{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nMelanie Shekita ran in the 2026 Democratic primary for Wake County District Attorney (North Carolina's 10th Prosecutorial District), one of three Democrats -- alongside Sherita Walton and former U.S. Rep. Wiley Nickel -- seeking to succeed outgoing DA Lorrin Freeman. She lost the March 3, 2026 primary [1][2].\n\n## Career\n\nShekita is an Assistant District Attorney in the Wake County District Attorney's Office. In a candidate questionnaire, she said she has spent almost three decades in the office, working under two long-serving district attorneys, and has tried more than 250 cases, most involving crimes against children or violent crime [1]. She said she is a founding member of the office's Special Victims Unit for more than 20 years and now heads the unit, supervising a team of nine, and that she and a colleague were the first prosecutors in North Carolina to secure a conviction for a domestic violence homicide under Britny's Law [1].\n\nShekita has lived in Wake County for 48 years, by her own account. She describes herself as a former volunteer firefighter of 10 years, now president of Western Wake Fire Rescue and a member of the Wake County Fire Commission, and as president of the Board of Criminal Justice Alternatives since 2022 [1].\n\n## Sources\n\n- [1] [Wake County District Attorney: Melanie Shekita | 2026 Primary Candidates \u2013 Indy Week](https://indyweek.com/news/wake-county-district-attorney-melanie-shekita-2026/)\n- [2] [Three Democrats jockey to replace outgoing Wake County district attorney \u2013 WRAL](https://www.wral.com/news/nccapitol/wake-county-district-attorney-candidates-february-2026/)","campaigns":[{"contest":"district_attorney_dist_010","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"District Attorney District 10"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Melanie","fullname":"Melanie Anne Shekita","lastname":"Shekita","middlename":"Anne","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"district_attorney_dist_010","contest_title":"District Attorney District 10","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"district_attorney","office_title":"District Attorney","party":"DEM","pgr":"general","state":"NC"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"district_attorney_dist_010","contest_title":"District Attorney District 10","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"district_attorney","office_title":"District Attorney","party":"DEM","pgr":"general","state":"NC"},"party":"DEM","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"district_attorney","office_title":"District Attorney","state":"NC","terms":[]}],"terms":[],"token":"cbcc71446c85eda2"}