{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Winn Decker","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"Winn Decker (John Winston Decker) is the Democratic nominee for the North Carolina House of Representatives, District 37 (Wake County), on the November 3, 2026 general-election ballot against Republican incumbent Erin Par\u00e9 [1][2][3]. Decker won the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary with 50.3% of the vote, ahead of Marcus Gadson (38.1%) and Ralph Clements (11.6%) [1].\n\n## Background and education\nDecker earned a bachelor's degree from Rhodes College and a Ph.D. in Public Administration from North Carolina State University, with a focus on education policy, public budgeting, and program implementation [1]. He has lived in Wake County for more than a decade and now lives in Fuquay-Varina [2].\n\n## Career\nDecker's professional background is in education and workforce policy. Per his campaign site, he has worked at the James B. Hunt Jr. Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy \u2014 founded by former North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt \u2014 advising governors, legislators, and state leaders from both parties on strengthening public schools, expanding college access, and building the workforce, and says he continues that policy work nationally while remaining active in southern Wake County [2]. Ballotpedia lists his profession as policy analyst [1].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Winn Decker - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Winn_Decker) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-19\n[2] [Winn Decker for North Carolina House District 37](https://winn4nc.com) (campaign site) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-19\n[3] [NC State Board of Elections \u2014 2026 Candidate Listing](https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/Elections/2026/Candidate%20Filing/Candidate_Listing_2026.csv) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-19","firstname":"John","lastname":"Decker","middlename":"Winston","suffix":null,"token":"2ec0c5c986a73d84"},"token":"4vL7t2bML5JDCuW-"},{"candidatename":"Ralph Clements","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nRalph Clements is a Democratic candidate for the North Carolina House of Representatives, District 37, which covers parts of Wake County including Fuquay-Varina. He ran in the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary.\n\nClements' campaign focused on reinvesting in North Carolina's public schools, including increases to teacher pay and more equitable school funding. He called for the legislature to pass a state budget, establish an independent redistricting commission, and address affordability and growth planning for the rapidly expanding communities in Wake County's southern tier.\n\n## Background and education\nClements is 59 years old. He graduated from Sanderson High School in Raleigh and attended North Carolina State University, completing his degree over eight years while working as a computer scientist and serving in the National Guard.\n\n## Career\nClements built a career as a healthcare IT consultant, working primarily in Atlanta. He returned to the Triangle region in 2020 to be closer to aging parents and now lives just outside Fuquay-Varina.\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [N.C. House District 37: Ralph Clements \u2013 Indy Week](https://indyweek.com/news/n-c-house-district-37-ralph-clements-2026/)\n- [2] [Ralph Clements \u2013 General Assembly House District 37 Campaign \u2013 ralphclements.com](https://www.ralphclements.com/)\n","firstname":"Ralph","lastname":"Clements","middlename":"Dowell","suffix":null,"token":"ffc6d4f8110d9eb0"},"token":"Cqp-14aRr5z9dYu4"},{"candidatename":"Marcus Gadson","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"**Status update: Gadson lost the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary for NC House District 37, finishing second of three candidates with 3,568 votes (38.1%); Winn Decker won the primary with 4,720 votes (50.3%). Gadson will not appear on the November 2026 general-election ballot [3].**\n\nAccording to the North Carolina voter file, Marcus Alexander Gadson is a registered voter in Wake County, North Carolina, registered since 2019 (7 years), with party affiliation listed as Democratic [1].\n\nThe voter file shows Marcus Alexander Gadson's year of birth as 1987; NC publishes only the year of birth in its bulk voter export, so day and month are not part of the public record [1].\n\nThe voter history file shows 9 elections voted in since 2020, most recently the 2026-03-03 primary election [2].\n\nThis summary draws only from the public North Carolina voter registration and history records. No additional published biographical information was located. Voters with personal knowledge of Marcus Alexander Gadson can reach ballotproject.org with corrections or additions.\n\n## Sources\n[1] [North Carolina State Board of Elections \u2014 Voter Search](https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/)\n\n[2] North Carolina State Board of Elections voter history file (`ncvhis_Statewide`), published at [dl.ncsbe.gov](https://dl.ncsbe.gov/)\n\n[3] North Carolina State Board of Elections, 2026 primary election results (`results_pct_20260303`), published at [dl.ncsbe.gov](https://dl.ncsbe.gov/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-24","firstname":"Marcus","lastname":"Gadson","middlename":"Alexander","suffix":null,"token":"bf63f6d9402572ee"},"token":"ymEjzTH0B9b-mtUd"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":"state_representative","o.office":"state_house","office":"state_house","officedescription":"The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the state legislature, with 99 members elected from single-member districts to two-year terms. Representatives pass state laws, originate revenue bills, approve the state budget, and \u2014 with the Senate \u2014 confirm gubernatorial appointments and propose constitutional amendments.","officequalities":"- **Integrity** \u2014 Acts in the interest of constituents and the public good rather than for personal gain, and remains independent of undue influence from donors, lobbyists, and party leadership.\n- **Understanding of the constituency** \u2014 Grasps both the economic-development needs of the district and the day-to-day concerns of individual residents \u2014 safety, healthcare, education, infrastructure.\n- **Persuasion** \u2014 Engages, listens to, and persuades both fellow legislators and constituents. Can change minds and explain votes honestly.\n- **Legislative craft** \u2014 Reads, drafts, and amends statute with care. Understands how specific bill language translates to outcomes, and knows the body of law being modified.\n- **Coalition-building** \u2014 Finds common ground across partisan and factional lines, brokers compromises that hold, and forms working majorities even when consensus is hard to reach.","officeterm":2,"officetitle":"State Representative","partisan":1,"pgr":"general","quantity":1,"referendum":null,"source":null,"title":"Nc House Of Representatives District 037"}