NC Senate scramble: Retiring House Democrat files for Senate instead
State Rep. Terence Everitt will run for an soon-to-be-open seat in the North Carolina state Senate, he announced Thursday, reversing plans to leave the General Assembly altogether.
Everitt, a Democrat now serving his third term in the House, filed for Wake County’s Senate District 18 Thursday at Gov. Roy Cooper’s behest. Everitt had said Tuesday that he planned to retire from the General Assembly altogether to spend more time with his family.
That changed when Sen. Mary Wills Bode, a Democrat who represents the 18th District now, decided not to seek reelection — a plan Democrats became aware of this week, the last week of campaign filing.
Morgan Jackson, a key Cooper political consultant, confirmed the governor asked Everitt to switch to a Senate run after Bode revealed her plans. Bode didn't return requests for comment on her plans.
“When the governor asks you to do something, if it’s at all within your power to help, you do it,” Everitt said.
Senate District 18 is one of a few true swing districts in the state Senate, meaning it could be won by a Republican or a Democrat. That makes it crucial for Democrats, who almost certainly need to win this district if they're going to break the supermajority Republicans hold in the Senate.
Supermajorities in the Senate and the House enable Republican lawmakers to more easily pass laws as they see fit, regardless of whether a Democrat wins the governor's office in 2024 and vetoes their bills.
“Every intention was to move on and to spend more time with my kids,” Everitt said. “It’s simply a function of the Republicans being a clear and present danger to my kids’ future. So this had to take priority.”
The Republican candidate in this race is Ashlee Bryan Adams, who owns the Sutherland wedding venue in Wake Forest as well as a catering company.
Senate District 18 includes much of northeastern Wake County and all of Granville County. It is almost equally split between Republican and Democratic voters, based on the results of recent elections. It is expected to be one of the most expensive legislative races in the state next year.
