Lewis F. Payne, Jr.
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Lewis Franklin Payne, Jr. (born July 9, 1945) is a former member of the United States House of Representatives from the Commonwealth of Virginia. He served the 5th District of the state, which covers much of Southside Virginia.
Payne was born in Amherst, Virginia. He is a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and is a veteran and former officer of the U.S. Army. He also earned holds an M.B.A. from the University of Virginia. Prior to entering Congress, he was the president of a small engineering firm.
Payne was elected as a Democrat to the One Hundredth United States Congress, by special election to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Representative Dan Daniel and reelected to the four succeeding Congresses (serving from June 14, 1988 to January 3, 1997). He is the former chairman of the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs.
Payne retired from Congress and ran for Lieutenant Governor in 1997. He lost a very close general election contest to John H. Hager, failing to overcome the tide of Jim Gilmore's gubernatorial victory over Democrat Don Beyer.
