{"biography":"Winn Decker (John Winston Decker) is the Democratic nominee for the North Carolina House of Representatives, District 37 (Wake County), on the November 3, 2026 general-election ballot against Republican incumbent Erin Par\u00e9 [1][2][3]. Decker won the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary with 50.3% of the vote, ahead of Marcus Gadson (38.1%) and Ralph Clements (11.6%) [1].\n\n## Background and education\nDecker earned a bachelor's degree from Rhodes College and a Ph.D. in Public Administration from North Carolina State University, with a focus on education policy, public budgeting, and program implementation [1]. He has lived in Wake County for more than a decade and now lives in Fuquay-Varina [2].\n\n## Career\nDecker's professional background is in education and workforce policy. Per his campaign site, he has worked at the James B. Hunt Jr. Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy \u2014 founded by former North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt \u2014 advising governors, legislators, and state leaders from both parties on strengthening public schools, expanding college access, and building the workforce, and says he continues that policy work nationally while remaining active in southern Wake County [2]. Ballotpedia lists his profession as policy analyst [1].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Winn Decker - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Winn_Decker) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-19\n[2] [Winn Decker for North Carolina House District 37](https://winn4nc.com) (campaign site) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-19\n[3] [NC State Board of Elections \u2014 2026 Candidate Listing](https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/Elections/2026/Candidate%20Filing/Candidate_Listing_2026.csv) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-19","campaigns":[{"contest":"state_house_037","county":"wake","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Nc House Of Representatives District 037"},{"contest":"state_house_037","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Nc House Of Representatives District 037"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"John","fullname":"John Winston Decker","lastname":"Decker","middlename":"Winston","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"state_house_037","contest_title":"Nc House Of Representatives District 037","county":"wake","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-11-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"state_house","office_title":"State Representative","party":"DEM","pgr":"general","state":"NC"},{"contest":"state_house_037","contest_title":"Nc House Of Representatives District 037","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"state_house","office_title":"State Representative","party":"DEM","pgr":"general","state":"NC"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"state_house_037","contest_title":"Nc House Of Representatives District 037","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","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":[]}],"terms":[],"token":"2ec0c5c986a73d84"}