{"biography":"> **Editorial note \u2014 same-name confusion.** An earlier version of this page described James Rutherford, the Democratic Minority Leader of the South Carolina House of Representatives \u2014 a different person entirely. That biography has been removed. James Stephen Rutherford, who appears on the ballot as \"Steve Rutherford,\" is the candidate profiled here.\n\n## Current office and 2026 campaign\nJames Stephen Rutherford is a Democratic candidate for North Carolina Senate District 43 (Gaston County) in the November 3, 2026 general election, facing Republican Brad Overcash [1]. He filed his candidacy on December 1, 2025 [1].\n\n## Sources\n[1] North Carolina State Board of Elections, 2026 candidate filing list (Candidate_Listing_2026.csv, dl.ncsbe.gov) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-20","campaigns":[{"contest":"state_senate_043","county":"gaston","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Nc State Senate District 43"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"James","fullname":"James Stephen Rutherford","lastname":"Rutherford","middlename":"Stephen","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"state_senate_043","contest_title":"Nc State Senate District 43","county":"gaston","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-11-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"state_senate","office_title":"State Senator","party":"DEM","pgr":"general","state":"NC"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"state_senate_043","contest_title":"Nc State Senate District 43","county":"gaston","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-11-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"state_senate","office_title":"State Senator","party":"DEM","pgr":"general","state":"NC"},"party":"DEM","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"state_senate","office_title":"State Senator","state":"NC","terms":[]}],"summary":"James Rutherford is a Democratic incumbent representing District 74 in the South Carolina House of Representatives since 1998, running for re-election in 2026.","terms":[],"token":"6b73a3e6030275cb"}