Celeste Coppage Cairns

Celeste Cairns is the incumbent Republican member of the North Carolina House of Representatives for District 13, encompassing all of Carteret County and parts of Craven County. She is on the ballot for re‑election in the November 3, 2026 general election for the same seat¹¹⁴.

Born Celeste Coppage in Valdosta, Georgia, Cairns now resides in Emerald Isle, North Carolina. She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Georgia, graduating with honors¹⁴¹⁷. Before entering politics she worked as a Certified Public Accountant, holding positions in the audit and consulting divisions of Deloitte, Willis Corroon Corporation, and HCA Healthcare Corporation¹¹⁶.

Cairns first won election to the state House in 2022, assuming office on January 1, 2023, and was re‑elected in 2024 with 71.3 % of the vote over Democrat Katie Tomberlin¹¹⁴. During the 2023‑2024 legislative session she served on the Appropriations Committee, the Appropriations‑Agriculture and Economic Resources Committee, the Banking Committee, the Energy and Public Utilities Committee, the Marine Resources and Aquaculture Committee (as Vice Chair), and the Military and Veterans Affairs Committee¹¹⁴. In the 2025‑2026 session she was appointed House Deputy Majority Whip¹¹¹⁶.

In addition to her committee work, Cairns has sponsored legislation on issues ranging from coastal resource management to business regulation, though a complete list is maintained on legislative tracking sites¹. She also ran unsuccessfully in the 2019 Republican primary for North Carolina’s 3rd congressional district special election¹⁴.

Cairns’ campaign platform emphasizes conservative values: protecting the sanctity of life, defending the Second Amendment, supporting military families and veterans, reducing regulatory burdens on small businesses, and securing election integrity through voter‑ID measures¹⁷¹⁸. She highlights her experience as a military spouse of a U.S. Army Special Forces officer and her involvement in local GOP leadership, including roles on the Carteret County GOP Executive Committee and as Chairman of the Emerald Isle Precinct¹⁷.

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