George Kenneth Butterfield Jr., commonly known as G.K. Butterfield, was born on April 27, 1947, in Wilson, North Carolina, to G.K. Butterfield Sr., a dentist, civil rights activist, founder of the local NAACP chapter, and the first Black alderman of Wilson. A longtime civil rights lawyer, Butterfield began his judicial career in 1989 as a Resident Superior Court judge in North Carolina, serving until 2001. He was then appointed by Governor Michael Easley to the First Division of the North Carolina Judicial Branch, followed by a brief stint as Justice of the North Carolina State Supreme Court (2001-2002) and as a Special Superior Court judge (2002-2004). Butterfield transitioned to federal politics, winning a special election in 2004 to represent North Carolina's 1st congressional district as a Democrat, succeeding Frank Ballance, and serving until his retirement in 2022. A former U.S. Representative and former Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, he was influential in the Democratic Whip operation and chaired subcommittees, leveraging his legal and judicial background. Post-Congress, he has worked as a lobbyist.