Malone was born in Raleigh, N. C., and graduated from Campbell University. He is a Vietnam vet, along with years as a journalist for weekly newspapers in his home state where he was an award winning editorial writer. He retired after twenty years in human resources in North Carolina state government. He was the Democratic Party nominee for the U. S. House of Representatives in 2012. He has been married for 44 years, has an adult son, and a grandson, born in 2017.