{"biography":"Lisa Grafstein is the incumbent Democratic member of the North Carolina State Senate for District\u202f13 and is seeking re\u2011election in the November\u202f3,\u202f2026 general election [1][8].  North Carolina senators serve two\u2011year 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\u2011diem [2].\n\nGrafstein was born in Amityville, New\u202fYork, on September\u202f7,\u202f1966.  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 [1][8].  After law school she became a civil\u2011rights 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\u202fGrafstein, PLLC.  She also worked for the North Carolina State Personnel Commission [1].\n\nHer political career began with a successful 2022 campaign for the newly created Senate District\u202f13, where she defeated Republican David\u202fBankert and Libertarian Michael\u202fMunger, winning 62\u202f% of the vote [8].  She was re\u2011elected in 2024, beating Republican Scott\u202fLassiter with 50.2\u202f% of the vote [1][8].  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\u20112026 session, and held similar assignments in 2023\u20112024 [1].\n\nGrafstein\u2019s legislative work includes introducing Bill\u202f225 to allow municipalities to enact rent\u2011control measures (2023) [8], voicing skepticism about a statewide voter\u2011photo\u2011ID proposal (2023) [8], and publicly opposing the Republican\u2011led ban on gender\u2011affirming care for minors (2023) [8].  She has been endorsed by the Sierra Club of North Carolina, States\u202fWin, and Bull City\u202fAnna, among others [1].\n\nFollowing 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\u202f13 candidate for 2026 on Ballotpedia and the North Carolina Board of Elections [14][1].  Her campaign emphasizes expanding healthcare and public\u2011education funding, protecting civil\u2011rights for people with disabilities and LGBTQ\u202f+ residents, and addressing the state\u2019s fiscal challenges [13].\n\nGrafstein 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.\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Lisa Grafstein - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Lisa_Grafstein)\n- [2] [North Carolina State Senate District 13 - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/North_Carolina_State_Senate_District_13)\n- [7] [Senator Lisa Grafstein - Biography - North Carolina General Assembly](https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/Biography/s/439)\n- [8] [Lisa Grafstein - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Grafstein)\n- [10] [iVoterGuide - Lisa Grafstein iVoterGuide Profile](https://ivoterguide.com/candidate/71325/race/8466/election/1206)\n- [12] [State Senator Lisa Grafstein | BillTrack50](https://www.billtrack50.com/legislatordetail/28099)\n- [13] [HOME | Lisa Grafstein For N](https://www.lisagrafstein.com/)\n- [14] [N.C. state senator shifts to competitive district in 2024](https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nc/charlotte/news/2023/10/28/after-redistricting--n-c--state-senator-shifts-to-run-in-competitive-district-in-2024)\n- [17] [Lisa Grafstein - Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee](https://www.dlcc.org/candidates/lisa-grafstein/)\n- [18] [Lisa Grafstein \u2014 LPAC](https://www.teamlpac.com/our-candidates/lisa-grafstein)","campaigns":[{"contest":"state_senate_013","county":"wake","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Nc State Senate District 13"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Lisa","fullname":"Lisa Grafstein","lastname":"Grafstein","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"state_senate_013","contest_title":"Nc State Senate District 13","county":"wake","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_013","contest_title":"Nc State Senate District 13","county":"wake","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":"Lisa Grafstein is the Democratic NC State Senator for District\u202f13 seeking re\u2011election in 2026, a civil\u2011rights lawyer and the chamber\u2019s only openly LGBTQ member.","terms":[],"token":"6ce87417cd6ee2b2"}