{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\n> **Editorial note \u2014 same-name confusion.** Web searches for \"Mark Carver\" in North Carolina will surface a different, imprisoned man of the same name who has been the subject of a long-running murder-case appeal. That person is not the candidate profiled here. Mark Dean Carver is a 68-year-old retired Goodyear labor-union leader and Gaston College history professor from Cramerton, NC [2][3].\n\nMark Dean Carver is the Democratic nominee for North Carolina House District 109 in the November 3, 2026 general election, facing incumbent Republican Donnie Loftis [1]. He advanced to the ballot uncontested after the Democratic primary was canceled [1]. He is 68 and lives in Cramerton, where he is registered as a Democrat [3].\n\n## Background and education\n\nCarver holds a BS in history from Methodist College and a graduate degree in American labor history from NC State University [2].\n\n## Career\n\nCarver was born and raised in Fayetteville, the fourth of five children of a building contractor and a waitress [2]. His mother died when he was 15; he lived independently and worked at a car wash to support himself through high school [2]. He worked 25 years at the Kelly-Springfield Tire plant, a Goodyear subsidiary, rising to vacation-replacement supervisor and serving as shop steward and elected Division Chairman for the United Rubber Workers / United Steelworkers, in which capacity he called the plant's first strike in 1996 [2]. He retired from Goodyear in 2001 [2]. He has taught at Gaston College for 20 years [2].\n\n## Family\n\nCarver married Lori in 1981; they have a daughter, Lindsay (born 1986), and a granddaughter, Hazel (born July 2022) [2].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Mark Carver \u2014 Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Mark_Carver)\n[2] [Meet Mark \u2014 Mark Carver for NC House District 109](https://www.markdcarverfornchouse109.com/meet_mark)\n[3] NC State Board of Elections voter registration file, accessed 2026-07-01\n","campaigns":[{"contest":"state_house_109","county":"gaston","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Nc House Of Representatives District 109"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Mark","fullname":"Mark Dean Carver","lastname":"Carver","middlename":"Dean","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"state_house_109","contest_title":"Nc House Of Representatives District 109","county":"gaston","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-11-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"state_house","office_title":"State Representative","party":"DEM","pgr":"general","state":"NC"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"state_house_109","contest_title":"Nc House Of Representatives District 109","county":"gaston","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-11-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"state_house","office_title":"State Representative","party":"DEM","pgr":"general","state":"NC"},"party":"DEM","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"state_house","office_title":"State Representative","state":"NC","terms":[]}],"summary":"Mark Dean Carver is the Democratic candidate for North Carolina House District 109 in the 2026 election.","terms":[],"token":"92dbc73828fb01fa"}