{"biography":"Lorenza Maurice Wilkins is the Democratic nominee for the North Carolina House of Representatives District\u202f25 in the 2026 election, seeking to unseat incumbent Republican Allen\u202fChesser\u202fII on November\u202f3,\u202f2026 [1].  He currently serves as Chief Administrative Officer of the Inter\u2011Faith Food Shuttle, a nonprofit that recovers and distributes food while teaching self\u2011sufficiency skills, and is also acting as its interim chief operating officer [15].\n\nWilkins earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from North Carolina Central University, where he was a student\u2011athlete and member of the 3.0 Club, and later completed a Bachelor of Science, an MBA, and a Doctorate in Business Administration through Columbia Southern University [7].  He is a graduate of the Leadership Triangle and a Goodmon Fellow, and has been inducted into the National Society of Leadership and Success [4].\n\nHis professional career spans more than two decades across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors.  In the nonprofit arena he has held senior leadership positions including Executive Director of Rebound\u202f\u2014\u202fAlternatives for Youth, Senior Director of Programs & Operations at Made\u202fin\u202fDurham, Program Manager for the Triangle Literacy Council, and Executive Fellow with FUSE\u202fCorps.  In the private sector he worked for technology firms IBM and Motorola and spent nearly a decade with CSX, rising from conductor to locomotive engineer and later to management before accepting a buyout [15].  He also served as Talent Advisor at CSX and held human\u2011resources leadership roles in other companies.\n\nWilkins co\u2011founded the Compass Youth Program in 2009, a nonprofit that provides K\u201112 educational programs aimed at career readiness and community engagement [17].  His work has focused on economic development, small\u2011business support, mental\u2011health advocacy, and improving educational pathways for youth, themes he emphasizes in his campaign platform: fostering job\u2011creating businesses, expanding affordable health and human\u2011services resources, protecting vulnerable communities, and addressing climate\u2011change impacts in North Carolina [7, 17].\n\nIn electoral politics, Wilkins first ran for office in 2024.  He secured the Democratic nomination after the primary was canceled and faced Chesser in the general election, losing narrowly by about 1\u202f% (23,234 votes to Chesser\u2019s 23,760) [15].  He rebounded in the 2026 Democratic primary, defeating Harris\u202fWalker with 57.1\u202f% of the vote (4,936 votes) to win the party\u2019s ticket for the November 2026 contest [1].  His campaign is organized through the website lorenzawilkinsfornc.com, which provides voter\u2011information, early\u2011voting dates, and a list of polling locations throughout District\u202f25 [4, 5].\n\nWilkins has received endorsements from a range of organizations, including Planned Parenthood, the NC AFL\u2011CIO, and the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, which highlighted his role as a \u201cSpotlight\u201d candidate in prior cycles [8, 14].  He continues to advocate for shared prosperity, economic opportunity, and protection of civil rights as he seeks to represent Nash County and the surrounding communities in the state legislature.\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Lorenza Wilkins - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Lorenza_Wilkins)\n- [4] [Lorenza Wilkins for NC House | vote](https://www.lorenzawilkinsfornc.com)\n- [5] [District 25 | Lorenza M Wilkins](https://www.lorenzawilkinsfornc.com/copy-of-about)\n- [7] [Meet Lorenza | Lorenza M Wilkins](https://www.lorenzawilkinsfornc.com/copy-of-about-1)\n- [8] [Endorsements for Lorenza M. Wilkins - North Carolina Democratic Party Candidate](https://bluevoterguide.org/NC/candidate_Lorenza_M._Wilkins/526380)\n- [12] [N.C. House candidate Lorenza Wilkins, a Democrat ...](https://www.facebook.com/rockymounttelegram/posts/nc-house-candidate-lorenza-wilkins-a-democrat-seeking-his-partys-nomination-for-/1491624449636348/)\n- [14] [Lorenza Wilkins - Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee](https://dlcc.org/candidates/lorenza-wilkins/)\n- [15] [Chesser finishes ahead of Wilkins by 526 votes | Local News | rockymounttelegram.com](https://www.rockymounttelegram.com/news/local/chesser-finishes-ahead-of-wilkins-by-526-votes/article_69e72758-9bed-11ef-a407-171f4c5bffe9.html)\n- [17] [Dr. Lorenza Wilkins is Running For House District 25 to Ensure North Carolina\u2019s Prosperity and a Brighter Future for Nash County - NC Voices](https://ncvoices.com/dr-lorenza-wilkins-is-running-for-house-district-25-to-ensure-north-carolinas-prosperity-and-a-brighter-future-for-nash-county/)\n- [18] [Lorenza Wilkins - HD25 \u2014 C2C+NoC](https://c2cnoc.org/2024-candidates/wilkins)\n- [20] [Supporting High-Impact, Down-Ballot Candidates](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/10/27/2279996/-Supporting-High-Impact-Down-Ballot-Candidates)","campaigns":[{"contest":"state_house_025","county":"nash","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Nc House Of Representatives District 025"},{"contest":"state_house_025","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Nc House Of Representatives District 025"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Lorenza","fullname":"Lorenza Maurice Wilkins","lastname":"Wilkins","middlename":"Maurice","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"state_house_025","contest_title":"Nc House Of Representatives District 025","county":"nash","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_025","contest_title":"Nc House Of Representatives District 025","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_025","contest_title":"Nc House Of Representatives District 025","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":[]}],"summary":"Lorenza Maurice Wilkins is the Democratic candidate for North Carolina House District\u202f25, a nonprofit leader with extensive public\u2011private experience seeking to unseat incumbent Allen\u202fChesser\u202fII in 2026.","terms":[],"token":"3c9bcf9407af91ee"}