{"biography":"Cynthia J.\u202fBall is the incumbent Democratic member of the North Carolina House of Representatives for District\u202f49 and is seeking re\u2011election in the November\u202f3,\u202f2026 general election [1][9]. The North Carolina Constitution requires state House members to be at least 21\u202fyears old, a United States citizen, a resident of North Carolina for at least two\u202fyears and a resident of the district they wish to represent for one\u202fyear prior to election; candidates must also file financial disclosures and meet filing deadlines [1].\n\nBall was born in Franklin County, North Carolina, and excelled academically, graduating as valedictorian of her public high school before earning a BA in psychology, magna cum laude and Phi\u202fBeta\u202fKappa, from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She later obtained an MBA in marketing research from Virginia Commonwealth University and completed doctoral coursework in human resources and organizational development at North Carolina State University [12][7].\n\nBefore entering elected office, Ball built a career in higher\u2011education development and fundraising, serving as director of external affairs at North Carolina State University, executive director of two university foundations, and director of development at William Peace University. She also worked in marketing research after her MBA. Since 2011 she has served on the Raleigh Civil Service Commission and currently practices as a certified mediator with the North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission [12][2].\n\nBall was first elected to the state House in 2016, defeating Republican incumbent Gary\u202fPendleton, and has been re\u2011elected in 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2024, most recently running unopposed in the 2024 Democratic primary and winning the general election with 100\u202f% of the vote after the Republican candidate withdrew [5][1]. She is in her fifth term, which runs through January\u202f1,\u202f2027. During her tenure she has held several leadership positions: Freshman Democratic Chair (2017\u201118), Democratic Whip (2019\u201121), Democratic Conference Chair (2023\u201124), and, as of the 2025\u201126 session, Deputy Democratic Leader of the House [12][18][2].\n\nBall\u2019s committee assignments have consistently placed her on appropriations, education, health, and election\u2011law committees. In the 2023\u201124 session she served on the Appropriations Committee, the Appropriations \u2013 Health and Human Services subcommittee, the Education \u2013 K\u201112 Committee, the Election Law and Campaign Finance Reform Committee, the Health Committee, and the Local Government \u2013 Land Use, Planning and Development Committee [1][5]. She has sponsored legislation focused on public\u2011education funding, teacher pipeline development, mental\u2011health crisis response, voter protection, and health\u2011care access, including bills to expand Medicaid (2023), make Election Day a state holiday, and improve veteran benefits [6][18][3].\n\nBeyond the legislature, Ball is active in community organizations, serving on the boards of the Kiwanis Club of Raleigh, WomenNC, and the Blue Ridge Corridor Alliance, and advising the NC New Teacher Support Program and the North Carolina Voter Project. She has been recognized with awards such as Representative of the Year from the NC League of Conservation Voters (2022) and a Legislative Excellence Award from the NC Police Benevolent Association (2025) [7][18].\n\nBall lives in Raleigh with her husband, Dr.\u202fDavid\u202fE.\u202fAspnes, a distinguished physics professor at NC\u202fState, and their blended family. She continues to practice mediation and engages constituents through town halls, district meetings, and a robust online presence via her campaign website and social media channels [7][9].\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Cynthia Ball - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Cynthia_Ball)\n- [2] [Representative Cynthia Ball - Biography - North Carolina General Assembly](https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/Biography/H/711)\n- [3] [Representative Cynthia Ball's Introduced Bills - North Carolina General Assembly](https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/IntroducedBills/H/711)\n- [5] [Cynthia Ball - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_Ball)\n- [6] [Home | Cynthia Ball for NC House](https://www.cynthiafornc.com/)\n- [7] [MEET CYNTHIA | Cynthia Ball](https://www.cynthiafornc.com/meet-rep-ball)\n- [9] [NC District 49 | Cynthia Ball for NC House](https://www.cynthiafornc.com/new-district-49)\n- [10] [Cynthia Ball](https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/166620/cynthia-ball)\n- [11] [EVENTS | Cynthia Ball for NC House](https://www.cynthiafornc.com/events)\n- [12] [Vote Smart | Facts For All](https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/biography/166620/cynthia-ball)\n- [15] [Rep. Cynthia Ball (@CynthiaforNC) / X](https://x.com/cynthiafornc?lang=en)\n- [16] [Twitter](https://twitter.com/cynthiafornc)\n- [17] [State Representative Cynthia Ball | BillTrack50](https://www.billtrack50.com/legislatordetail/22302)\n- [18] [Cynthia Ball - House District 49](https://nchousedems.com/our-members/cynthia-ball-house-district-49/)\n- [20] [North Carolina State Rep. Cynthia Ball - Biography | LegiStorm](https://www.legistorm.com/person/bio/263158/Cynthia_Ball.html)","campaigns":[{"contest":"state_house_049","county":"wake","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Nc House Of Representatives District 049"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Cynthia","fullname":"Cynthia Jean Ball","lastname":"Ball","middlename":"Jean","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"state_house_049","contest_title":"Nc House Of Representatives District 049","county":"wake","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_049","contest_title":"Nc House Of Representatives District 049","county":"wake","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":"Cynthia Ball, Democrat, is the incumbent NC House member for District\u202f49 seeking re\u2011election in 2026.","terms":[],"token":"eb938d65c1c82a75"}