Joyce Davis Waddell

Joyce Lucille Davis Waddell is the incumbent Democratic State Senator for North Carolina’s 40th Senate District and is seeking re‑election in the November 3, 2026 general election ¹. The district, which includes parts of Mecklenburg County, is represented by Senator Waddell, who first assumed office on January 1, 2015 and is currently serving her sixth term in the Senate ¹⁷.

Born on July 11, 1944, Waddell earned a Bachelor of Science from South Carolina State University and holds three master’s degrees—one each from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, North Carolina A&T State University, and Appalachian State University—before completing a Ph.D. in philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro ⁷⁹. Her extensive academic background underpins a three‑decade career in education, including 21 years as a teacher and administrator within the Charlotte‑Mecklenburg Schools system ¹⁹.

Before entering state politics, Waddell served on the Charlotte‑Mecklenburg Board of Education from 2009 to 2014, where she helped shape local education policy ¹⁶. Since her first election in 2014, she has been a consistent presence on key Senate committees, most recently serving on the Appropriations on Education/Higher Education, Appropriations/Base Budget, Health Care, Finance, Pensions and Retirement and Aging, and Rules and Operations of the Senate committees for the 2025‑2026 session ⁶¹. Her legislative focus has centered on education funding, health care access, and economic issues affecting working families.

In the 2024‑2026 election cycle, Waddell’s platform emphasizes raising North Carolina’s minimum wage to $7.25, expanding Medicaid to ensure broader health‑care coverage, and increasing funding for public schools, particularly to support teachers ¹⁶. She has publicly opposed Senate Bill 49, which would restrict curriculum on gender identity and sexuality in early grades and require parental notification of pronoun changes ¹⁶.

Waddell’s public service record includes service on more than 15 boards and community organizations, many focused on children and education, and she remains active in civic groups such as the African American Caucus of the Democratic Party, the Black Women’s Caucus of Mecklenburg County, and the League of Women Voters ⁹. Her office is located at 16 West Jones Street, Room 1106, Raleigh, NC ³⁴, and she can be reached by phone at 919‑733‑5650 ¹⁵.

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