North Carolina New Members 2023

Rep.-elect Don Davis (D-N.C.-1)

DATE OF BIRTH: Aug. 29, 1971
RESIDENCE: Snow Hill, N.C.
OCCUPATION: state senator
EDUCATION: B.S., U.S. Air Force Academy; M.S., Central Michigan University, M.A., Ed.D., East Carolina University
FAMILY: wife, Yuvonka Davis; three children

• Democrat Don Davis will represent North Carolina’s 1st District after besting his Republican challenger, Sandy Smith. The seat was left open after incumbent Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D) decided not to run for reelection.  

Davis is a veteran and following his graduation from the United States Air Force Academy he was commissioned into the Air Force where he served for eight years. He was responsible for coordinating Air Force One operations at Joint Base Andrews. 

Davis returned to North Carolina as an assistant professor of aerospace studies at East Carolina University while stationed at Air Force ROTC Detachment 600.

He has served as the mayor of Snow Hill, N.C., and was the youngest person to hold the position, after being elected when he was only 29. He then launched his first bid at the state Senate in 2008 and has served six terms. 

— Camdyn Bruce

Rep.-elect Valerie Foushee (D-N.C.-4)

DATE OF BIRTH: May 7, 1956
RESIDENCE: Hillsborough, N.C.
OCCUPATION: state senator
EDUCATION: B.A., University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
FAMILY: husband, Stan Foushee; two children

• Valerie Foushee defeated Republican Courtney Geels to become the new congressional representative for North Carolina’s 4th District. The seat was left open after Rep. David Price (D) chose to retire.

Foushee is the oldest of six children born to teenage parents who worked multiple jobs to make ends meet.

She worked for 21 years as an administrator for the Chapel Hill Police Department. But she says it was her volunteer work at her children’s elementary school that made her realize kids, especially Black and brown kids, needed someone to represent them and inspired her to make a successful run for the school board.

Foushee would go on to be the first Black woman elected to the Orange County Board of Commissioners and eventually serve in the North Carolina state House and state Senate.

Legislatively, Foushee supports expanding civil rights for the LGBTQ community, women and immigrants. 

— Camdyn Bruce

Rep.-elect Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.-11)

DATE OF BIRTH: Sept. 13, 1960
RESIDENCE: Flat Rock, N.C.
OCCUPATION: business owner
EDUCATION: attended Blue Ridge Community College
FAMILY: wife, Teresa Edwards; two children

• Chuck Edwards will serve as the new congressman for North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District after beating Democratic challenger Jasmine Beach-Ferrara. The district seat was left open after Edwards defeated Rep. Madison Cawthorn in the Republican primary.

Edwards was born and raised in western North Carolina, and he got his first taste of the business world at the age of 16 when he began working at a McDonald’s in Hendersonville. Years later, he purchased the McDonald’s franchise where he began, along with other locations in Henderson, Transylvania and Haywood counties. 

Politically, Edwards served three terms as a North Carolina state senator.

Some of Edwards’s legislative priorities include strengthening security at the southern border, balancing the budget by supporting a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution and helping the U.S. to become energy independent. 

— Camdyn Bruce

Rep.-elect Wiley Nickel (D-N.C.-13)

DATE OF BIRTH: Nov. 23, 1975
RESIDENCE: Cary, N.C.
OCCUPATION: state senator, attorney
EDUCATION: B.A., Tulane University; J.D., Pepperdine University
FAMILY: wife, Caroline Nickel; two children

• Wiley Nickel is the new congressional representative for North Carolina’s 13th District, edging out Trump-backed Republican challenger Bo Hines. Nickel’s win marks the first time in a decade that a Democrat has represented the swing district. The seat was left open after incumbent Rep. Ted Budd (R) decided to run for Senate.

Nickel is a criminal defense attorney and has previously worked in several district attorney’s offices. Nickel also has political experience working for two White House administrations, including as campaign staff for former President Obama. During his time working for Obama, he learned that finding common ground and building coalitions is the way to get real results for hardworking American families, according to his campaign site.

Since 2019, Nickel has served as the state senator for North Carolina’s 16th District. As state senator, he authored a bill to improve child literacy and to put a nurse in every public school. He also fought to pass bipartisan legislation to expand rural broadband. 

— Camdyn Bruce

Rep.-elect Jeff Jackson (D-N.C.-14)

DATE OF BIRTH: Sept. 12, 1982
RESIDENCE: Charlotte, N.C.
OCCUPATION: state senator, Army National Guard member
EDUCATION: B.A., M.A., Emory University; J.D., University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
FAMILY: wife, Marisa Jackson; three children

• Jeff Jackson will represent North Carolina’s 14th District after besting Republican challenger Pat Harrigan. The newly added 14th District, which encompasses western Charlotte, was created after population growth was found in the 2020 census.

Jackson is a veteran who served in Afghanistan. He continues to serve today as a major in the Army National Guard. Currently, he is in his 19th year of military service.

Jackson attended law school at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill with help from the G.I. Bill and went on to serve as the assistant district attorney in Gaston County, where he tried more than 100 cases.

Politically, Jackson became the second-youngest person elected to the North Carolina state Senate in 2014. As a state senator, Jackson has fought to reform the criminal justice system and  expand Medicaid, and he has displayed a fierce commitment to ending gerrymandering in the state. 

— Camdyn Bruce