{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Heather Rhyne","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nHeather Hager Rhyne is the Republican member of the North Carolina House of Representatives for District 97, in Lincoln County, and serves as House Majority Freshman Leader for the 2025-2026 session [1]. The General Assembly's member record lists her service as 1.5 terms in the House and her occupation as pharmacist [1]. She filed on December 1, 2025 for re-election; the State Board of Elections candidate list shows her facing Democrat Greg McBryde on the November 3, 2026 general-election ballot, with no primary in either party [2].\n\n## Office history\n\nRhyne was elected to the at-large seat on the Lincoln County Board of Education in November 2016, leading a three-candidate field with 17,250 votes, and was re-elected in November 2020 with 22,079 votes, the highest total among four candidates [3][4]. She won the March 5, 2024 Republican primary for the same at-large seat with 10,684 votes to Ann Samuelson's 2,477 [5]; the at-large seat was filled at the November 2024 general election by a different Republican nominee, Erin Amanda Long [6].\n\nOn July 23, 2024, WCNC Charlotte reported that Rhyne had been named to fill the District 97 seat after Rep. Jason Saine announced his resignation from the General Assembly, that the appointment was announced by North Carolina GOP House Caucus Director Stephen Wiley, and that Rhyne \"currently serves as the chair of the Lincoln County Board of Education\"; Saine's resignation became official on August 12, 2024 [7]. She won the November 5, 2024 general election for District 97 unopposed, with 43,332 votes [6].\n\n## Legislative record and accomplishments\n\nFor the 2025-2026 session Rhyne is Vice Chairman of the Education - K-12 committee and a member of Appropriations; Appropriations, Health and Human Services; Health; Higher Education; Oversight; the House Select Committee on Involuntary Commitment and Public Safety; and the House Select Committee on Redistricting. She also serves on the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee and the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Medicaid [8].\n\nThe General Assembly's introduced-bills record lists her as a primary sponsor of six bills enacted into law in the 2025-2026 session: HB 517, Modify Nonprofit Corp. Act/Charitable Org. (S.L. 2026-52) and HB 536, Physical Therapy Practice Act Mods (S.L. 2026-16), on both of which she is listed first among the primary sponsors; HB 372, Home-Based Business Fairness Act (S.L. 2026-51); HB 412, Child Care Regulatory Reforms (S.L. 2025-36); HB 546, Medicaid Modernization (S.L. 2025-64); and HB 309, Various Local Provisions VI (S.L. 2025-32) [9]. She is also listed first among the primary sponsors of HB 163, Pharmacy Benefits Manager Provisions; HB 41, Lincoln/Catawba Common Boundary Line; HB 190, SchCal Mandatory Winter Break/Date Adjustment; HB 611, Increase APs in Public Schools; and HB 1110, Early Intervention School Attendance Pilot [9].\n\n## Documented disputes and controversies\n\nRhyne is listed first among the three primary sponsors of House Bill 437, which establishes drug-free homeless service zones with increased drug-offense penalties and bans unauthorized public camping or sleeping on public property [10].\n\nWhen the House first passed the bill in April 2025, NC Newsline reported that it did so \"over the objection of service providers, 140 of which signed a letter opposing the bill\" [11]. Rep. Julia Greenfield (D-Mecklenburg) read the providers' letter on the floor, including the passage: \"This implication that service providers are the enemy in working to keep those we serve safe instead of a partner in an incredibly challenging effort to provide both welcoming and safe space is incredibly hurtful and disappointing. This work carries enough risk without the threat of a felony conviction and jail time, depending on how someone interprets 'intentionally allows.'\" [11] Dr. Latonya Agard, executive director of the North Carolina Coalition to End Homelessness, said of the bill: \"I think this is unconscionable because it places and unfair burden on those facilities to increase security, to figure out what this means, to reestablish relationships that are trustworthy within the community.\" [11]\n\nRhyne defended the measure in her own words: \"By making homeless shelters drug-free zones, we reduce the opportunity for these criminal elements to further victimize the homeless while holding operators of these facilities accountable. Providing a safe and secure environment where treatment is provided and the people can get the help they need to become self-dependent is the focus of the bill.\" [11] At final passage she told colleagues the bill increases penalties for dealing drugs at homeless shelters \"just like we do for schools,\" and said \"Our homeless population is under regular threat of crime from those seeking to sell them controlled substances.