North Carolina's 23rd House district

North Carolina's 23rd State
House of Representatives
district
North Carolina's 23rd State; House of Representatives; district
Representative
	Shelly Willingham; D–Rocky Mount
Demographics	39% White; 53% Black; 5% Hispanic; 3% Multiracial
Population (2024)	87,550

North Carolina's 23rd House district is one of 120 districts in the North Carolina House of Representatives. It has been represented by Democrat Shelly Willingham since 2015.^[1]

Geography

Since 2023, the district has included all of Edgecombe, Martin, and Bertie counties. The district overlaps with the 1st, 2nd, and 5th Senate districts.

District officeholders

Multi-member district

Representative	Party	Dates	Notes	Representative	Party	Dates	Notes	Representative	Party	Dates	Notes	Representative	Party	Dates	Notes	Representative	Party	Dates	Notes	Representative	Party	Dates	Notes	Representative	Party	Dates	Counties
District created January 1, 1967.
Norwood Bryan Jr. (Fayetteville)	Democratic	January 1, 1967 – January 1, 1973	Redistricted to the 20th district.	Sneed High (Fayetteville)	Democratic	January 1, 1967 – January 1, 1969		Joseph Raynor Jr. (Fayetteville)	Democratic	January 1, 1967 – January 1, 1973	Redistricted from the Cumberland County district.	Isaac O'Hanlon (Fayetteville)	Democratic	January 1, 1967 – January 1, 1969	Redistricted from the Cumberland County district.												1967–1973 All of Cumberland County.^[2]
				Lester Carter Jr. (Fayetteville)	Democratic	January 1, 1969 – January 1, 1971						Charles Rose Jr. (Fayetteville)	Democratic	January 1, 1969 – January 1, 1971
				Sneed High (Fayetteville)	Democratic	January 1, 1971 – January 1, 1973	Redistricted to the 20th district.					Glenn Jernigan (Fayetteville)	Democratic	January 1, 1971 – January 1, 1973	Redistricted to the 20th district.
Henry Frye (Greensboro)	Democratic	January 1, 1973 – January 1, 1981	Redistricted from the 26th district. Retired to run for State Senate.	Tom Gilmore (Greensboro)	Democratic	January 1, 1973 – January 2, 1978	Resigned.	Charlie Phillips (Greensboro)	Democratic	January 1, 1973 – January 1, 1977	Redistricted from the 26th district.	Tom Sawyer (Greensboro)	Democratic	January 1, 1973 – January 1, 1979		Charlie Webb (Greensboro)	Democratic	January 1, 1973 – January 1, 1979		Robert Payne (McLeansville)	Republican	January 1, 1973 – January 1, 1975	Redistricted from the 26th district.	Margaret Keesee (Greensboro)	Republican	January 1, 1973 – January 1, 1975	1973–1983 All of Guilford County.^[3]
								Charlie Phillips (Greensboro)	Democratic	January 1, 1973 – January 1, 1977	Redistricted from the 26th district.									W. Marcus Short (Greensboro)	Democratic	January 1, 1975 – January 1, 1979		Leo Heer (High Point)	Democratic	January 1, 1975 – January 1, 1977
								Mary Seymour (Greensboro)	Democratic	January 1, 1977 – January 1, 1983	Redistricted to the 27th district.													James Morgan (High Point)	Democratic	January 1, 1977 – January 1, 1983
				Vacant		January 2, 1978 – May 9, 1978
				Byron Haworth (High Point)	Democratic	May 9, 1978 – January 1, 1983	Appointed to finish Gilmore's term.
												Howard Coble (Greensboro)	Republican	January 1, 1979 – January 1, 1983	Redistricted to the 27th district.	Margaret Keesee (Greensboro)	Republican	January 1, 1979 – January 1, 1983	Redistricted to the 27th district.	Ralph Edwards (Greensboro)	Democratic	January 1, 1979 – January 1, 1983
Dorothy Burnley (High Point)	Republican	January 1, 1981 – January 1, 1983	Redistricted to the 28th district.									Howard Coble (Greensboro)	Republican	January 1, 1979 – January 1, 1983	Redistricted to the 27th district.	Margaret Keesee (Greensboro)	Republican	January 1, 1979 – January 1, 1983	Redistricted to the 27th district.	Ralph Edwards (Greensboro)	Democratic	January 1, 1979 – January 1, 1983
Ken Spaulding (Durham)	Democratic	January 1, 1983 – January 1, 1985	Redistricted from the 16th district. Retired to run for Congress.	Paul Pulley Jr. (Durham)	Democratic	January 1, 1983 – January 1, 1985	Redistricted from the 16th district. Redistricted to the 68th district.	George Miller Jr. (Durham)	Democratic	January 1, 1983 – January 1, 1985	Redistricted from the 16th district. Redistricted to the 69th district.																1983–1985 All of Durham County.
Mickey Michaux (Durham)	Democratic	January 1, 1985 – January 1, 2003	Redistricted to the 31st district.																								1985–2003 Part of Durham County.^[4]^[5]
				Sharon Thompson (Durham)	Democratic	January 1, 1989 – January 1, 1991	Redistricted from the 68th district.	George Miller Jr. (Durham)	Democratic	January 1, 1989 – January 1, 2001	Redistricted from the 69th district. Lost re-nomination
				Paul Luebke (Durham)	Democratic	January 1, 1991 – January 1, 2003	Redistricted to the 30th district.	George Miller Jr. (Durham)	Democratic	January 1, 1989 – January 1, 2001	Redistricted from the 69th district. Lost re-nomination
				Paul Luebke (Durham)	Democratic	January 1, 1991 – January 1, 2003	Redistricted to the 30th district.	Paul Miller (Durham)	Democratic	January 1, 2001 – January 1, 2003	Redistricted to the 29th district.

