemistry. Cobey also earned an M.B.A. in Marketing from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an M.Ed. from the University of Pittsburgh.
Cobey originally worked as a bank administrative assistant and then as a chemical salesman. In 1971, he became a sports marking manager. He was athletic director at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1976 to 1980. In the early 1980s, he was the president of his own corporation, Cobey & Associates.
In 1980, Cobey was an unsuccessful candidate for North Carolina Lieutenant Governor. Cobey was elected to represent the fourth district of North Carolina in the U.S. Congress in 1984. However, he was defeated in a bid for re-election in 1986 by David Price. After serving in Congress, Cobey joined the administration of Governor Jim Martin, first as Deputy Secretary of Transportation and then as Secretary of the Department of Environment, Health and Natural Resources. Since 1997, he has worked with local governments in North Carolina, helping them to compete for and receive grants from the federal government.
Bill Cobey served two terms (1999-2003) as Chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party. Under Cobey's leadership, the state Party established a sound financial base for the first time in its history, purchased a new headquarters building, recruited outstanding candidates and engineered Republican victories in 2000 and 2002. The statewide get out the vote effort in both 2000 and 2002 were by far the largest and most effective in the history of the state Party.[citation needed]
Cobey was one of the leading candidates for the Republican gubernatorial nomination to challenge Governor Mike Easley in the 2004 election. In July 2003, Cobey received the endorsement of former North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms in the Republican primary contest. However, in the July 2004 Republican primary, Bill Cobey was defeated in the primary with 26.7% of the vote (97,461 votes), placing third, behind nominee Patrick Ballantine (30.3% and 110,726 votes) and Richard Vinroot (29.9% and 109,217 votes).
As of 2007, Cobey directs the North Carolina campaign of presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. [1]
Bill lives in Durham with his wife, Nancy. They have a daughter, son, and three grandchildren.
