2022 Elections : The Democratic candidates for US Senate
It’s that time again! Pollen, strategies to stay cool, the end of the school year, and elections. This month, North Carolina has primary elections, determining which candidates will move on to the elections this November. Details on when and how to vote can be found here, including how to get a sample ballot.
This is an overview of the candidates on the Democratic Party ticket for senator from North Carolina to the United States Senate. Curious about the Republican Party candidates? Check them out here
The Democratic Candidates
Presented in the same order as they will be listed on the ballot:
- Campaign website is presented in English and Spanish
- Limited media presence
Alyssia Rose-Katherine Hammond
- Progressive Democrat
- Policy positions :
- Legalize marijuana
- Provide pardons to all people currently incarcerated for marijuana-related drug crimes
- Supports restoration of voting rights to individuals convicted of crimes
- Reform sentencing mandates and regulate sentencing
- Expand broadband access to schools in rural areas
- Build grocery stores and provide transportation assistance to farmers to access urban areas, food deserts, and areas with high rates of people living in poverty
- Many policy positions address North Carolina specifically rather than federal legislation and are not included here
- Holds a PhD in Public Administration
- Policy positions :
- Supports the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (aka the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill)
- Pass legislation to criminalize intellectual property theft (such as copyright infringement, which is currently a civil issue)
- Pass legislation for educational loan forgiveness for students and parents
- Supports implementing a federal minimum wage for teachers
- Pass legislation to reform credit scores and provide debt relief
- Pass legislation to award federal contracts to businesses with ownership that matches national demographics
- Pass legislation subsidizing homeownership and providing incentives for married couples and parents of school age children
- Pass legislation to increase standardization of education provided to students level Pre-K through 12th grade
- Pass the Economic Intellectual Protection Bill, authored by Constance (Lov) Johnson
- Pass The Newer Deal, modeled on the New Deal, detailed in an upcoming book by Constance (Lov) Johnson
- Conservative Democrat
- Doctor of ministry
- Policy positions :
- Supports ending federal funding for abortion
- Pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act
- Pass legislation to create consumer data reporting similar to credit reporting and make that available at no cost twice per year
- Pass legislation to mandate employers disclose interview techniques to candidates in advance of the interview
- Pass legislation to increase child-care tax credits up to age 26, taking into account unpaid childcare from non-custodial family members such as grandparents
- Create a national database for law enforcement officers who have been determined to have violated department policies and practices, making the database available to attorneys and paralegals nationwide
- Campaign website available in nine languages
- Marine veteran
- Policy positions :
- Legalize marijuana
- Tax capital gains as regular income
- Expand the number of Supreme Court justices to 15
- Pass voting rights legislation
- Expand broadband access in low income and rural areas
- Decrease reliance on fossil fuels
- Former mayor of Beaufort, NC
- Air Force veteran
- PhD candidate in Marine Science & Conservation
- Policy positions :
- Legalize marijuana
- Lower prescription drug costs
- Support the Affordable Care Act
- Expand use of renewable energy including solar and offshore wind
- Support the Voting Rights Act
- Pass the other pieces of the Build Back Better Act relating to non-traditional infrastructure
- Extend the Child Tax Credit
- Attorney, has practiced in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota
- Previously ran for North Carolina attorney general
- Campaign does not appear active — no Twitter activity for a year, website references social media for updates on campaign
- Navy and Army veteran
- MD with multiple specialties and surgeon, plus teaching experience
- Policy positions :
- Expand the Voting Rights Act
- Supports infrastructure expansion, including rural broadband
- Lower prescription drug costs by allowing the federal gov’t to negotiate prices
- Make the Child Tax Credit permanent
- Pass legislation to reduce or eliminate student loan debt
- Former Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, former judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals
- Attorney
- Policy positions :
- Expand the Affordable Care Act
- Lower prescription drug prices
- Pass the Pro Act
- Pass the Paycheck Fairness Act
- Make the Child Tax Credit permanent
- Pass federal legislation for paid family and medical leave
- $15 per hour minimum wage
- Supports infrastructure expansion, including rural broadband
- Supports the Equal Rights Amendment
- Repeal the Hyde Amendment
- Pass the Women’s Health Protection Act
- Modernize electrical grid and increase energy efficiency
- Pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act
- Expand VA programs including healthcare services offered through the VA
- Pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act
- Supports legislation to address home affordability
- Current Mayor Pro Temper for Tryon, NC
- Policy positions :
- Legalize medical marijuana
- $15 per hour federal minimum wage
- Pass the Voting Rights Advancement Act
- Pass the For the People Act
- Supports infrastructure expansion, including rural broadband
- Supports independent contractor status for real estate agents
Curious about methodology? Learn more here.
On everyone’s ballot this month will be a primary election for the next North Carolina senator to the United States Senate. There is no incumbent, because senator Richard Burr (R) is retiring at the end of this term. This new senator will be elected by statewide popular vote, and will join Thom Tillis (R), who has been serving in the United States Senate since 2015, having been elected in 2014 and 2020.
The candidates above are are vying for votes to be the Democratic Party’s candidate this November, with the ultimate goal of representing North Carolina in the US Senate. As such, some issues are not included in the summaries above as they are decisions that are not made at a federal level (such as implementing Medicaid expansion in North Carolina). The full party platform can be found here. Some issues are addressed in the party platform include :
- Support for marriage equality, allowing any two (unwed) individuals to be married
- Repeal all of the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act, also known as HB2 or the Bathroom Bill, which also prohibits municipalities or counties from setting a minimum wage distinct from the state minimum wage
- Non-partisan, independent redistricting commissions at the state and county levels
- Pass the Help America Vote Act and the Count Every Vote Act
- Reform taxes to a progressive tax system
- Support the restoration of the NC Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit
- Oppose the privatization of Social Security
- Classify broadband internet as a utility
- Change North Carolina state law to allow municipal internet projects
- $15 per hour minimum wage with inflation increases factored in
- Support unions and collective bargaining
- Oppose privatization of Medicare
- Continued support of the Homestead Act, which expired in 1976
- Reduce dependence on fossil fuels
- Support continued legal access to abortion, emergency contraception, and birth control
- Re-enact the 2009 Racial Justice Act
- Reduce dependence on foreign oil
- Ban the sale of assault rifles
Fun fact: the ballot order is determined by an official picking of a ball out of a bingo machine, then going in alphabetical order starting with that letter. This time, the ball picked was the “C”, so all candidates are in alphabetical order starting with C.