Lakeshia Mashonda Ruddie Alston

Lakeshia Mashonda Ruddi Alston is the Republican nominee for North Carolina State Senate District 22 in the November 3, 2026 general election. The North Carolina State Senate is the upper chamber of the state legislature; senators serve two‑year terms and must satisfy the state’s constitutional qualifications for office, including age, residency, and voter registration requirements ¹.

Alston was born and raised in Durham, where she has been a registered voter since at least 2004. For more than a decade she voted in Democratic primaries, casting ballots for Democratic candidates in 2012, 2015 and again in the 2024 election cycle. In late 2025 she switched her party affiliation and filed as a Republican for the State Senate race, a move she described as a personal evolution and a “maturation” toward the Republican Party’s values ¹⁷²⁰.

Her candidacy attracted national attention because her campaign photo showed her wearing a niqab, a full-face veil worn by some Muslim women. The image circulated widely on social media and prompted discussion about her religious background, political history, and policy positions. In interviews with the Daily Caller and other outlets, Alston emphasized her support for immigration enforcement (referring to ICE) and expressed alignment with former President Donald Trump’s tariff policies, while also noting that critics sometimes framed skepticism about her candidacy in racial terms ²⁰¹⁶.

Alston’s path to the GOP nomination was unopposed. She filed with the Durham County Board of Elections just two days before the filing deadline, and because no other Republican filed for District 22, the party’s primary was canceled under state law, automatically making her the Republican nominee ¹¹⁶¹⁸. The district, which includes parts of Durham, leans heavily Democratic; incumbent Democrat Sophia Chitlik won the Democratic primary with 65.6% of the vote and will face Alston in the November contest ¹.

Beyond the campaign, Alston’s public record includes a background as the daughter of a Vietnam‑era Army veteran and a professional history that has not yet included elected office. She has not completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey, but the site lists a campaign‑related email address ([email protected]) for voter outreach ¹. Her campaign materials and public statements suggest a focus on “substance over style,” positioning herself as a qualified candidate despite questions from local GOP leaders about her alignment with the party platform ²⁰.

Alston’s candidacy exemplifies the dynamics of North Carolina’s open primary system, where voters can switch party affiliation at filing, and highlights the scrutiny candidates may face when their prior voting history diverges from their current party label. The upcoming November election will determine whether her party switch and unconventional campaign imagery can overcome the district’s Democratic lean.

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