{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Satana Deberry","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nSatana Deberry is the incumbent Democratic District Attorney for North Carolina's 16th Prosecutorial District, which covers Durham County, a position she has held since 2019 [1]. She defeated Jonathan Wilson in the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary and is on the November 3, 2026 general-election ballot; her current term runs through December 31, 2026 [1]. She filed for re-election on December 3, 2025, per the NC State Board of Elections' 2026 candidate filing list [2].\n\n## Background and education\nDeberry graduated from Princeton University with a degree in sociology in 1991, and later earned a law degree and a Master of Business Administration from Duke University [1].\n\n## Career\nBefore her election as District Attorney, Deberry worked as a defense attorney, as general counsel to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, and as executive director of the North Carolina Housing Coalition, a nonprofit [1].\n\n## Office history\nDeberry was first elected Durham County District Attorney in November 2018, after defeating incumbent Roger Echols and Daniel Meier in the May 2018 Democratic primary; there was no Republican candidate in that race [1]. She was re-elected without opposition in November 2022 [1].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Satana Deberry - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Satana_Deberry) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-21\n\n[2] [North Carolina State Board of Elections, 2026 Candidate Filing List](https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/Elections/2026/Candidate%20Filing/Candidate_Listing_2026.csv) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-21","firstname":"Satana","lastname":"Deberry","middlename":"Tia","suffix":null,"token":"c5e67fc9de6cf8df"},"token":"acYnX4i_GT_gm3QF"},{"candidatename":"Jonathan Wilson","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nJonathan Wilson II (Democrat) ran in the 2026 Democratic primary for North Carolina's 16th Prosecutorial District Attorney (Durham County), challenging incumbent DA Satana Deberry in a rematch of their 2022 primary. He lost to Deberry in March 2022 with approximately 16% of the vote and ran again in the March 3, 2026 primary.\n\n## Background and education\n\nWilson is originally from Winston-Salem and studied political science at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. He earned his J.D. from NC Central University School of Law.\n\n## Career\n\nWilson has practiced law since 2010 and has led his own criminal defense firm in Durham since 2017. His practice handles cases ranging from traffic violations to first-degree murder. He has coached basketball, soccer, and softball with Orange County Special Olympics and North Carolina Special Olympics for 19 years.\n\n## Sources\n\n- [1] [Durham District Attorney: Jonathan Wilson | 2026 Primary Candidates \u2013 Indy Week](https://indyweek.com/news/durham-district-attorney-jonathan-wilson-2026/)\n- [2] [Jonathan Wilson: 'I have that willingness to fight for people' \u2013 9th Street Journal](https://9thstreetjournal.org/2026/02/13/jonathan-wilson-i-have-that-willingness-to-fight-for-people/)\n- [3] [Meet Jonathan \u2013 wilsonfordurham.com](https://wilsonfordurham.com/meet-jonathan/)","firstname":"Jonathan","lastname":"Wilson","middlename":null,"suffix":"II","token":"05929321141851e9"},"token":"pKgk9DDX8n4CzCVe"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":"district_attorney_general","o.office":"district_attorney","office":"district_attorney","officedescription":"The district attorney general is the elected chief prosecutor for a judicial district \u2014 deciding what cases are charged, presenting cases to the grand jury, and prosecuting criminal matters. It is a leadership role over a public-law office with wide discretion.","officequalities":"- Prosecutorial leadership of a district attorney's office of attorneys, investigators, and victim-services staff.\n- Working knowledge of Tennessee criminal law and procedure, constitutional law, and prosecutorial ethics under the Rules of Professional Conduct.\n- Charging-policy judgment that shapes the whole criminal-court docket \u2014 what is presented to the grand jury, diverted, or resolved by plea.\n- Budget and personnel management of a public-law-office operation.\n- Public-facing communication on cases of community concern, in cooperation with police, courts, and victim communities.","officeterm":4,"officetitle":"District Attorney","partisan":1,"pgr":"general","quantity":1,"referendum":null,"source":null,"title":"District Attorney District 16"}