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Ashley Thrasher Bell
Office history
Current office and 2026 campaign
Ashley Thrasher Bell is the Democratic nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives in North Carolina's 10th Congressional District, having won the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary with 47.3% of the vote 1. She appears on the November 3, 2026 general-election ballot against incumbent Republican Rep. Pat Harrigan 1. Her principal campaign committee, "Ashley Bell for Congress," reported $84,024.21 in total receipts and $57,805.29 in total disbursements for the 2025–2026 cycle as of its filing covering April 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026, with a mailing address in Conover, NC 23. Her campaign platform includes Medicare for All, capping prescription-drug prices, raising the federal minimum wage to $17 per hour, expanding affordable housing, ending Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and reducing corporate money in politics 15.
Background and education
Bell was born in Tyler, Texas, and raised in Henderson, Texas, the daughter of small-business owners; her campaign says her grandfather started an HVAC business in 1957 that still operates today 4. She was the first in her family to attend college, graduating from the University of Houston with the help of a Pell grant and academic and music scholarships 14. She later earned a physician associate credential from the Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, NC, and a Doctor of Medical Science from the University of Lynchburg 4.
Career
Bell's career began in Texas public schools as a junior-high and high-school band director 4. Per her campaign account, she spent 14 years as a physician associate in emergency medicine, primary care, rural clinics and telemedicine across North Carolina and Texas, then taught as a university professor in physician-assistant programs, including evidence-based medicine and research methods at the master's and doctoral levels 14. She says she helped organize an effort with the Wall Street Journal and the U.S. Department of Education that exposed a billion-dollar ed-tech company's practices toward her students 4.
In 2023, Bell developed a chronic illness. She says her academic employer at the time did not provide the disability accommodations she needed to keep working, and she lost her job, income and health insurance as a result — an experience she credits with sharpening her focus on disability rights and health-care policy 14.
Sources
Public filings
Candidates and officeholders are required by law to file campaign finance reports and statements of economic interest. The sites below don't support direct links to an individual record — search by last name on each.
North Carolina — campaign finance
- State, county, and municipal candidates — all in one system — NC State Board of Elections — Committee Search. Search by last name “Bell”.
North Carolina — statement of economic interest
- Required for state-elected and many local officials — NC State Ethics Commission — Statement of Economic Interest Search. Search by last name “Bell”.
Federal offices — campaign finance
- US House, US Senate, and Presidential candidates file with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), not with state systems — FEC candidate search. Filter by office, state, and cycle to narrow the results. Financial disclosures (personal assets and income) for members of Congress and congressional candidates are filed with the US House Clerk or US Senate Office of Public Records, depending on the office.