North Carolina, State Senate, District 21

Note: North Carolina's state legislative district maps are the subject of ongoing legal actions. On June 5, 2017, the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed a federal district court decision finding that 28 state legislative districts had been subject to an illegal racial gerrymander. The district court then ordered state lawmakers to draft remedial maps for use in the 2018 election cycle. The legislature adopted new state House and Senate district maps on August 30, 2017. On October 26, 2017, the district court appointed a special master "to assist the Court in further evaluating and, if necessary, redrawing" the revised district maps. The special master, Nate Persily, issued final recommendations on December 1, 2017. On January 19, 2018, the district court issued an order adopting Persily's recommendations, which incorporated some changes to the maps drawn by the state legislature. However, on February 6, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a partial stay against the district court's order. On June 28, 2018, the high court partially affirmed the district court's decision but returned the case to the lower court for reconsideration regarding its original ruling on districts in Wake and Mecklenburg counties. As a result of these actions, several district numbers and boundaries changed. Consequently, the demographic information in this article might not apply to the newly drawn district boundaries. We will update this information as new developments occur. For more information on redistricting in North Carolina, see this article.

North Carolina State Senate District 21
Current incumbent	Ben Clark
Population	183,202
Race	35.39% White, 50.23% Black, 3.37% Native American, 2.16% Asian/Pacific Islander, 4.03% Single Race Other, 4.83% Multi-Race
Ethnicity	89.52% Non Hispanic, 10.48% Hispanic
Voting age	72.0% age 18 and over

North Carolina's twenty-first state senate district is represented by Democratic Senator Ben Clark.

As of the 2010 census, a total of 183,202 civilians reside within North Carolina's twenty-first state senate district. North Carolina state senators represent an average of 190,710 residents, as of the 2010 Census. After the 2000 Census, each member represented 160,986 residents.

About the office

Members of the North Carolina State Senate serve two-year terms and are not subject to term limits. North Carolina legislators assume office the first day of the new General Assembly in January.

Qualifications

Article 2, Section 6 of the North Carolina Constitution states: "Each Senator, at the time of his election, shall be not less than 25 years of age, shall be a qualified voter of the State, and shall have resided in the State as a citizen for two years and in the district for which he is chosen for one year immediately preceding his election."

Salaries

State legislators
Salary	Per diem
$13,951/year	$104/day; set by statute.

Vacancies

If there is a vacancy in the senate, the Governor is responsible for selecting a replacement. When making the appointment, the Governor must make the selection from a list of recommended candidates submitted by the political party committee that holds the vacant seat. The appointment must be made by the Governor within seven days of receiving the list of recommended candidates. The person selected to the seat serves for the remainder of the unfilled term.

Elections

2020

Elections for the office of North Carolina State Senate will take place in 2020. The general election will be held on November 3, 2020. A primary is scheduled for March 3, 2020. The filing deadline was December 20, 2019.

2018

General election

General election for North Carolina State Senate District 21

Incumbent Ben Clark (D) defeated Timothy Leever (R) in the general election for North Carolina State Senate District 21 on November 6, 2018.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Ben Clark (D)	70.9	33,238
	Timothy Leever (R)	29.1	13,616

The results have been certified.

Total votes: 46,854

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for North Carolina State Senate District 21

Incumbent Ben Clark defeated Naveed Aziz in the Democratic primary for North Carolina State Senate District 21 on May 8, 2018.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Ben Clark (D)	55.6	6,491
	Naveed Aziz (D)	44.4	5,177

The results have been certified.

Total votes: 11,668

Republican primary election

Republican primary for North Carolina State Senate District 21

Timothy Leever advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina State Senate District 21 on May 8, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Timothy Leever (R)

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.

2016

Elections for the North Carolina State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election was held on March 15, 2016, and the general election will be held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was December 21, 2015.

Incumbent Ben Clark defeated Dan Travieso in the North Carolina State Senate District 21 general election.

North Carolina State Senate, District 21 General Election, 2016

Party	Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Ben Clark Incumbent	71.74%	49,081
	Republican	Dan Travieso	28.26%	19,338
Total Votes			68,419
Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections

Incumbent Ben Clark defeated Eronomy Smith and Naveed Aziz in the North Carolina State Senate District 21 Democratic primary.

North Carolina State Senate, District 21 Democratic Primary, 2016

Party	Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Ben Clark Incumbent	49.80%	11,736
	Democratic	Eronomy Smith	5.93%	1,398
	Democratic	Naveed Aziz	44.27%	10,432
Total Votes			23,566

Dan Travieso ran unopposed in the North Carolina State Senate District 21 Republican primary.

North Carolina State Senate, District 21 Republican Primary, 2016

Party	Candidate
	Republican	Dan Travieso (unopposed)

2014

Elections for the North Carolina State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 6, 2014. The general election took place on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was February 28, 2014. Incumbent Ben Clark defeated Sylvia Adamczyk, Billy R. King and Eronomy Smith in the Democratic primary and was unchallenged in the general election.

North Carolina State Senate, District 21 Democratic Primary, 2014

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Ben Clark	55.7%	6,421
Billy R. King	33.5%	3,860
Sylvia Adamczyk	6.6%	766
Eronomy Smith	4.2%	484
Total Votes		11,531

2012

Elections for the office of North Carolina State Senate consisted of a primary election on May 8, 2012, and a general election on November 6, 2012. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was February 29, 2012. Ben Clark (D) was unopposed in the general election on November 6, 2012. He advanced to a primary runoff after running against Larry Shaw, Eronomy Smith, Allen Thomas, Jr., Curtis Worthy and Billy R. King in the Democratic primary on May 8. He then defeated Billy R. King in the July 17, 2012 runoff.

North Carolina State Senate, District 21, General Election, 2012

Party	Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Ben Clark	100%	57,805
Total Votes			57,805

North Carolina State Senate District 21 Democratic Primary, 2012

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Billy R. King (advanced to runoff)	24.5%	4,353
Ben Clark (advanced to runoff)	19.8%	3,525
Larry Shaw	19.8%	3,523
Curtis Worthy	19%	3,385
Allen Thomas, Jr.	14%	2,489
Eronomy Smith	2.9%	523
Total Votes		17,798

Campaign contributions

From 2002 to 2016, candidates for North Carolina State Senate District 21 raised a total of $1,091,958. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $29,512 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money.

Campaign contributions, North Carolina State Senate District 21

Year	Amount	Candidates	Average
2016	$156,218	4	$39,055
2014	$68,442	4	$17,111
2012	$75,174	6	$12,529
2010	$262,198	5	$52,440
2008	$10,475	2	$5,238
2006	$49,060	5	$9,812
2004	$47,336	5	$9,467
2002	$16,087	3	$5,362
2000	$406,968	3	$135,656
Total	$1,091,958	37	$29,512