James Thomas “Cotton Tom” Heflin (1869-1951) was an Alabama politician who served in the House of Representatives and the Senate as a Democrat. He was born in Louina, Alabama, to Dr. Wilson L. Heflin and LaVicie Catherine Phillips Heflin as one of twelve siblings. While he was an outspoken and often controversial political figure, he was also known as the the “Father of Mother’s Day.”

Like many of his Democratic colleagues, Heflin supported white supremacy and convict leasing, which contributed to his controversial status. He attended Southern University (now Birmingham Southern University) and eventually transferred to the Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Auburn University). He left college early to study law and to pursue a career in politics. Heflin went on to serve four years in the Alabama State Legislature, eighteen years as U.S. Representative from Alabama's Fifth District, and eleven years as a United States senator.

In 1938, at age sixty-nine, Heflin was a candidate in the Alabama Special Democratic Primary election alongside Joseph Lister Hill and Charles W. Williams. Hill won the election in a landslide with 62 percent of the vote. Following this election, Heflin did not run for office again. He worked for the Federal Housing Administration until 1942. He died on April 22, 1951 in Lafayette, Alabama.