{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"William (Bill) McCaskill","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"William Neil McCaskill is a Democratic candidate for the North Carolina House of Representatives, District 70, representing Randolph County, on the November 3, 2026 general-election ballot, according to the NC State Board of Elections' 2026 candidate filing records [4].\n\nMcCaskill has a history of running for local and state office in North Carolina. His political r\u00e9sum\u00e9 includes a 2018 campaign for the North Carolina State Senate, District 26, where he was the Democratic nominee and received 35.2% of the vote, losing to incumbent Republican Jerry W. Tillman [1]. He later appeared on the ballot in the 2024 general election for the Randolph County Board of Commissioners, District 1, as the Democratic candidate [2]. In 2025 he ran a nonpartisan campaign for an at-large seat on the Asheboro City Council, appearing among a slate of eight candidates for four council seats [3].\n\nNo biographical details such as education, professional background, or prior public-service experience are provided in the available sources; Ballotpedia notes that it did not receive biographical information for his 2024 and 2025 candidacies [2][3].\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [William McCaskill - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/William_McCaskill) -- accessed 2026-07-20\n- [2] [William McCaskill (Randolph County Board of Commissioners District 1, North Carolina, candidate 2024) - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/William_McCaskill_(Randolph_County_Board_of_Commissioners_District_1,_North_Carolina,_candidate_2024)) -- accessed 2026-07-20\n- [3] [William McCaskill (Asheboro City Council, North Carolina, candidate 2025) - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/William_McCaskill_(Asheboro_City_Council,_North_Carolina,_candidate_2025)) -- accessed 2026-07-20\n- [4] [2026 Candidate Filing -- NC State Board of Elections](https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/Elections/2026/Candidate%20Filing/Candidate_Listing_2026.csv) -- accessed 2026-07-20","firstname":"William","lastname":"Mccaskill","middlename":"Neil","suffix":null,"token":"b281ebbf2fce3d18"},"token":"2eicSBv_sJXLYycu"},{"candidatename":"Brian Biggs","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nBrian O'Neal Biggs is a Republican member of the North Carolina House of Representatives for District 70, a Randolph County district, and serves as House Deputy Majority Whip for the 2025-2026 session [1]. The General Assembly's member record lists his occupation as Realtor and records him as having served two terms in the House [1]. He filed on December 1, 2025 and appears on the November 3, 2026 general-election ballot; no primary was held for the seat in the March 3, 2026 primary, and his general-election opponent is Democrat William (Bill) McCaskill of Asheboro [2]. Biggs's address of record on the filing is in Trinity [2].\n\n## Career\n\nBiggs's campaign biography states that he was first elected to the North Carolina House in November 2022 and that before that he served on the Randolph County Board of Education from 2014 to 2022, four of those years as vice chair [3]. A profile published by the North Carolina Leadership Forum at Duke University describes him as \"a seasoned Realtor/Broker\" with \"a real estate career that spans 22 years\" and lists his leadership roles as \"President of the Realtors Commercial Alliance, the High Point Realtors Commercial Alliance, Vice-Chairman on the Randolph County Board of Education from 2014-2022, the Archdale-Trinity Tax Council, and currently the YMCA Board of Directors\" [4]. That profile dates his board service to the same 2014-2022 window but describes the vice-chairmanship as covering it, rather than four years within it.\n\n## Office history\n\nBiggs won District 70 in the November 2022 general election, defeating Democrat Susan Lee (Susie) Scott 22,160 votes to 5,887 [5]. He was re-elected in 2024 in a rematch against Scott, 33,617 to 10,520 [6].\n\n## Legislative record and accomplishments\n\nFor the 2025-2026 session Biggs is Chairman of the Appropriations, Education committee and of Education - K-12; Vice Chairman of Appropriations; and a member of Agriculture and Environment, Health, Transportation, the House Select Committee on Property Tax Reduction and Reform, and the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee [7].\n\nFour bills on which he is a primary sponsor have been enacted this session: HB 87, the Educational Choice for Children Act (Session Law 2026-6); HB 920, the Virtual Currency Kiosk Consumer Protection Act (Session Law 2026-45); HB 959, Various Education Changes (Session Law 2025-38); and HB 975, EMS Personnel Provisions (Session Law 2025-42) [8].\n\nHB 87 became law over a veto. Gov. Josh Stein vetoed the bill on August 6, 2025; the House overrode the veto 73-46 on May 20, 2026 and the Senate followed 30-19 on June 3, 2026, enacting it as Session Law 2026-6 [9]. In a statement the same day, Stein said: \"I vetoed House Bill 87 because at the time we were awaiting sound guidance from the federal government before opting in. Despite not receiving that guidance yet, the General Assembly decided to opt the state into the program\" [10].\n\nBiggs is the first-listed primary sponsor of HB 31 \"Make Election Day A State Holiday,\" HB 60 \"Modernize Medicaid Dental Rates,\" HB 161 \"Restore Down-Zoning Auth./Randolph Co.,\" HB 186 \"The Stars and Stripes Commitment Act,\" HB 498 \"Military to Teacher Ret. Incentive,\" HB 773 \"School Performance Grade Changes,\" HB 774 \"School Breakfast for All,\" HB 775 \"Criminal History Checks for School Positions,\" HB 781 \"Unauthorized Public Camping & Sleeping,\" HB 782 \"Civic Club Registration Plate Clarification\" and HJR 1030 \"US Department of Edu.\" [8].\n\n## Documented disputes and controversies\n\nBiggs is the first-listed primary sponsor of House Bill 781, \"Unauthorized Public Camping & Sleeping,\" which the House passed 69-42 in May 2025 [11][12]. NC Newsline reported that critics contended the legislation \"will criminalize homelessness.