\" [12]\n\nThe House concurred in the Senate version 73-40 on June 30, 2026, on what NC Newsline described as \"a mostly party-line vote\" [10][12]. Rep. Marcia Morey (D-Durham) said in that debate: \"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.\" [12] The bill was ratified July 1, 2026, vetoed by Governor Josh Stein on July 8, 2026, and placed on the House calendar for August 4, 2026 [10].\n\n## Sources\n\n[1] [Representative Heather H. Rhyne - Biography](https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/Biography/H/823) - North Carolina General Assembly, accessed 2026-07-30\n[2] [Candidate Listing 2026 (candidate filing file)](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] [Certified precinct-level results, November 8, 2016 general election](https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/ENRS/2016_11_08/results_pct_20161108.zip) - North Carolina State Board of Elections, accessed 2026-07-30\n[4] [Certified precinct-level results, November 3, 2020 general election](https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/ENRS/2020_11_03/results_pct_20201103.zip) - North Carolina State Board of Elections, accessed 2026-07-30\n[5] [Certified precinct-level results, March 5, 2024 primary election](https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/ENRS/2024_03_05/results_pct_20240305.zip) - North Carolina State Board of Elections, accessed 2026-07-30\n[6] [Certified 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] [Replacement announced for NC Rep. Jason Saine (archived)](http://web.archive.org/web/2024/https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/politics/north-carolina-politics/replacement-named-for-jason-saine-general-assembly-nc-house-heather-hager-rhyne/275-bcafa59e-5ee6-4529-ba11-e7b3de88306b) - WCNC Charlotte, accessed 2026-07-30\n[8] [Representative Heather H. Rhyne - Committees](https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/Committees/H/823) - North Carolina General Assembly, accessed 2026-07-30\n[9] [Representative Heather H. Rhyne - Introduced Bills](https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/IntroducedBills/H/823) - North Carolina General Assembly, accessed 2026-07-30\n[10] [House Bill 437 (2025-2026 Session) - bill history, sponsors and votes](https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2025/h437) - North Carolina General Assembly, accessed 2026-07-30\n[11] [Bill to make homeless shelters \"drug free\" receives House approval](https://ncnewsline.com/briefs/bill-to-make-homeless-shelters-drug-free-receives-house-approval/) - NC Newsline, accessed 2026-07-30\n[12] [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","firstname":"Heather","lastname":"Rhyne","middlename":"Hager","suffix":null,"token":"94cd8817ccca2708"},"token":"9YxrqSLSBF"},{"candidatename":"Greg McBryde","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"Gregory Paul Mcbryde, known as Greg McBryde, is the Democratic candidate for the North Carolina House of Representatives in District 97 in the 2026 general election scheduled for November 3, 2026. The Democratic primary for this seat was cancelled, allowing McBryde to advance to the November ballot unopposed in his party's primary [2].\n\nPublicly available records do not detail McBryde\u2019s education or professional career prior to his political candidacies. The information that is documented focuses on his electoral history. McBryde previously ran for the same House seat in the 2020 election, where he was defeated by Republican incumbent Jason Saine, receiving 25.9% of the vote (12,558 votes) to Saine\u2019s 74.1% (35,988 votes) [2].\n\nIn the 2026 race, McBryde will face incumbent Republican Heather Rhyne, who also advanced without a primary contest after the Republican primary was cancelled [2]. The campaign finance data filed with the state shows that McBryde\u2019s campaign has reported total contributions of $100, including a $50 personal contribution from Gregory Mcbryde himself and $50 from aggregated individual donors [20]. No expenditures have been reported yet.\n\nBallotpedia lists a campaign contact email for McBryde at gregmcbrydeforhousenc97@gmail.com, indicating a point of contact for voters and media [2]. No phone number or official campaign website is provided in the sources. Aside from the financial filing, no specific policy platform or legislative priorities have been published for the 2026 campaign at this time.\n\n## Sources\n- [2] [Greg McBryde - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Greg_McBryde)\n- [14] [Candidate Profiles \u2013 NC Voter Guide](https://ncvoterguide.org/profiles/)\n- [15] [Results from 2026 Candidate Filing - Carolina Forward](https://carolinaforward.org/blog/results-from-2026-candidate-filing/)\n- [20] [Greg McBryde - North Carolina Candidate - Transparency USA](https://www.transparencyusa.org/nc/candidate/greg-mcbryde)","firstname":"Gregory","lastname":"Mcbryde","middlename":"Paul","suffix":null,"token":"831901e11afe00e3"},"token":"6FPtCL43Gm"}],"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 097"}