North Carolina, State Senate, District 18

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 18
Current incumbent	John Alexander
Population	189,405
Race	70.34% White, 20.79% Black, 0.64% Native American, 1.22% Asian/Pacific Islander, 4.87% Single Race Other, 2.14% Multi-Race
Ethnicity	90.20% Non Hispanic, 9.80% Hispanic
Voting age	73.4% age 18 and over

North Carolina's eighteenth state senate district is represented by Republican Senator John Alexander.

As of the 2010 census, a total of 189,405 civilians reside within North Carolina's eighteenth 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 18

Incumbent John Alexander (R) defeated Mack Paul (D) and Brad Hessel (L) in the general election for North Carolina State Senate District 18 on November 6, 2018.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	John Alexander (R)	49.9	51,794
	Mack Paul (D)	47.4	49,155
	Brad Hessel (L)	2.8	2,855

The results have been certified.

Total votes: 103,804

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for North Carolina State Senate District 18

Mack Paul advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina State Senate District 18 on May 8, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Mack Paul (D)

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

Republican primary election

Republican primary for North Carolina State Senate District 18

Incumbent John Alexander advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina State Senate District 18 on May 8, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		John Alexander (R)

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 Chad Barefoot defeated Gil Johnson in the North Carolina State Senate District 18 general election.

North Carolina State Senate, District 18 General Election, 2016

Party	Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Chad Barefoot Incumbent	55.34%	57,121
	Democratic	Gil Johnson	44.66%	46,105
Total Votes			103,226
Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections

Gil Johnson ran unopposed in the North Carolina State Senate District 18 Democratic primary.

North Carolina State Senate, District 18 Democratic Primary, 2016

Party	Candidate
	Democratic	Gil Johnson (unopposed)

Incumbent Chad Barefoot ran unopposed in the North Carolina State Senate District 18 Republican primary.

North Carolina State Senate, District 18 Republican Primary, 2016

Party	Candidate
	Republican	Chad Barefoot Incumbent (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 Chad Barefoot was unopposed in the Republican primary, while Sarah Crawford was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Barefoot defeated Crawford in the general election.

North Carolina State Senate, District 18 General Election, 2014

Party	Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Chad Barefoot Incumbent	52.9%	34,646
	Democratic	Sarah Crawford	47.1%	30,861
Total Votes			65,507

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. Chad Barefoot (R) defeated District 7 incumbent Doug Berger (D) in the general election. He defeated Michael Schriver and Glen Bradley in the Republican primary. Berger was unopposed in the Democratic primary.

North Carolina State Senate, District 18, General Election, 2012

Party	Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Chad Barefoot	55.9%	51,873
	Democratic	Doug Berger Incumbent	44.1%	40,897
Total Votes			92,770

North Carolina State Senate District 18 Republican Primary, 2012

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Chad Barefoot	45.9%	9,149
Michael Schriver	40.3%	8,028
Glen Bradley	13.8%	2,750
Total Votes		19,927

Campaign contributions

From 2002 to 2016, candidates for North Carolina State Senate District 18 raised a total of $5,916,065. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $257,220 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money.

Campaign contributions, North Carolina State Senate District 18

Year	Amount	Candidates	Average
2016	$1,428,948	2	$714,474
2014	$2,167,601	2	$1,083,801
2012	$1,367,503	4	$341,876
2010	$36,555	2	$18,278
2008	$71,675	2	$35,838
2006	$70,116	1	$70,116
2004	$559,691	5	$111,938
2002	$144,291	3	$48,097
2000	$69,685	2	$34,843
Total	$5,916,065	23	$257,220