by Mary Hopper
As you see the rushed decisions and their far reaching, and sometimes unintended, consequences being generated in Raleigh, we hope you have allowed some time to educate yourself on the state legislative races that will be decided on November 6. Even better, we hope you are contributing time and money to your district races for NC House and Senate. Among other reasons, there are a number of strong women running.
Which is Your District?
A visit to the local board of elections website (MeckBOE.org is an easy shortcut) will let you put in your home address and learn which are your NC House and Senate districts. That website also has the candidates’ contact information as well as, if available at filing time, any email and/or websites. A Google search might reveal any website that was built after filing since the BOE website might not be updated. The Charlotte Women’s March website posts forum information as it becomes available. Hearing from candidates in person as well as posing your own questions can be invaluable so go when you can. The League of Women voters often have televised forums. Look for schedules and attend or tune in.
Who’s Running for NC Senate?
Mecklenburg has five seats in the NC Senate. All are contested, suggesting a growing recognition of the role of the General Assembly since in past elections many have sailed back to Raleigh with no opposition. Three of the five seats have women nominees. They include Nora Trotman (Republican)Â who is running against incumbent Jeff Jackson (Democrat)Â in District 37. In District 40, incumbent Joyce Waddell is being challenged by Republican Bobbie Shields. Natasha Marcus (D) is trying to oust Jeff Tarte (R) from his District 41 seat. (link to Observer article on Marcus/Tarte race) After defeating Joel Ford, Mujtaba Mohammed, the Democratic nominee, faces Republican Richard Rivette in 38. Incumbent Dan Bishop (Republican) faces Democratic nominee Chad Stachowitcz in District 39. (Link to Observer OpEd on Bishop/Stachowitcz race.)
Who’s Running for NC House?
Again there has been some turnover with the defeat of Rodney Moore and the retirement of long-time state representative Beverly Earle. With the exception of Kelly Alexander in District 107, all seats are contested. Two Republican women are challenging Democratic male incumbents. Three Democrat women incumbents are running for reelection and three Democrats are challenging male Republican incumbents. If you want to see more women get elected, these races should be of interest. Here’s the rundown.
In 88, Mary Belk (D) is facing a Republican challenge from Ty Turner and, in 92, Chaz Beasley (D) faces Debbie Ware (R). Incumbent John Bradford (R ) in 98 faces a challenge from Christy Clark (D). (Link to Oberserver article on Clark/Bradford race.) Nasif Majeed (D) defeated incumbent Rodney Moore in district 99 and faces a challenge from Joshua Niday (R). Incumbent John Autry (D) is facing off with Nancy Campbell (R).
Many of you met Carolyn Logan of the Black Women’s Caucus at the December event honoring Mayor Vi Lyles. Logan won the May primary to replace retiring Beverly Earle and is running against Steve Mauny (R). Long-time District 102 representative Becky Carney (D) will face Tyler Norris (R) in November. In what may be one of the most high profile races, Rachel Hunt (D) is trying to unseat Republican incumbent Bill Brawley in 103. Yes, she’s the daughter of former governor Jim Hunt. (Link to Observer article on Hunt/Brawley race.)
The final four races find Brandon Lofton (D) trying to unseat incumbent Andy Dulin (R) in 104. In 105, incumbent Scott Stone (R) is facing Wes Harris (D) and incumbent Carla Cunningham (D) is being challenged by Geovani Opry Sherow (R) in 106. Finally incumbent Representative Kelly Alexander (D) has no opposition so is in effect reelected in 107.
CWM is fortunate to have a number of partner groups that share their research and advocacy information. As many of you who contributed to them know, for women running for state legislature none is better than Lillian’s List.  Their profiles of the women they have endorsed are excellent. Better yet, they offer an easy way to contribute to the races of both new and incumbent candidates.
Again, check back often as we will be adding addtional links to articles on the races as they are published.
Thank you so much for this informative info.
For more information on how to empower women and grow our economy so that families have better choices, please go to http://www.voterivette.biz As a long-time champion of small business, Richard Rivette understands both sides of the issues, and how increased revenue can be generated from local growth so we can fund higher teacher pay, affordable housing, eliminate food deserts, and provide for our elderly, disabled, and our children.
While he agrees with the lofty ideals of his opponent, he knows that in order to reach those goals we have to increase our economic growth level to fund those projects, and not just increase taxes which will further drive companies out of North Carolina.