{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Shirley Johnson","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"Shirley Johnson is the Republican candidate for the North Carolina State Senate, District\u202f17, in the 2026 general election. After winning the March\u202f3,\u202f2026 Republican primary with 90.1% of the vote (4,330 votes) against Sarah Al\u2011Baghdadi, she will face incumbent Democrat Sydney Batch and Libertarian Patrick Bowersox on November\u202f3,\u202f2026 [1].\n\nBorn in 1973 and now 50 years old, Johnson was raised in a large, close\u2011knit family that shaped her Christian\u2011conservative values. She describes herself as a lifelong public servant and a doctoral candidate, though specific academic institutions are not listed. Her early career included a decade on the Illinois State Senate Republican staff, where she worked in appropriations, press, and constituent outreach, gaining firsthand experience in legislative drafting and bipartisan collaboration [19].\n\nJohnson later transitioned to the social\u2011services sector, serving as Executive Director of the Sangamon County Child Advocacy Center and CASA. In that role she helped protect abused and trafficked children, participated on the FBI Human Trafficking Task Force, and contributed to the State Child Death Review Team. She also held elected office as a Trustee for the Village of Jerome and worked in statewide leadership positions before returning to North Carolina politics [18].\n\nProfessionally, she now works as a consultant for Revived Life Coaching & Consulting, offering guidance on personal development and community leadership [19]. Her campaign platform emphasizes six pillars: \n* **Strong families & parental rights** \u2013 support school choice, charter schools, and parental transparency in education and health care; \n* **Public safety & law enforcement** \u2013 back police, increase penalties for violent crime, human trafficking, and child exploitation; \n* **Fiscal responsibility** \u2013 cut wasteful spending, oppose tax increases, and protect seniors from inflation; \n* **Education excellence** \u2013 focus on reading, math, workforce readiness, and career\u2011technical education while reducing bureaucratic red tape; \n* **Faith, freedom & constitutional values** \u2013 defend religious liberty, free speech, and limit government overreach; \n* **Economic growth & local jobs** \u2013 support small businesses, reduce regulations, and keep jobs in North Carolina. These priorities are outlined on her campaign website [18].\n\nJohnson\u2019s campaign finance filings show modest activity, with total contributions of $1,654 and expenditures of $672 reported to Transparency USA as of the latest filing, including a $361.67 personal contribution and $266.25 to Staples Inc. for campaign supplies [20].\n\nOverall, Johnson leverages her legislative staff experience, child\u2011advocacy leadership, and community\u2011service background to present herself as a candidate focused on protecting families, enhancing public safety, and promoting fiscal prudence for North Carolina\u2019s 17th Senate district.\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Shirley Johnson (North Carolina) - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Shirley_Johnson_(North_Carolina))\n- [16] [Shirley Johnson | BallotReady](https://www.ballotready.org/people/shirley-johnson-8b7e613c-cd95-46fb-a394-7aa94be264d7)\n- [18] [Shirley Johnson for NC Senate](https://www.shirleyjohnson4nc.com/)\n- [19] [N.C. Senate District 17: Shirley Johnson | 2026 Primary Candidates](https://indyweek.com/news/n-c-senate-district-17-shirley-johnson-2026/)\n- [20] [Shirley Johnson - North Carolina Candidate - Transparency USA](https://www.transparencyusa.org/nc/candidate/shirley-johnson)","firstname":"Shirley","lastname":"Johnson","middlename":"Arlene","suffix":null,"token":"492c93a0a511f3c2"},"token":"Y84ss6wRGOLQOgL-"},{"candidatename":"Sarah Al-Baghdadi","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"**Status update.** Al-Baghdadi lost the March 3, 2026 Republican primary for NC Senate District 17 to Shirley Johnson, 476 votes (9.9%) to 4,331 votes (90.1%); Johnson advances to face incumbent Democrat Sydney Batch and Libertarian Patrick Bowersox on the November 3, 2026 general-election ballot [3].\n\nAccording to the North Carolina voter file, Sarah Elizabeth Yahia Al-Baghdadi is a registered voter in Wake County, North Carolina, registered since 2025 (1 years), with party affiliation listed as Republican [1].\n\nThe voter file shows Sarah Elizabeth Yahia Al-Baghdadi's year of birth as 1990; 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 1 election voted in since 2026, most recently the 2026-03-03 primary election [2].\n\nVoters with personal knowledge of Sarah Elizabeth Yahia Al-Baghdadi 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] Ballotpedia, \"Shirley Johnson (North Carolina),\" March 3, 2026 Republican primary results for NC Senate District 17 (accessed 2026-07-24)","firstname":"Sarah","lastname":"Al-Baghdadi","middlename":"Elizabeth Yahia","suffix":null,"token":"288d56da84935e23"},"token":"NfsamhKTSXsu276L"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":"state_senator","o.office":"state_senate","office":"state_senate","officedescription":"The Tennessee Senate is the upper chamber of the state legislature, with 33 members elected from single-member districts to four-year terms. Senators pass state laws, approve the state budget, confirm certain gubernatorial appointments, and \u2014 with the House \u2014 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 Senator","partisan":1,"pgr":"general","quantity":1,"referendum":null,"source":null,"title":"Nc State Senate District 17"}