A small-town accountant and minister pulled off an upset in this month’s primary over a six-term incumbent known for crossing party lines.
Republicans will soon have a harder time overriding Gov. Josh Stein’s vetoes. Three moderate Democrats who helped give House Republicans what they call a “working supermajority” all lost their primaries.
And while two of those races in Charlotte got a lot of attention, the third race in a cluster of three rural eastern North Carolina counties was more of a surprise. Rep. Shelly Willingham, D-Edgecombe, has survived previous attempts to unseat him in a primary (he got nearly 80% of the vote against a challenger in 2024).
And while Stein endorsed a challenger to Rep. Carla Cunningham in Charlotte, he didn’t make any endorsements in the House District 23 race.
Willingham’s campaign raised five times as much money as his challenger, Patricia Smith. But on primary day, Smith won 56% of the vote. She won a majority in Martin and Bertie counties, while Willingham won his home county of Edgecombe.
Smith will face Republican Brent Roberson in November's election, but the district favors Democrats.
WUNC News spoke with Smith to learn more about her campaign for this week’s episode of the WUNC Politics Podcast.
This conversation has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
Tell me about your professional background and your involvement in the community organizations you've worked with.
“I have been an accountant for over 41 years. I have been a minister for over 20-some years now, and so I'm very active in the community. I am part of the Martin County Democratic Party organization, on a brief suspension right now for campaigning. I serve as the treasurer on that committee. In past years, I have been part of the NAACP, the Martin County Community Action board, and I ran for mayor a couple of years ago.”
What made you decide to run for state House this year?
“Our district has been at the bottom on every list for quite some time now, and so I feel like someone needs to jump in and try and see if we can pull things back up to par. Martin County is operating without a hospital, and I think that has been put on the back burner. We're losing lives, having to travel far distances just to get Medicare and healthcare.”
The district includes three of the lower-wealth counties in eastern North Carolina. What do you think the legislature needs to do to help improve the local economy in your area of the state?
“First of all, we’ve got to get a budget. I think that there is money there. There has been money over the past years that has been allotted. It just has not been sent to our area.”
Your primary got a lot of attention outside the district because the incumbent was known for occasionally voting with Republicans on veto overrides. I’m curious if that was something that you brought up in your campaign for this seat.
“Yes, I feel like he was not a team player, and I also feel like he was deceiving the people by running as a Democrat and then switching over and voting with the Republicans.”
He was the only Democrat who voted with Republicans on allowing some private school employees to carry concealed guns on campus. Is that something that came up in your campaign at all?
“I'm very concerned about our school system in the state of North Carolina, period. We're at the bottom. And I really feel like if we don't do something quickly, then we won't have a public school system. He just voted to put guns into the school systems, and so where does that leave the safety of our children? What if one of those children get their hands on the gun? What if one of those (school) volunteers that doesn't have anything to lose comes in a rage?”
Another bill Willingham supported was backed by Duke Energy to remove some of the carbon reduction targets that the state had. Is that something that you would have been opposed to?
“I really don't agree with the way that Duke is handling things right now. Let me just put it this way: I agree with economic development, but I agree with good economic development. I don't agree with things that are going to cause a health hazard. I don't agree with things that are going to be price gouging that's going to cost us more money.”
Listen to the full conversation with Smith on the WUNC Politics Podcast.
