With sitting Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson seeking a higher office, the race for the next lieutenant governor of North Carolina is wide open. The field of Republicans aiming to succeed Robinson is deep, and a handful of Democrats are vying for the seat too.
On both sides, the experiences of candidates ranges from never having held elected office before — like Robinson — to those who have served in the state legislature, as county sheriffs and as campaign managers. They range in occupations from lawyers to pastors to military veterans to paramedics.
A Democrat has not held the office of lieutenant governor in North Carolina in more than a decade.
Here is a complete list of who is running for Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina ahead of the 2024 primary election, set for March 5.
Republicans
Peter Boykin
- A recognizable name in the race is Boykin, who in 2016 founded the organization “Gays For Trump.” He has twice sought elected office before, running unsuccessfully for seats in the North Carolina State House in 2018 and 2022.
Allen Mashburn
- The pastor at Asbury Baptist Church in Seagrove, Mashburn is also a podcast host and has worked as an insurance agent. He has garnered a handful of endorsements, including one from Veterans for America First.
Hal Weatherman
- He hasn’t held elected office before, but Weatherman has more than two decades worth of experience working in politics. He was the chief of staff for former North Carolina congresswoman Sue Myrick, and the campaign manager and chief of staff for former Lt. Gov. Dan Forest. Most recently, he worked as the district director for former congressman Madison Cawthorn.
Jeffrey Elmore
- The 45-year-old from Wilkes County has served North Carolina’s 94th District in the state House since 2013 and has coasted to reelection five consecutive times. Previously, he was a commissioner in North Wilkesboro. The Appalachian State University graduate is a teacher and a former chair of the education committee.
Marlenis Hernandez Novoa
- A relative unknown in political circles, Hernandez Novoa is a paramedic, firefighter and business owner from Wake County. She does not seem to have an active presence on social media.
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Deanna Ballard
- A Lincoln County native who once worked in President George W. Bush’s administration, Ballard represented North Carolina’s 45th District in the state Senate from 2016 to 2023. She lost her reelection bid in 2022 to a primary opponent, Ralph Hise, after the two incumbents went head-to-head for the Republican nomination in a redrawn district. She has also worked with Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief organization based in Boone.
Seth Woodall
- An attorney based in Rockingham County, Woodall’s law firm merged with Senate Leader Phil Berger’s in 2020. Woodall said in August that he was putting up $1 million of his own money to fund his campaign.
Rivera Douthit
- An author, evangelist and business owner from Mooresville, she has never held elected office before.
Sam Page
- Page has been the Sheriff of Rockingham County since 1998 and was recently reelected to a seventh term. The 66-year-old seeks a higher office now and declared his candidacy back in May. In 2020, he also served as the statewide chair of former President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign. Page attended events at Trump’s White House and has testified before Congress. Notably, Page has been a vocal opponent of casinos in the state.
Jim O'Neil
- The Forsyth County District Attorney unsuccessfully ran against Josh Stein for NC Attorney General in 2020, losing narrowly by less than 100,000 votes.
Ernest Reeves
- A U.S. Army veteran and native of Greenville, Reeves has sought an elected seat several times over the past decade — on both sides of the aisle — but never won. As a Democrat, he ran for U.S. Senate in 2014 but lost in the primary, lost in the 2016 general election for the District 3 U.S. House seat, and didn't advance out of the primary in 2018 for the District 8 U.S. House seat. He mounted an unsuccessful primary challenge to Gov. Roy Cooper in 2020, then switched parties to run for the U.S. House seat in District 1 in 2022, where he lost to Sandy Smith.
Democrats
Rachel Hunt
- The daughter of former four-term North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt has served in the state House for two terms before running for – and winning – the state Senate seat for Distrist 42 in 2022. Hunt has also worked as a private practice attorney, has been a vocal critic of current Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, and has been a successful fundraiser.
Ben Clark
- Clark served in the Air Force for 20 years and then in the North Carolina Senate for five terms. He did not seek reelection to his seat in the state legislature in 2022, and instead sought the U.S. Congressional seat in North Carolina’s ninth district. He lost in the general election to Republican Richard Hudson. Clark is a graduate of North Carolina A&T State University.
Libertarian
Dee Watson
- A UNC-Chapel Hill graduate who calls Cary home, Watson previously ran unsuccessfully for the state Senate in 2022 and the state House in 2020. As the only Libertarian officially filing in this race, she will advance to the general.
WUNC Capital Bureau Chief Colin Campbell contributed to this story.
