Lisa Grafstein

Lisa Grafstein is the incumbent Democratic member of the North Carolina State Senate for District 13 and is seeking re‑election in the November 3, 2026 general election ¹⁸. North Carolina senators serve two‑year terms, must be at least 25 years old, a qualified voter, and have resided in the state for two years and in the district for one year before election; they earn a $13,951 annual salary plus a $104 per‑diem ².

Grafstein was born in Amityville, New York, on September 7, 1966. She earned a B.A. in English from Northwestern University in 1988 and a J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 1995 ¹⁸. After law school she became a civil‑rights attorney specializing in employment law, serving as litigation counsel for Disability Rights North Carolina and later operating her own firm, the Law Office of Lisa Grafstein, PLLC. She also worked for the North Carolina State Personnel Commission ¹.

Her political career began with a successful 2022 campaign for the newly created Senate District 13, where she defeated Republican David Bankert and Libertarian Michael Munger, winning 62 % of the vote ⁸. She was re‑elected in 2024, beating Republican Scott Lassiter with 50.2 % of the vote ¹⁸. In the Senate she has served on the Agriculture, Energy, and Environment Committee; Senate Appropriations on Justice and Public Safety; Senate Judiciary; Senate State and Local Government; and the Appropriations/Base Budget Committee during the 2025‑2026 session, and held similar assignments in 2023‑2024 ¹.

Grafstein’s legislative work includes introducing Bill 225 to allow municipalities to enact rent‑control measures (2023) ⁸, voicing skepticism about a statewide voter‑photo‑ID proposal (2023) ⁸, and publicly opposing the Republican‑led ban on gender‑affirming care for minors (2023) ⁸. She has been endorsed by the Sierra Club of North Carolina, States Win, and Bull City Anna, among others ¹.

Following the 2023 redistricting that placed two Democratic incumbents in the same district, Grafstein announced she would run in a neighboring, more competitive district in southern Wake County for the 2024 cycle, but she remains listed as the District 13 candidate for 2026 on Ballotpedia and the North Carolina Board of Elections ¹⁴¹. Her campaign emphasizes expanding healthcare and public‑education funding, protecting civil‑rights for people with disabilities and LGBTQ + residents, and addressing the state’s fiscal challenges ¹³.

Grafstein resides in Raleigh, North Carolina, and continues to practice law while serving in the Senate. She can be reached via her official Senate email and phone, and her campaign maintains a website with policy statements and contact information.

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