Single-member district

Representative	Party	Dates	Notes	Counties
Joe Tolson (Pinetops)	Democratic	January 1, 2003 – January 1, 2015	Redistricted from the 71st district. Retired.	2003–2013 Parts of Edgecombe and Wilson counties.^[6]^[7]
Joe Tolson (Pinetops)	Democratic	January 1, 2003 – January 1, 2015	Redistricted from the 71st district. Retired.	2013–2023 All of Edgecombe and Martin counties.^[8]^[9]^[10]
Shelly Willingham (Rocky Mount)	Democratic	January 1, 2015 – Present	Lost re-nomination.
Shelly Willingham (Rocky Mount)	Democratic	January 1, 2015 – Present	Lost re-nomination.	2023–Present All of Edgecombe, Martin, and Bertie counties.^[11]^[12]

Election results

2026

North Carolina House of Representatives 23rd district Democratic primary election, 2026^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Patricia Smith	5,231	55.70%
	Democratic	Shelly Willingham (incumbent)	4,161	44.30%
Total votes			9,392	100%

North Carolina House of Representatives 23rd district general election, 2026
Party		Candidate	%
	Democratic	Patricia Smith
	Republican	Brent Roberson
Total votes			100%

2024

North Carolina House of Representatives 23rd district Democratic primary election, 2024^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Shelly Willingham (incumbent)	6,769	78.85%
	Democratic	Abbie Lane	1,816	21.15%
Total votes			8,585	100%

North Carolina House of Representatives 23rd district general election, 2024^[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Shelly Willingham (incumbent)	25,140	56.46%
	Republican	Brent Roberson	19,390	43.54%
Total votes			44,530	100%
	Democratic hold

2022

North Carolina House of Representatives 23rd district general election, 2022^[16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Shelly Willingham (incumbent)	16,488	54.42%
	Republican	James Crowell Proctor	13,809	45.58%
Total votes			30,297	100%
	Democratic hold

2020

North Carolina House of Representatives 23rd district general election, 2020^[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Shelly Willingham (incumbent)	21,754	58.76%
	Republican	Claiborne Holtzman	14,656	39.59%
	Green	Abbie "Bud" Lane	612	1.65%
Total votes			37,022	100%
	Democratic hold

2018

North Carolina House of Representatives 23rd district general election, 2018^[18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Shelly Willingham (incumbent)	15,959	60.85%
	Republican	Claiborne Holtzman	10,266	39.15%
Total votes			26,225	100%
	Democratic hold

2016

North Carolina House of Representatives 23rd district general election, 2016^[19]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Shelly Willingham (incumbent)	27,208	100%
Total votes			27,208	100%
	Democratic hold

2014

North Carolina House of Representatives 23rd district Democratic primary election, 2014^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Shelly Willingham	2,978	35.61%
	Democratic	R. B. "Rusty" Holderness	2,543	30.41%
	Democratic	Taro Knight	1,715	20.51%
	Democratic	Bronson Williams	1,126	13.47%
Total votes			8,362	100%

North Carolina House of Representatives 23rd district Democratic primary run-off election, 2014^[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Shelly Willingham	2,702	52.16%
	Democratic	R. B. "Rusty" Holderness	2,478	47.84%
Total votes			5,180	100%

North Carolina House of Representatives 23rd district general election, 2014^[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Shelly Willingham	18,660	100%
Total votes			18,660	100%
	Democratic hold

2012

North Carolina House of Representatives 23rd district Democratic primary election, 2012^[23]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joe Tolson (incumbent)	7,575	58.75%
	Democratic	William Solomon Jr.	5,318	41.25%
Total votes			12,893	100%

North Carolina House of Representatives 23rd district general election, 2012^[24]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joe Tolson (incumbent)	30,670	100%
Total votes			30,670	100%
	Democratic hold

