{"biography":"Venus de la Cruz is the Republican nominee for the North Carolina State Senate in District\u202f19 in the 2026 general election. The primary for that seat was canceled, so she advanced automatically to the November\u202f3,\u202f2026 ballot, where she will face incumbent Democrat Val Applewhite [1].\n\nDe la Cruz is married to Freddie de la Cruz, a former mayoral candidate and the Republican nominee for North Carolina House District\u202f44. The couple resides in Cumberland County, but publicly available sources do not detail her education or prior professional experience [16][17].\n\nBefore seeking the state Senate, de\u202fla\u202fCruz ran for a seat on the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners in District\u202f2. In the March\u202f5,\u202f2024 Republican primary, she announced she would not actively campaign, saying she wanted to \u201close the primary\u201d and instead support three other GOP candidates she believed could do the job [16][17]. The primary is a three\u2011seat contest, with the top three vote\u2011getters advancing to the November general election.\n\nHer decision to step back from campaigning was framed as a matter of personal faith. She said she prayed for guidance and received a \u201cclear revelation\u201d that she should not pursue the office, though she left the door open to re\u2011enter the race if she felt called by the Lord [16][17].\n\nDespite not campaigning, de\u202fla\u202fCruz emerged as the leading fundraiser among the eight Republican candidates for the County Commissioner race, raising $1,400 in December 2023, all of which came from her husband\u2019s contributions. This placed her ahead of her GOP rivals, though she remained far behind the Democratic frontrunner, who raised over $10,000 [18].\n\nNo public email address or phone number for de\u202fla\u202fCruz appears in the available sources, and her campaign website is not listed. The Ballotpedia entry serves as the primary online profile for her candidacy.\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Venus de la Cruz](https://ballotpedia.org/Venus_de_la_Cruz)\n- [16] [GOP candidate Venus de la Cruz wants to lose the primary](https://www.cityviewnc.com/stories/gop-candidate-venus-de-la-cruz-wants-to-lose-the-primary/)\n- [17] [GOP candidate Venus de la Cruz wants to lose the primary | CityView](https://www.cityviewnc.com/stories/gop-candidate-venus-de-la-cruz-wants-to-lose-the-primary,69454)\n- [18] [County commissioner candidate fundraising: Democrat Kirk deViere far ahead, Venus de la Cruz leads Republicans](https://www.cityviewnc.com/stories/county-commissioner-candidate-fundraising-democrat-kirk-deviere-far-ahead-venus-de-la-cruz-leads/)","campaigns":[{"contest":"state_senate_019","county":"cumberland","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Nc State Senate District 19"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Venus","fullname":"Venus Recod De La Cruz","lastname":"De La Cruz","middlename":"Recod","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"state_senate_019","contest_title":"Nc State Senate District 19","county":"cumberland","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_019","contest_title":"Nc State Senate District 19","county":"cumberland","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":"Venus de la Cruz is the Republican candidate for North Carolina State Senate District\u202f19 in 2026, previously a County Commissioner candidate who chose not to campaign.","terms":[],"token":"e68bf4a0edb5b4a4"}