{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nKathleen Marie \"Katie\" Kurdys is a Democratic candidate for District Attorney of NC Prosecutorial District 40, which serves Buncombe County. She ran in the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary against Courtney Booth and Martin Moore.\n\nKurdys has pledged to ensure all staff are trained in trauma-informed prosecution, expand collaborative crime prevention, and maintain DV-focused prosecution practices. She has specialized training in sexual assault, domestic violence, strangulation investigation, evidence-based prosecution, and forensic analysis.\n\n## Background and education\nKurdys attended UNC-Chapel Hill, where she earned a double major in Political Science and Peace, War, and Defense. She earned her Juris Doctor with a Certificate in Trial Advocacy from Campbell University's Norman A. Wiggins School of Law. Before law school, she had worked her way up to Executive Chef for multimillion-dollar restaurants by age 25.\n\n## Career\nKurdys began her legal career as an intern in the Durham County District Attorney's Office and was later hired as a designated domestic violence prosecutor, serving on Durham's Domestic Violence Multi-Disciplinary Task Force. She joined the Buncombe County District Attorney's Office in 2018 and currently serves as the Senior Assistant District Attorney over Violent Crimes, advising law enforcement on charging decisions and prosecuting high-level violent offenses. Over roughly a decade as a prosecutor she has tried cases ranging from traffic tickets to First Degree Murder and First Degree Rape convictions.\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Katie K for Buncombe District Attorney \u2013 katiekforda.com](https://katiekforda.com/)\n- [2] [District attorney candidates discuss priorities for Buncombe County \u2013 Mountain Xpress](https://mountainx.com/news/politics-elections/district-attorney-candidates-discuss-priorities-for-buncombe-county/)\n- [3] [Kurdys cites experience, compassion in bid for Buncombe County DA \u2013 828 News NOW](https://828newsnow.com/news/228822-kurdys-cites-experience-compassion-in-bid-for-buncombe-county-da/)\n","campaigns":[{"contest":"district_attorney_dist_040","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"District Attorney District 40"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Kathleen","fullname":"Kathleen Marie Kurdys","lastname":"Kurdys","middlename":"Marie","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"district_attorney_dist_040","contest_title":"District Attorney District 40","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_040","contest_title":"District Attorney District 40","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":"ccf4cd1ef8186868"}