{"biography":"Lakeshia Mashonda Ruddi Alston is the Republican nominee for North Carolina State Senate District 22 in the November\u202f3,\u202f2026 general election. The North Carolina State Senate is the upper chamber of the state legislature; senators serve two\u2011year terms and must satisfy the state\u2019s constitutional qualifications for office, including age, residency, and voter registration requirements [1].\n\nAlston 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 \u201cmaturation\u201d toward the Republican Party\u2019s values [17][20].\n\nHer 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\u2019s tariff policies, while also noting that critics sometimes framed skepticism about her candidacy in racial terms [20][16].\n\nAlston\u2019s 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\u202f22, the party\u2019s primary was canceled under state law, automatically making her the Republican nominee [1][16][18]. The district, which includes parts of Durham, leans heavily Democratic; incumbent Democrat Sophia\u202fChitlik won the Democratic primary with 65.6% of the vote and will face Alston in the November contest [1].\n\nBeyond the campaign, Alston\u2019s public record includes a background as the daughter of a Vietnam\u2011era 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\u2011related email address (alstonlakeshia0@gmail.com) for voter outreach [1]. Her campaign materials and public statements suggest a focus on \u201csubstance over style,\u201d positioning herself as a qualified candidate despite questions from local GOP leaders about her alignment with the party platform [20].\n\nAlston\u2019s candidacy exemplifies the dynamics of North Carolina\u2019s 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\u2019s Democratic lean.\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Lakeshia Alston - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Lakeshia_Alston)\n- [5] [Lakeshia Alston, a lifelong Democrat, has won the ...](https://www.facebook.com/77WABC/posts/lakeshia-alston-a-lifelong-democrat-has-won-the-republican-primary-for-district-/1508124011320966/)\n- [6] [MAGA WAKE UP: Meet Lakeshia Alston, the \"Republican\" ...](https://www.facebook.com/shane.morgan.50702/videos/maga-wake-up-meet-lakeshia-alston-the-republican-candidate-for-north-carolina-st/1506282590445628/)\n- [7] [LaKeshia Alston, a former #Democrat, secured the # ...](https://www.facebook.com/TheNCBeat/posts/lakeshia-alston-a-former-democrat-secured-the-republican-nomination-for-nc-senat/1497622181929905/)\n- [8] [Meet Lakeshia Alston, the \"Republican\" candidate for North ...](https://www.facebook.com/shane.morgan.50702/posts/maga-wake-up-meet-lakeshia-alston-the-republican-candidate-for-north-carolina-st/25676341501960386/)\n- [12] [Lakeshia Alston, the woman running for election as a ...](https://www.facebook.com/PatriotOneNews/posts/breaking-lakeshia-alston-the-woman-running-for-election-as-a-republican-in-north/940524471824387/)\n- [14] [Durham County Board of Elections on X: \"2026 Statewide Primary and Election Candidate Filing Update: December 17, 2025 - Lakeshia M. Alston filed for N.C. Senate District 22. https://t.co/M922piRNvU\" / X](https://x.com/dcovotes/status/2001412378995442007)\n- [15] [UPDATE: According to voter research history, this woman ...](https://www.facebook.com/TheNCBeat/posts/update-according-to-voter-research-history-this-woman-is-a-longtime-democrat-but/1443491514009639/)\n- [16] [Niqab-Wearing Muslim Woman Who Voted for Democrats in 2024 Becomes North Carolina\u2019s GOP](https://newsbeyonddetroit.net/2026/03/04/niqab-wearing-muslim-woman-who-voted-for-democrats-in-2024-becomes-north-carolinas-gop/)\n- [17] [LaKeshia Alston Wins Republican Primary For NC Senate District 22, Will Face Sophia Chitlik](https://thencbeat.com/lakeshia-alston-nc-senate-district-22-republican/)\n- [18] [Unopposed Candidate Wearing Niqab Becomes GOP Nominee for North Carolina State Senate Seat \u2013 [your]NEWS](https://yournews.com/2026/03/04/6593506/unopposed-candidate-wearing-niqab-becomes-gop-nominee-for-north-carolina/)\n- [19] [Niqab-Wearing Muslim Woman Who Voted for Democrats in 2024 Becomes North Carolina's GOP State Senate Nominee After Running Unopposed | The Gateway Pundit | by Anthony Scott](https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/03/niqab-wearing-muslim-woman-who-voted-democrats-2024/)\n- [20] [Are progressives strategically running in NC GOP primaries?](https://www.carolinajournal.com/are-progressives-strategically-running-in-nc-gop-primaries/)","campaigns":[{"contest":"state_senate_022","county":"durham","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Nc State Senate District 22"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Lakeshia","fullname":"Lakeshia Mashonda Ruddie Alston","lastname":"Alston","middlename":"Mashonda Ruddie","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"state_senate_022","contest_title":"Nc State Senate District 22","county":"durham","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-11-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"state_senate","office_title":"State Senator","party":"REP","pgr":"general","state":"NC"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"state_senate_022","contest_title":"Nc State Senate District 22","county":"durham","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-11-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"state_senate","office_title":"State Senator","party":"REP","pgr":"general","state":"NC"},"party":"REP","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"state_senate","office_title":"State Senator","state":"NC","terms":[]}],"summary":"Lakeshia Alston is the Republican nominee for NC State Senate District\u202f22, a former longtime Democrat who switched parties and gained attention for a niqab campaign photo.","terms":[],"token":"7b8124c5186bbc2b"}