{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nGardenia Mae Henley (Democrat) has run repeatedly in the NC State Senate District 32 Democratic primary (Forsyth County/Winston-Salem area) since 2010, challenging incumbent Sen. Paul Lowe. She lost the 2026 primary.\n\nHenley has advocated for reproductive rights; redirecting education lottery funding to increase teacher salaries; repealing North Carolina's \"Right to Work\" law; affordable housing; an increased minimum wage; lower property tax rates; and tax exemptions for military veterans.\n\n## Background and education\nBorn and raised in northeast Winston-Salem, Henley graduated from East Forsyth High School in Kernersville, NC. She holds a B.S. in Accounting and an M.S. in Taxation, and taught taxation at Strayer University in Arlington, VA.\n\n## Career\nA decorated Air Force veteran, Henley was subsequently appointed to the U.S. Diplomatic Corps by President Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. She spent 22 years as an Inspector General Auditor-in-Charge at USAID (U.S. Department of State's Agency for International Development), 1987\u20132005. She is also an author and publishes \"The Henley Reports\" blog.\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Gardenia Henley for NC Senate \u2013 Campaign Website](https://thepeoplescandidate.org/)\n","campaigns":[{"contest":"state_senate_032","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Nc State Senate District 32"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Gardenia","fullname":"Gardenia Mae Henley","lastname":"Henley","middlename":"Mae","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"state_senate_032","contest_title":"Nc State Senate District 32","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"state_senate","office_title":"State Senator","party":"DEM","pgr":"general","state":"NC"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"state_senate_032","contest_title":"Nc State Senate District 32","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"state_senate","office_title":"State Senator","party":"DEM","pgr":"general","state":"NC"},"party":"DEM","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"state_senate","office_title":"State Senator","state":"NC","terms":[]}],"terms":[],"token":"18a96d3343dc9a72"}