{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nMarcella Bragio Barbour ran as a Republican candidate for the North Carolina House of Representatives in District 4, covering Duplin and Wayne counties [1][2]. In the March 3, 2026 Republican primary she received 18.3% of the vote against incumbent Rep. James Dixon, who won with 81.7% [2][3].\n\nBarbour's campaign focused on school safety and strong educational opportunities, addressing healthcare challenges in rural areas, and highlighting the importance of agriculture and small business in Duplin and Wayne counties, per her campaign website [1].\n\n## Background and education\nBarbour was born in Brazil and grew up on her grandparents' farm; her campaign biography credits that upbringing with teaching her that hard work matters and that farms and small businesses are the backbone of strong communities [1]. She later became a naturalized U.S. citizen. Per her campaign biography, she earned both a bachelor's and a master's degree in business administration from the Federal University of Vi\u00e7osa in Brazil, along with additional certifications from Harvard University [1].\n\n## Career\nAfter becoming a U.S. citizen, Barbour enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served as a Hospital Corpsman, gaining medical training in high-pressure environments, per her campaign biography [1]. Her professional background also includes leadership roles in human resources, public relations, and supply-chain operations across three countries, plus work in education and healthcare; she has taught at a Christian school and served as a substitute teacher [1].\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Meet Marcella \u2013 Marcella Barbour for NC House 4](https://web.archive.org/web/20260224220358/https://www.votemarcellanc.com/meet_marcella) (campaign site archived via the Wayback Machine \u2014 the live votemarcellanc.com domain has since lapsed to a parked-domain page; archived snapshot accessed 2026-07-20)\n- [2] [2026 Primary Candidate Detail List \u2013 NC State Board of Elections](https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/Elections/2026/Candidate%20Filing/2026_primary_candidate_detail_list_federal_and_state.pdf)\n- [3] [Seven North Carolina State Representatives Lose Against Primary Challengers \u2013 Critical Report](https://criticalreport.substack.com/p/2026-nc-state-house-primaries)","campaigns":[{"contest":"state_house_004","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Nc House Of Representatives District 004"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Marcella","fullname":"Marcella Bragio Barbour","lastname":"Barbour","middlename":"Bragio","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"state_house_004","contest_title":"Nc House Of Representatives District 004","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"state_house","office_title":"State Representative","party":"REP","pgr":"general","state":"NC"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"state_house_004","contest_title":"Nc House Of Representatives District 004","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"state_house","office_title":"State Representative","party":"REP","pgr":"general","state":"NC"},"party":"REP","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"state_house","office_title":"State Representative","state":"NC","terms":[]}],"terms":[],"token":"196c5026eadeb0c3"}