{"biography":"Dennis Patrick Riddell is the incumbent Republican member of the North Carolina House of Representatives for District\u202f64, encompassing parts of Alamance County including Elon, Burlington, Pleasant Hill and Mandale. He is seeking re\u2011election in the November\u202f3,\u202f2026 general election, after running unopposed in the March\u202f3,\u202f2026 Republican primary, which was cancelled\u30101\u2020L1-L5\u3011. The North Carolina House seat requires the officeholder to be at least 21 years old, a resident of the district for one year, and a qualified voter in the state\u30101\u2020L1-L3\u3011.\n\nRiddell was born on October\u202f21,\u202f1956, and earned a Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering from the California Maritime Academy (now California State University Maritime Academy)\u30104\u2020L13-L15\u3011. He later obtained a Master of Education in History from Bob Jones University\u30104\u2020L13-L15\u3011 and a Level\u202fII Thermographer certification from the Infraspection Institute in 2008\u30106\u2020L31-L33\u3011. He is married to Polly Jo Hankins, with whom he has eight children and several grandchildren\u301019\u2020L5-L9\u3011.\n\nBefore entering politics, Riddell served ten years in the U.S. Naval Reserve, rising to lieutenant before honorable discharge in 1988\u30104\u2020L21-L23\u3011. He spent 35\u202fyears as an engineering officer in the U.S. Merchant Marine (1978\u20112013)\u301019\u2020L13-L15\u3011 and taught high\u2011school social studies for seven years (1985\u20111992)\u301019\u2020L17-L19\u3011. He later founded FreedomIR Thermal Imaging (2008\u2011present) and the Heritage Stables Equestrian Facility (2004\u2011present)\u30106\u2020L35-L38\u3011\u301019\u2020L21-L23\u3011.\n\nRiddell was first elected to the North Carolina General Assembly in 2012 and has been re\u2011elected every two years since, most recently winning 62.69% of the vote in 2022 against Democrat Ron Osborne\u301010\u2020L1-L5\u3011 and 54.95% in 2024 against Democrat LeVon Barnes\u301014\u2020L1-L4\u3011. His legislative record includes leadership roles on key appropriations and regulatory committees. In the 2023\u20112024 session he served as Vice Chair of the Appropriations Committee and Chair of both the Appropriations\u2011General Government Committee and the Regulatory Reform Committee, while also sitting on Education\u2011K\u201112, Election Law, Energy & Public Utilities, and Federal Relations & American Indian Affairs committees\u30101\u2020L9-L20\u3011. He has held similar positions in prior sessions dating back to 2013\u30101\u2020L21-L55\u3011.\n\nAmong his policy priorities, Riddell emphasizes low taxes, reduced regulatory burdens, and a balanced state budget, crediting these factors for North Carolina\u2019s strong economy\u301010\u2020L7-L11\u3011. He supports the current 12\u2011week abortion ban with exceptions up to 20\u202fweeks for rape and incest\u301014\u2020L5-L7\u3011, and backs Second Amendment protections and pro\u2011business legislation\u301014\u2020L1-L4\u3011. He also advocates for criminal code recodification to de\u2011criminalize entrepreneurial activity and for protecting children from sexual predators\u301015\u2020L9-L13\u3011.\n\nRiddell is active in his community, serving on the boards of the Piedmont Rescue Mission, the Alamance County Republican Party (former chair), and various civic groups such as the NRA, North Carolina Right to Life, and the Marine Engineers Beneficial Association\u301019\u2020L31-L38\u3011. He volunteers as a deacon and Sunday school teacher at Pleasant Hill Christian Church and coaches youth volleyball and 4\u2011H programs\u301019\u2020L27-L30\u3011.\n\nHis official legislative office is located at the Legislative Office Building, 300\u202fN. Salisbury St., Raleigh, NC\u202f27603\u20115925, with a district office at 6343\u202fBeale Rd., Snow Camp, NC\u202f27349\u30109\u2020L1-L4\u3011\u30109\u2020L5-L7\u3011. He can be reached by phone at 336\u2011222\u20111303 (main) or 919\u2011733\u20115905 (legislative)\u30109\u2020L5-L7\u3011\u301018\u2020L9-L11\u3011, and by email at Dennis.Riddell@ncleg.gov\u301018\u2020L12-L13\u3011.\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Dennis Riddell - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Dennis_Riddell)\n- [4] [Dennis Riddell - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Riddell)\n- [6] [Dennis Riddell's Biography](https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/biography/136288/dennis-riddell)\n- [9] [State Representative Dennis Riddell | BillTrack50](https://www.billtrack50.com/legislatordetail/17966)\n- [10] [Dennis Riddell reelected to NC House for District 64 - Elon News Network](https://www.elonnewsnetwork.com/article/2022/11/north-carolina-house-of-representatives-district-64-results)\n- [11] [Dennis Riddell](https://www.carolinajournal.com/people/dennis-riddell/)\n- [14] [Dennis Riddell elected North Carolina House of Representatives District 64 - Elon News Network](https://www.elonnewsnetwork.com/article/2024/11/dennis-riddell-elected-north-carolina-house-representatives-district-64)\n- [15] [Dennis Riddell | BallotReady](https://www.ballotready.org/people/dennis-riddell)\n- [16] [North Carolina State Rep. Dennis Riddell - Biography | LegiStorm](https://www.legistorm.com/person/bio/240986/Dennis_Patrick_Riddell.html)\n- [17] [North Carolina Representative Dennis Riddell - FastDemocracy](https://fastdemocracy.com/bill-search/nc/legislators/NCL000042/)\n- [18] [Contact Representative Dennis Riddell of North Carolina | Official Contact Information](https://sengov.com/states/north-carolina/dennis-riddell/)\n- [19] [Meet Dennis - Riddell for NC House Dist 64](https://riddell4nchouse64.com/about-dennis.php)\n- [20] [Dennis Riddell and Eric Henry square off in North Carolina state house District 64 race - Elon News Network](https://www.elonnewsnetwork.com/article/2020/10/alamance-county-district-64-race)","campaigns":[{"contest":"state_house_064","county":"alamance","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Nc House Of Representatives District 064"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Dennis","fullname":"Dennis Patrick Riddell","lastname":"Riddell","middlename":"Patrick","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"state_house_064","contest_title":"Nc House Of Representatives District 064","county":"alamance","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-11-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"state_house","office_title":"State Representative","party":"REP","pgr":"general","state":"NC"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"state_house_064","contest_title":"Nc House Of Representatives District 064","county":"alamance","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-11-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"state_house","office_title":"State Representative","party":"REP","pgr":"general","state":"NC"},"party":"REP","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"state_house","office_title":"State Representative","state":"NC","terms":[]}],"summary":"Dennis Riddell is the Republican incumbent seeking re\u2011election to the North Carolina House for District\u202f64.","terms":[],"token":"fcb4cd311b08b4fe"}