Claude Allen was former Sen. Jesse Helms' spokesman during Helms' 1984 race against Jim Hunt. Allen criticized Hunt for his connections "with the queers."

The remark came up in 2003 when Bush nominated Allen for the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. Democrats blocked the nomination.

Allen graduated from Raleigh's Sanderson High School, UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University's law school. He got his start in politics with Bill Cobey's campaign for Congress in 1982.

From Staff Reports