{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nTasherra Nichols McDuffie, of Cameron, filed on December 18, 2025 as the Democratic candidate for North Carolina House District 51, which covers all of Lee County and part of eastern Moore County [1][2]. She was the only Democrat to file for the seat, and no Democratic primary was held [1].\n\nMcDuffie withdrew before the general election. She filed withdrawal paperwork with the Moore County Board of Elections on March 6, 2026, and the North Carolina State Board of Elections' 2026 candidate filing record lists her ballot entry as \"Tasherra Nichols McDuffie - WITHDRAWN\" [1][2]. She told The Rant, a Sanford news outlet, that she had \"temporarily suspended\" the campaign \"due to a personal family matter,\" adding: \"I've had the luxury of living my life through my heart's desire over the past ten years. Now I want to do my part to make sure my family has every opportunity to succeed together\" [2]. Her name did not appear on the November 3, 2026 ballot [2].\n\nThe District 51 seat was open because Republican Rep. John Sauls is retiring. Sanford City Councilman Charles M. Taylor is the Republican nominee, and Sanford business owner April Montgomery qualified for the ballot as an unaffiliated candidate by petition [1][2].\n\n## Sources\n\n[1] [2026 Candidate Filing List (Candidate_Listing_2026.csv)](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[2] [McDuffie drops out of House 51 race](https://rantnc.com/2026/03/13/mcduffie-drops-out-of-house-51-race/) - The Rant (Sanford, NC), accessed 2026-07-30","campaigns":[{"contest":"state_house_051","county":"chatham","county_count":6,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Nc House Of Representatives District 051"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Tasherra","fullname":"Tasherra Louise Nichols Mcduffie","lastname":"Nichols Mcduffie","middlename":"Louise","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"state_house_051","contest_title":"Nc House Of Representatives District 051","county":"chatham","county_count":6,"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_051","contest_title":"Nc House Of Representatives District 051","county":"chatham","county_count":6,"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 Tasherra Nichols\u202fMcDuffie advanced from the cancelled primary for NC House District\u202f51 but will not be on the 2026 general\u2011election ballot.","terms":[],"token":"274930e4559aba77"}