Melvin L. Watt (born August 26, 1945), American politician, has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1993, representing the Twelfth District of North Carolina (map). Born in Steele Creek, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Watt attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Yale University Law School. He served a single term in the North Carolina Senate (1985-1986), before returning to his law practice and running private business. He was elected to the House in 1992 and serves on the Financial Services Committee, the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary and the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee. In the 109th Congress, he is chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and is also a member of the NAACP. One of the most liberal Southern Democrats, Watt was elected to his seventh consecutive term in the 2004 Congressional elections, earning 67f the popular vote and defeating Republican Ada Fisher.
