{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Rod Powell","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nWilliam Roger \"Rod\" Powell Jr. is the Democratic candidate for North Carolina State Senate District 44, covering Cleveland, Gaston, and Lincoln counties, in the November 3, 2026 general election [1]. He filed his candidacy with the North Carolina State Board of Elections on December 16, 2025 [1].\n\nNo additional published biographical information about Powell was located from public sources as of this writing.\n\n## Sources\n[1] [North Carolina State Board of Elections \u2014 2026 Candidate Filing List](https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/Elections/2026/Candidate%20Filing/Candidate_Listing_2026.csv) (bulk CSV; lists Powell as the Democratic filer for NC State Senate District 44), accessed 2026-07-20","firstname":"William","lastname":"Powell","middlename":"Roger","suffix":"JR","token":"6b212032a904626e"},"token":"PS4WnK0MXg"},{"candidatename":"Ted Alexander","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nW. Ted Alexander is the incumbent Republican member of the North Carolina State Senate for District 44 (Cleveland, Gaston, and Lincoln counties), a seat he has held since January 2019 [1][2]. He is running for re-election in the November 3, 2026 general election against Democratic challenger Rod Powell; the March 3, 2026 Republican primary was canceled [2].\n\n## Background and education\n\nAlexander was born and raised in Morganton, North Carolina, the son of the late Bill and Mary Ann Alexander [3]. He attended Glen Alpine Elementary and Junior High School and graduated from Freedom High School [3]. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from UNC-Charlotte, where he was involved with the North Carolina Student Legislature and was later named a Distinguished Alumnus (2006) [3]. He went on to earn a master's degree in Historic Preservation from Cornell University and served for one year as a New York State Senate Fellow [3]. He and his wife, the former Patti Powell, have two children [3].\n\n## Career\n\nBefore entering the state legislature, Alexander worked in downtown revitalization: he served as executive director of the Bedford, Virginia Main Street program and later of the Uptown Shelby Association's Main Street program, and was Virginia's State Main Street Director from 1994 to 1996 [3]. He was elected Mayor of Shelby in 2003, re-elected without opposition in 2007, and did not seek re-election in 2011; his campaign credits his tenure with reducing Shelby's crime rate to a near-30-year low and with helping launch the Foothills Commerce Center, the Don Gibson Theatre, and the Earl Scruggs Center [3].\n\n## Office history\n\nAlexander sought the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in 2014, placing sixth in a seven-candidate primary field (1.9%, 9,258 votes) won by Thom Tillis [4]. He won the North Carolina State Senate District 44 seat in 2018, defeating incumbent David Curtis in the Republican primary and Democrat David Lee Lattimore in the general election, and has been re-elected in 2020, 2022 (unopposed), and 2024 [4]. He assumed office on January 1, 2019, succeeding Vickie Sawyer [1].\n\n## Legislative record and accomplishments\n\nFor the 2025-2026 session, Alexander chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee on General Government and Information Technology, the Senate State and Local Government Committee, and the Pensions and Retirement and Aging Committee, and also serves on the Appropriations/Base Budget Committee, the Commerce and Insurance Committee, and the Senate Finance Committee [1][4].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Senator W. Ted Alexander \u2014 Biography, North Carolina General Assembly](https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/Biography/s/416), accessed 2026-07-20\n[2] [North Carolina State Senate District 44 \u2014 Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/North_Carolina_State_Senate_District_44), accessed 2026-07-20\n[3] [About \u2014 Ted Alexander for NC Senate](https://tedforsenate.com/about/), accessed 2026-07-20\n[4] [Ted Alexander \u2014 Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Ted_Alexander), accessed 2026-07-20","firstname":"William","lastname":"Alexander","middlename":"Theodore","suffix":"III","token":"e3002c37c945b2bc"},"token":"itoB9qs5G8"}],"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 44"}