{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nMark R. Burrows is the Democratic candidate for North Carolina House District 119, covering Jackson, Swain, and Transylvania counties, in the November 3, 2026 general election [1]. The Democratic primary was canceled, advancing Burrows automatically to the general [1]. His Republican opponent is Anna Ferguson: Ferguson finished second in the March 3, 2026 Republican primary behind then-incumbent Mike Clampitt, but Clampitt subsequently withdrew from the race, leaving Ferguson as the Republican general-election candidate [1][2].\n\n## Background and education\nBurrows earned a bachelor's degree from Wake Forest University in 1985 and a graduate degree from Duke University in 1987. As of 2024, he was a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners [1].\n\n## Career\nBurrows has worked in government and economic-development planning; his campaign describes \"over 30 years of planning and economic development experience...right here in Western NC\" [3].\n\n## Office history\nBurrows previously ran for the same seat in 2024, losing to then-incumbent Republican Mike Clampitt 55.4% to 44.6% (26,871 to 21,641 votes) [1].\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Mark Burrows - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Mark_Burrows) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-20\n- [2] [North Carolina State Board of Elections 2026 Candidate Filing List (CSV)](https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/Elections/2026/Candidate%20Filing/Candidate_Listing_2026.csv) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-20 (Clampitt filed only for the March primary; Ferguson filed for the primary and, with an amended filing dated 2026-04-13, the November general)\n- [3] [Mark Burrows campaign Facebook post](https://www.facebook.com/MarkBurrowsNC/posts/im-mark-burrows-running-for-nc-house-to-serve-jackson-swain-and-transylvania-cou/122135294168298555/)","campaigns":[{"contest":"state_house_119","county":"jackson","county_count":3,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Nc House Of Representatives District 119"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Mark","fullname":"Mark Ross Burrows","lastname":"Burrows","middlename":"Ross","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"state_house_119","contest_title":"Nc House Of Representatives District 119","county":"jackson","county_count":3,"electiondate":"2026-11-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"state_house","office_title":"State Representative","party":"DEM","pgr":"general","state":"NC"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"state_house_119","contest_title":"Nc House Of Representatives District 119","county":"jackson","county_count":3,"electiondate":"2026-11-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"state_house","office_title":"State Representative","party":"DEM","pgr":"general","state":"NC"},"party":"DEM","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"state_house","office_title":"State Representative","state":"NC","terms":[]}],"summary":"Democratic candidate Mark R. Burrows seeks a North Carolina House seat for District\u202f119, emphasizing education, jobs, and affordable housing.","terms":[],"token":"0e3738d3fb3c2fb1"}