{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nShelly Willingham is the outgoing Democratic member of the North Carolina House of Representatives for District 23, covering Bertie, Edgecombe, and Martin counties, a seat he has held since 2015 [1]. Willingham lost the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary to Patricia Smith and will not appear on the November 3, 2026 general-election ballot; his current term runs through January 1, 2027 [1].\n\n## Office history\nWillingham was first elected to House District 23 in November 2014 and won re-election in 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2024, most recently defeating Republican Brent Roberson in the November 2024 general election [1].\n\n## Legislative record and accomplishments\nDuring the 2023\u20132024 session, Willingham chaired the Alcoholic Beverage Control Committee and served as vice chair of the Insurance Committee, along with seats on Appropriations, Appropriations on Transportation, Election Law and Campaign Finance Reform, Federal Relations and American Indian Affairs, Rules Calendar and Operations of the House, and State Personnel [1].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Shelly Willingham - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Shelly_Willingham) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-21\n\n[2] [North Carolina State Board of Elections, 2026 Candidate Filing List](https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/Elections/2026/Candidate%20Filing/Candidate_Listing_2026.csv) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-21","campaigns":[{"contest":"state_house_023","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Nc House Of Representatives District 023"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Shelly","fullname":"Shelly Willingham","lastname":"Willingham","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"state_house_023","contest_title":"Nc House Of Representatives District 023","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_023","contest_title":"Nc House Of Representatives District 023","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":"Per the NC voter file: DEM voter in Edgecombe County since 1981.","terms":[],"token":"4d0438183390ae68"}