{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nAshley 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\u20132026 cycle as of its filing covering April 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026, with a mailing address in Conover, NC [2][3]. 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 [1][5].\n\n## Background and education\nBell 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 [1][4]. 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].\n\n## Career\nBell'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 [1][4]. 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].\n\nIn 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 \u2014 an experience she credits with sharpening her focus on disability rights and health-care policy [1][4].\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Ashley Bell (North Carolina) - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Ashley_Bell_(North_Carolina)) (includes her 2025 Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey responses)\n- [2] [BELL, ASHLEY - Candidate overview - FEC.gov](https://www.fec.gov/data/candidate/H6NC10174/)\n- [3] [ASHLEY BELL FOR CONGRESS - committee overview - FEC.gov](https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00901934/)\n- [4] [About \u2014 Ashley Bell for Congress](https://www.ashleybellforcongress.com/about)\n- [5] [Ashley Bell for Congress](https://www.ashleybellforcongress.com/)\n- [6] [Ashley Bell wins Democratic primary for North Carolina's 10th Congressional District - WFMY News 2](https://www.wfmynews2.com/article/news/politics/elections/ashley-bell-wins-democratic-primary-north-carolinas-10th-congressional-district/83-8173509c-85d4-45fb-bff2-efee01322375)\n","campaigns":[{"contest":"us_house_010","county":"alexander","county_count":17,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"nc","title":"Us House Of Representatives District 10"},{"contest":"us_house_010","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Us House Of Representatives District 10"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Ashley","fullname":"Ashley Thrasher Bell","lastname":"Bell","middlename":"Thrasher","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"us_house_010","contest_title":"Us House Of Representatives District 10","county":"alexander","county_count":17,"electiondate":"2026-11-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"us_house","office_title":"U.S. Representative","party":"DEM","pgr":"general","state":"nc"},{"contest":"us_house_010","contest_title":"Us House Of Representatives District 10","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"us_house","office_title":"U.S. Representative","party":"DEM","pgr":"general","state":"NC"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"us_house_010","contest_title":"Us House Of Representatives District 10","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"us_house","office_title":"U.S. Representative","party":"DEM","pgr":"general","state":"NC"},"party":"DEM","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"us_house","office_title":"U.S. Representative","state":"NC","terms":[]}],"summary":"Ashley Bell is the Democratic nominee for NC\u201110 U.S. House, a physician assistant and educator advocating Medicare for All and higher wages.","terms":[],"token":"7781f975d9920d57"}