2010

North Carolina House of Representatives 23rd district general election, 2010^[25]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joe Tolson (incumbent)	12,043	53.38%
	Republican	Gerald Shepheard	10,517	46.62%
Total votes			22,560	100%
	Democratic hold

2008

North Carolina House of Representatives 23rd district general election, 2008^[26]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joe Tolson (incumbent)	20,211	62.21%
	Republican	Garland Shepheard	12,275	37.79%
Total votes			32,486	100%
	Democratic hold

2006

North Carolina House of Representatives 23rd district general election, 2006^[27]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joe Tolson (incumbent)	7,924	71.05%
	Republican	Henry Williams II	3,228	28.95%
Total votes			11,152	100%
	Democratic hold

2004

North Carolina House of Representatives 23rd district general election, 2004^[28]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joe Tolson (incumbent)	17,040	65.93%
	Republican	Henry Williams II	8,804	34.07%
Total votes			25,844	100%
	Democratic hold

2002

North Carolina House of Representatives 23rd district general election, 2002^[29]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joe Tolson (incumbent)	9,678	53.38%
	Republican	Bettie West	8,244	45.47%
	Libertarian	Douglas Ellis	207	1.14%
Total votes			18,129	100%
	Democratic hold

2000

North Carolina House of Representatives 23rd district Democratic primary election, 2000^[30]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Paul Luebke (incumbent)	15,105	31.15%
	Democratic	Mickey Michaux (incumbent)	14,256	29.40%
	Democratic	Paul Miller	10,238	21.12%
	Democratic	George Miller Jr. (incumbent)	8,886	18.33%
Total votes			48,485	100%

North Carolina House of Representatives 23rd district general election, 2000^[31]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Paul Luebke (incumbent)	57,471	33.70%
	Democratic	Mickey Michaux (incumbent)	51,329	30.10%
	Democratic	Paul Miller	44,521	26.11%
	Libertarian	Robert Dorsey	9,819	5.76%
	Libertarian	Raymond Ubinger	7,397	4.34%
Total votes			170,537	100%
	Democratic hold
	Democratic hold
	Democratic hold

References

↑ "State House District 23, NC". Census Reporter. Retrieved May 15, 2026.
↑ J. D. Lewis (2014). "North Carolina State House of Representatives Districts Map - 1967 to 1972". Retrieved May 15, 2026.
↑ J. D. Lewis (2014). "North Carolina State House of Representatives Districts Map - 1973 to 1982". Retrieved May 15, 2026.
↑ J. D. Lewis (2014). "North Carolina State House of Representatives Districts Map - 1985 to 1992". Retrieved July 13, 2022.
↑ "1992 House Base Plan 5" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
↑ "Interim House Redistricting Plan For N.C. 2002 Election" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
↑ "House Redistricting Plan" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
↑ "Lewis-Dollar-Dockham 4" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
↑ "2018 House Election Districts" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
↑ "HB 1020, 2nd Edition - 2019 House Remedial Map" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
↑ "S.L. 2022-4 House" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
↑ "SS.L. 2023-149 House" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections.
↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections.
↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections.
↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections.
↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections.
↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections.
↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections.
↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections.
↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections.
↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections.
↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections.
↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections.
↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections.
↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections.
↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections.
↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections.
↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections.
↑ "NC State House 023 - D Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
↑ "NC State House 023". Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 13, 2022.

[1] "State House District 23, NC". Census Reporter. Retrieved May 15, 2026.

[2] J. D. Lewis (2014). "North Carolina State House of Representatives Districts Map - 1967 to 1972". Retrieved May 15, 2026.

[3] J. D. Lewis (2014). "North Carolina State House of Representatives Districts Map - 1973 to 1982". Retrieved May 15, 2026.

[4] J. D. Lewis (2014). "North Carolina State House of Representatives Districts Map - 1985 to 1992". Retrieved July 13, 2022.

[5] "1992 House Base Plan 5" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved July 13, 2022.

[6] "Interim House Redistricting Plan For N.C. 2002 Election" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved July 9, 2022.

[7] "House Redistricting Plan" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved July 9, 2022.

[8] "Lewis-Dollar-Dockham 4" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved July 13, 2022.

[9] "2018 House Election Districts" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved July 13, 2022.

[10] "HB 1020, 2nd Edition - 2019 House Remedial Map" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved July 13, 2022.

[11] "S.L. 2022-4 House" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved December 21, 2022.

[12] "SS.L. 2023-149 House" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved April 1, 2025.

[13] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[14] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[15] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[16] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[17] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[18] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[19] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[20] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[21] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[22] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[23] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[24] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[25] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[26] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[27] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[28] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[29] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[30] "NC State House 023 - D Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 13, 2022.

[31] "NC State House 023". Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 13, 2022.

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