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More than 10 percent of NC lawmakers won't return to state legislature in 2025

Incumbent senators Jim Perry and Mary Wills Bode did not file for re-election on Friday, the final day for candidates to officially enter the 2024 election.

Posted 2023-12-15T19:17:11+00:00 - Updated 2023-12-15T21:58:13+00:00

On the Record: What's the future for the NC Democratic Party?

Brian Murphy

, WRAL

More than 20 incumbent North Carolina state lawmakers aren't seeking reelection in 2024. And Democrats made big strides, posting more candidates in previously uncontested legislative races as the state's candidate filing period ended Friday.

Among the surprises: Sen. Jim Perry, R-Lenoir, opted not to file after previously announcing he would seek another term. Sen. Mary Wills Bode, D-Wake, also announced Friday she would not run again.

"Over the past few years, my family has supported me unconditionally and made countless sacrifices to ensure that I could spend long hours as an effective representative for my district," she posted on social media. "Right now, they need me to focus on returning those efforts."

Current Rep. Terence Everitt, D-Wake, is running to replace Bode. Everitt had previously announced that he would not run in 2024, but opted to run for Senate after Gov. Roy Cooper asked him to run.

Perry was recently injured in a hunting accident, but he said that his personal health is fine and the accident was not the reason he was not running.

"Our life situations can change in an instant, and I finally reached the conclusion that I would not be able to make the time commitment necessary to be an effective senator if I served an additional term," Perry said in a statement to The Washington Daily News. "Time is a precious commodity, and we are each only given a finite amount."

Former state Rep. Michael Speciale and New Bern attorney Bob Brinson are running for the Republican nomination in Perry's district.

Find all the NC candidates running for Congress and statewide office in 2024

All told, 21 incumbents are not seeking reelection, more than 12% of the 170 lawmakers (50 senators and 120 representatives) in the North Carolina General Assembly.

Ten state lawmakers are running for another office, including House Speaker Tim Moore, who is seeking a U.S. House seat. Moore is the longest-serving House Speaker in North Carolina history.

Democrats fight for more seats

In 2022, Democrats didn't contest 44 state legislative seats, a figure that has stuck with North Carolina Democratic Party chair Anderson Clayton.

"That number haunts me," Clayton told WRAL earlier this year. "Forty-four."

At least one Democratic candidate is running in all 50 Senate districts. Republicans have at least one candidate in 42 districts.

Three incumbent Democratic senators are facing primary challenges: Dan Blue, Mike Woodard and Paul Lowe.

No incumbent Republican senator is facing a primary challenge. There was some speculation that Senate leader Phil Berger would face one, but Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page instead filed to run for lieutenant governor.

And Democrats have filed to run in nearly every House district, far more than Republicans who left several seats in urban counties such as Wake, Mecklenburg and Forsyth open. Republicans have candidates in 95 districts.

"Sometimes it's better to have an empty seat than somebody on the ballot," said Stephen Wiley, Republican House caucus director, alluding to candidate quality.

Current state lawmakers will still be in office for next year's session.

The 2024 primary election is March 5 and the general election is Nov. 5.

15 House incumbents not seeking another term: