As North Carolina candidates file for the 2026 elections, an interesting primary is emerging for a state legislative seat in southern Wake County. Two Democrats have filed to take on state Rep. Erin Paré, a Republican who will be seeking her fourth term in office.

Almost no state legislative seats are expected to be competitive, but hers is one of the more realistic possibilities for Democrats to flip as they seek to chip away at GOP control of the chamber and strengthen Gov. Josh Stein’s veto power.

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A former NFL cheerleader-turned-Holly Springs small business owner, Paré has shot up the ranks of the legislature, becoming a top state budget writer. Many in the state GOP see her as a rising star. That context, combined with the political math of her district in a fast-growing and increasingly liberal county — where Democrats already hold 17 of the 19 state legislative districts — could make Paré a top target for the Democratic Party in 2026.

District 37, which covers the suburbs around Holly Springs and Fuquay-Varina, is still one that supported Republican President Donald Trump in 2024. But the 2025 municipal elections showed Democrats making major inroads in the Wake County suburbs. Fuquay-Varina and Holly Springs were just two of the towns where voters ousted longtime Republican mayors in the suburbs and replaced them with Democrats.

Paré hasn’t officially filed for reelection yet but told WRAL on Tuesday that she plans to do so — a decision that was solidified after seeing who else wants to run.

“Any fleeting thought I had about not filing disappeared when I saw how terrible the Democrats are who are filing in District 37,” she said. “The Democratic primary will be a run toward socialism, and I cannot let their disastrous policies destroy my district.”

Candidate filing is open until later this month but already, in the first two days, two candidates have made known their intentions to run for the seat: Winn Decker and Marcus Gadson.

Decker is a longtime public education insider and analyst. He’s worked in various roles ranging from education policy to diversity consulting and helping schools identify useful new trends and strategies.

“Our district deserves a representative who understands the real challenges residents are facing,” Decker said in a news release announcing his candidacy, which was paired with endorsements from a number of current and former Wake County elected officials. “People want a path forward where they can afford to live here, send their kids to strong schools, and have opportunities to build a secure future.”

Gadson is a law professor at UNC-Chapel Hill who specializes in constitutional law. He wrote a book this year called “Sedition: How America's Constitutional Order Emerged from Violent Crisis.” It analyzes various constitutional crises, coups and attempted rebellions throughout U.S. history, to contextualize the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol building.

In a statement, he said he’s running to focus on bringing down the cost of living, and to “ensure the government serves the interests of hardworking citizens and not the whims of career politicians.”