{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Iris Bender","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nIraida \"Iris\" Bender is the Democratic candidate for North Carolina House of Representatives District 87 (Caldwell and Watauga counties) in the 2026 general election on November 3, 2026, according to the NC State Board of Elections candidate filing [1]. She faces Republican incumbent Destin Hall, the Speaker of the NC House [1].\n\n## Background and education\nBender is a Cuban-born business owner who resides in Lenoir, North Carolina [2]. She moved to the United States at age 19 and lived in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Florida for seven years before settling in Lenoir with her husband and their two children [2]. She earned a bachelor's degree while working full-time and raising a family [2].\n\n## Career\nBender founded Bender Restaurant Management LLC, which operates Taste of Havana, a Cuban restaurant in Lenoir that she opened in August 2019, where she serves as chef preparing dishes such as Cuban sandwiches and ropa vieja [2].\n\n## Sources\n[1] North Carolina State Board of Elections, 2026 Candidate Listing (NC House District 087, Caldwell/Watauga counties) \u2014 https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/Elections/2026/Candidate%20Filing/Candidate_Listing_2026.csv, accessed 2026-07-20\n[2] [Meet Iraida Bender of Bender Restaurant Mngmt DBA Taste of Havana - VoyageRaleigh Magazine](https://voyageraleigh.com/interview/meet-iraida-iris-bender-of-bender-restaurant-mngmt-llc-dba-taste-of-havana/)","firstname":"Iraida","lastname":"Bender","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"20b1079f2db522f6"},"token":"Da8koKwYGJ"},{"candidatename":"Destin Hall","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"Destin Chase Hall is the Republican Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives and the incumbent State Representative for District\u202f87, a seat he has held since the 2017\u201118 legislative session.  The Speaker\u2019s duties include presiding over House meetings, appointing committee chairs, setting the legislative agenda, and guiding bills through the chamber; the role also requires the holder to be a sitting member of the House and to retain the confidence of the majority caucus [1][6].\n\nBorn on July\u202f17,\u202f1987, in Lenoir, North Carolina, Hall grew up in a working\u2011class family and was raised primarily by his grandparents.  He graduated from West Caldwell High School, earned a B.S. in Business Administration with majors in Finance, Banking, and Risk Management & Insurance from Appalachian State University in 2009, and received his J.D. from Wake\u202fForest University School of Law in 2014 [1][6][15].  After law school he practiced in Charlotte before returning to his hometown, where he became a partner at Wilson, Lackey, Rohr & Hall, P.C., and previously worked at SeiferFlatow and Fleischer & Hall [1][8].\n\nHall entered politics in 2015 as treasurer of the Caldwell County Republican Party.  He announced his candidacy for the open District\u202f87 seat in December\u202f2015, won the Republican primary against incumbent George\u202fRobinson in March\u202f2016, and was elected unopposed in the November\u202f2016 general election.  He was sworn in in January\u202f2017 and was immediately chosen by his peers as the Majority Freshman Leader of the House Republican Caucus [1][6][15].  He has been re\u2011elected in 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2024, serving five terms as of 2025.\n\nDuring his tenure Hall chaired several key committees, including the Energy and Public Utilities Committee (2023\u201124), the House Rules, Calendar, and Operations Committee (2020\u2011present), and the House Redistricting Committee (2021\u201122).  He also served as chair of the Election Law and Campaign Finance Reform Committee (2019\u201120) and held leadership positions on the House Finance Committee and the UNC Board of Governors Nominations Committee [1].\n\nIn January\u202f2025 Hall was unanimously elected the 121st Speaker of the North Carolina House, becoming the youngest speaker since 1819 and the first Republican speaker who had never served in the minority.  As speaker he has emphasized priorities such as hurricane\u2011Helene recovery, tax cuts, lowering the cost of living, expanding education options, and public safety.  He has advocated for cutting red tape for small businesses, promoting low\u2011cost energy sources, and supporting law\u2011enforcement\u2011friendly immigration policies [1][7][9].  Hall\u2019s leadership occurs in a divided government where Republicans control the legislature but Democrats hold the governorship, making bipartisan negotiation essential.\n\nHall\u2019s personal life includes his marriage to Madison Skeens Hall, also an attorney, with whom he resides in Granite\u202fFalls.  He is an active member of Union Grove Baptist Church and has been involved in local school\u2011board matters, serving as attorney to the Caldwell County Schools Board of Education.  His community involvement and legislative record are highlighted on his campaign website, which stresses conservative values, limited government, and school\u2011choice expansion [13][15].\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Destin Hall - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Destin_Hall)\n- [4] [Representative Destin Hall - Biography - North Carolina General Assembly](https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/Biography/H/719)\n- [6] [Destin Hall - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destin_Hall)\n- [8] [Vote Smart | Facts For All](https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/biography/166631/destin-hall)\n- [12] [North Carolina State Rep. Destin Hall - Biography | LegiStorm](https://www.legistorm.com/person/bio/263162/Destin_Hall.html)\n- [13] [Home | Destin Hall for N.C. House of Representatives](https://www.destinhall.org/)\n- [14] [State Representative Destin Hall | BillTrack50](https://www.billtrack50.com/LegislatorDetail/22314)\n- [15] [Meet Destin Hall, the new Speaker of the House](https://www.ednc.org/meet-destin-hall-the-new-speaker-of-the-house/)\n- [16] [Republicans select Rep. Destin Hall to serve as next NC House Speaker \u2022 NC Newsline](https://ncnewsline.com/briefs/republicans-select-rules-chair-destin-hall-to-serve-as-next-nc-house-speaker/)\n- [17] [How Destin Hall Rose From Humble Beginnings to House Speaker](https://www.theassemblync.com/news/politics/destin-hall-house-speaker-north-carolina/)\n- [18] [Destin Hall - North Carolina Candidate - Transparency USA](https://www.transparencyusa.org/nc/candidate/destin-hall)\n- [19] [Destin Hall - North Carolina House Republican Caucus](https://www.nchouserepublicans.com/members/destin-hall/)\n- [20] [About | Office Of Representative Destin Hall](https://www.speakerhall.com/blank-1)","firstname":"Destin","lastname":"Hall","middlename":"Chase","suffix":null,"token":"879bed954cc75856"},"token":"j4EqpooWIv"}],"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 087"}