# James L. Buckley **James Lane Buckley** (1923–2023) was a U.S. Senator from New York (1971–1977), elected on the Conservative Party of New York line in a three-way race against a liberal Republican (Charles Goodell) and a liberal Democrat (Richard Ottinger). He was the older brother of conservative-movement publicist [[William F. Buckley Jr.]] and was the only candidate elected to the U.S. Senate on the Conservative Party ticket in that party's history. After leaving the Senate, Buckley served in the Reagan administration as Under Secretary of State for Security Assistance (1981–1982) and as President of Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (1982–1985), before being appointed by [[Ronald Reagan]] to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in 1985, where he served until 2000. ## Significance for the KB Buckley is the lead plaintiff and case namesake in [[Buckley v. Valeo]] (1976), the Supreme Court decision that established the foundational constitutional framework for American campaign-finance law — money-equals-speech, contribution-limits-permitted, expenditure-limits-forbidden. His position was ideologically straightforward: the post-Watergate [[Federal Election Campaign Act]] Amendments of 1974 were unconstitutional restrictions on political speech, and the Court substantially agreed. Buckley's brother [[William F. Buckley Jr.]] (1925–2008) founded *National Review* and was the principal mid-century intellectual organizer of the American conservative movement. The two Buckleys represent two complementary modes of the same project: William the publicist-intellectual building the movement's ideological architecture, James the politician-litigant securing its constitutional framework. ## Key Dates - **March 9, 1923:** Born in New York City - **November 3, 1970:** Elected U.S. Senator from New York (Conservative Party line) - **January 2, 1975:** Files suit challenging FECA Amendments of 1974 — the case becomes *Buckley v. Valeo* - **January 30, 1976:** Supreme Court issues per curiam opinion in *Buckley v. Valeo* - **November 2, 1976:** Loses reelection to Daniel Patrick Moynihan - **1985–2000:** Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit - **August 18, 2023:** Dies at age 100 ## See Also - [[Buckley v. Valeo]] — the case - [[William F. Buckley Jr.]] — younger brother (William 1925–2008, James 1923–2023) - [[Federal Election Campaign Act]] — the statute Buckley challenged