\" Introducing the bill on the floor, Biggs pushed back: \"This bill does not criminalize homelessness. It addresses unauthorized public property camping and sleeping without prohibiting homelessness itself.\" He said the bill grew out of conversations with municipal leaders who asked for guidance on the state's growing homeless population, adding: \"Some people want to kick it down the road two years, five years, but how long are we going to wait until we deal with our homeless population in our own house\" [12]. Rep. Laura Budd, D-Mecklenburg, said the bill \"falls short in a lot of ways, but it took an act of courage to actually put it out there,\" while voting against it as an unfunded mandate; Rep. Jordan Lopez, D-Mecklenburg, said it \"basically requires local governments to push away or outright hide unhoused people\" [12]. The General Assembly's record shows HB 781's last action as referral to the Senate Rules committee on May 8, 2025 [11].\n\nSimilar provisions advanced in 2026 as House Bill 437, \"Drug-Free Zones/Unauthorized Public Camping,\" on which Biggs is one of four listed primary sponsors and which NC Newsline identified him as sponsoring [13][14]. NC Newsline described H437 as \"a controversial bill requiring local governments to regulate and police homeless camps and make homeless shelters drug-free zones\"; the House gave it final approval 73-40 and the Senate passed it 26-16 [14][15]. Arguing for the bill, Biggs said it \"seeks to increase public safety, sanitation, public health, protect public spaces and be compassionate with assistance to people that are experiencing homelessness\" [14]. Rep. Marcia Morey, D-Durham, responded that \"this bill doesn't give you one new housing unit for a homeless family. It doesn't give you any treatment for someone with addiction problems. It doesn't give you mental health counselors. It doesn't help anyone pay rent\" [14].\n\nGov. Stein vetoed H437 on July 8, 2026, calling it a \"poorly constructed bill\" that places a \"significant\" and \"unfunded\" burden on local governments and that \"fundamentally misunderstands\" recovery from drug addiction [15]. Biggs replied that Stein would have signed the legislation if he were \"serious\" about helping homeless people, saying \"The Governor's refusal to address homelessness only allows more people to sink deeper into addiction and mental illness while making our communities less safe\" [15]. A spokesperson for House Speaker Destin Hall said the House would move to override the veto, and House Democratic Leader Robert Reives said his caucus would vote to sustain it [15]. As of July 30, 2026 the veto stands and the General Assembly's bill record shows H437 placed on the House calendar for August 4, 2026 [13].\n\n## Sources\n\n[1] [Representative Brian Biggs - Biography](https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/Biography/H/793) - North Carolina General Assembly, accessed 2026-07-30\n[2] [2026 Candidate Listing](https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/Elections/2026/Candidate%20Filing/Candidate_Listing_2026.csv) - North Carolina State Board of Elections, accessed 2026-07-30\n[3] [Brian Biggs for NC House](https://www.brianbiggsnchouse.com/) - Committee to Elect Brian Biggs, accessed 2026-07-30\n[4] [Rep. Brian Biggs](https://sites.duke.edu/nclf/brian-biggs/) - North Carolina Leadership Forum, Duke University, accessed 2026-07-30\n[5] [Official precinct-level results, November 8, 2022 general election](https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/ENRS/2022_11_08/results_pct_20221108.zip) - North Carolina State Board of Elections, accessed 2026-07-30\n[6] [Official precinct-level results, November 5, 2024 general election](https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/ENRS/2024_11_05/results_pct_20241105.zip) - North Carolina State Board of Elections, accessed 2026-07-30\n[7] [Representative Brian Biggs - Committees](https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/Committees/H/793) - North Carolina General Assembly, accessed 2026-07-30\n[8] [Representative Brian Biggs's Introduced Bills](https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/IntroducedBills/H/793) - North Carolina General Assembly, accessed 2026-07-30\n[9] [House Bill 87 / SL 2026-6 - Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA)](https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2025/H87) - North Carolina General Assembly, accessed 2026-07-30\n[10] [Governor Stein Reacts to Override of House Bill 87 Veto](https://governor.nc.gov/news/press-releases/2026/06/03/governor-stein-reacts-override-house-bill-87-veto) - Office of the Governor of North Carolina, accessed 2026-07-30\n[11] [House Bill 781 - Unauthorized Public Camping & Sleeping](https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2025/H781) - North Carolina General Assembly, accessed 2026-07-30\n[12] [NC House approves camping ban bill despite concerns about costs, criminalizing homelessness](https://ncnewsline.com/2025/05/09/nc-house-approves-camping-ban-bill-despite-concerns-about-costs-criminalizing-homelessness/) - NC Newsline, accessed 2026-07-30\n[13] [House Bill 437 - Drug-Free Zones/Unauthorized Public Camping](https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2025/H437) - North Carolina General Assembly, accessed 2026-07-30\n[14] [Ban on 'unauthorized camping' by homeless people in North Carolina is on its way to Gov. Stein](https://ncnewsline.com/2026/07/01/ban-on-unauthorized-camping-by-homeless-people-in-north-carolina-is-on-its-way-to-gov-stein/) - NC Newsline, accessed 2026-07-30\n[15] [Stein vetoes 'unauthorized camping' homeless ban in NC](https://ncnewsline.com/2026/07/08/stein-vetoes-unauthorized-camping-homeless-ban-in-nc/) - NC Newsline, accessed 2026-07-30","firstname":"Brian","lastname":"Biggs","middlename":"O'Neal","suffix":null,"token":"5933d6a313956208"},"token":"yFCzfMNhY5D0iU6T"}],"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 070"}