John P. East (May 5, 1931 - June 29, 1986) was a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of North Carolina from 1981 until his suicide in 1986. A professor of political science at East Carolina University and a protege of prominent conservative Senator Jesse Helms, East ran for the Senate in 1980 and narrowly defeated incumbent Democrat Robert Burren Morgan in the Republican landslide that year. In the Senate, he earned a reputation as a staunch social conservative, especially on the issue of abortion. In 1986, he announced that he would not seek re-election, and would instead return to his teaching position. That summer, East, suffering from cancer, committed suicide at his North Carolina home.
On Friday, June 27th, Senator East completed work on the book galleys of his collected essays. He met with Supreme Court nominee Antonin Scalia. Then, commitments met, the Senator drove to Greenville with his aide, John Petree, arriving home about noon on Saturday. Petree stayed with the Senator until daughter Kathryn arrived for a visit. Kathryn left her father “in good spirits” around midnight that night. Petree returned to East's house on Sunday morning, June 29th. He found the front door ajar. The Senator was dead in his garage, an apparent suicíde, a victim of carbon monoxide poisoning.
North Carolina Governor James G. Martin appointed James Thomas Broyhill to serve out the rest of East's term. Broyhill was defeated in his election bid in November 1986 by Terry Sanford.
