Meet the Freshmen Headed to the N.C. General Assembly

When the North Carolina General Assembly convenes next year, there will be at least 33 new faces among the 170 legislators who will propose, draft, and vote on state policies.

Riding the massive blue wave of last Tuesday’s midterm election, 24 of the newcomers are Democrats. Their success in House races, where many overtook Republican incumbents, helped their party secure a majority in the chamber for the first time since 2010. In the Senate, Democrats picked up four seats to bring the chamber’s split to a likely 26-24 Republican advantage.

A handful of races—one in the Senate where an incumbent Republican currently leads, and five in the House where would-be freshmen Democrats lead—remain too close to call and could head to recounts. They are not included in the totals for this story.

The Democrats will be joined by eight new Republicans—one in the Senate and seven in the House—who either beat members of their party in the March primary or are succeeding legislators who did not run for reelection. Sen.-elect Sam Page of Rockingham County, for instance, ousted longtime Senate leader Phil Berger in the primary, ensuring a significant shakeup to the party’s leadership for the upcoming session.

One newcomer doesn’t belong to either party: Unaffiliated candidate April Montgomery, a small business owner who has worked in the energy and environmental industries for more than two decades, will represent Lee and Moore counties in the House. According to General Assembly records, she’s the first unaffiliated legislator elected in North Carolina since 2010. The unaffiliated candidate who won that year, Bert Jones, changed his affiliation to Republican in 2011.

At least 25 of the freshmen, or 76%, appear to have been elected to office for the first time this year, a review of their campaign websites and local government pages found, though many have held appointed positions on local boards like arts councils or planning commissions. Others have served on their local school boards, county commission boards, town councils, or as mayors. Page was the Rockingham County sheriff from 1998 until this summer.

One of the new faces is making a return to the legislature, albeit in a different chamber, after a few years away. Democrat James Gailliard, a pastor, beat Republican incumbent Lisa Stone Barnes to represent Franklin, Nash, and Vance counties in the Senate. Gailliard previously served in the House from 2019-2023.

In addition to Montgomery, at least 16 freshman legislators describe themselves on their campaign websites and on social media as business owners or as self-employed. Their companies run the gamut.

Democratic newcomer Jessica Bichler, who beat Republican Senate Majority Leader Michael Lee to represent New Hanover County, owns a yoga studio. Jess Rivera, a Democrat who bested Republican incumbent Buck Newton to represent Greene, Wayne, and Wilson counties in the Senate, owns barbershops in Wilson and Raleigh. L’Bertrice Solomon, a Democrat who will represent Johnston County in the House, founded Docs On Da Block, a mobile health clinic. Democrat Lynne Russo, who will represent Henderson County in the House, is a self-employed communications consultant. And Republican Jimmy Rogers, who has been on the Haywood County school board since 2000 and will now serve in the House, owns a tractor and farm equipment store.

The freshman class will be a diverse one, too. At least 10 newcomers are people of color, at least two are members of the LGBTQ+ community, and at least three are veterans. 

Fourteen of the newly elected are women, including one Republican: Caroline Eason, a 26-year-old pharmacist who will represent Cleveland and Gaston counties in the House. She is the youngest woman ever elected to the General Assembly, according to BusinessNC. Tuesday’s election was historic for women, with more than 100 elected to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, according to The Washington Post, though the share of Republican women in the chamber is expected to shrink.

Eason will be joined by newcomer Ken McCool, a 28-year-old Democrat, in the General Assembly’s small but growing under-30 club as Gen Z representation grows in elected offices around the country. 

McCool, who owns a sports cards and collectibles business and previously served as a Matthews town commissioner, ousted Rep. Tricia Cotham, the controversial Mecklenburg County lawmaker who switched her party affiliation to Republican in 2023. Republican Rep. Wyatt Gable, who ran unopposed Tuesday, was the youngest lawmaker ever elected to the legislature when he won as a 22-year-old East Carolina University student in 2024. Democratic Rep. Jordan Lopez, who was also elected two years ago and ran unopposed this year to secure a second term, is 28.

Candidates who are trailing by 1 percentage point or less after county boards of election count provisional, mail-in, and overseas ballots will have until November 16 or 17 to request a recount, depending on whether their district includes a single county or multiple, respectively. The State Board of Elections will certify all results on November 24.

All 170 state legislators will take office in January.