Ashley Bell (North Carolina)
Ashley Bell (Democratic Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent North Carolina's 10th Congressional District. She is on the ballot in the Democratic primary on March 3, 2026.[source]
Bell completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Ashley Bell was born in Tyler, Texas. She graduated from Henderson High School. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Houston in 2003, a graduate degree from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine in 2011., and a graduate degree from the University of Lynchburg in 2019. Her career experience includes working as a physician assistant and educator.[1]
Bell has been affiliated with the following organizations:[1]
- American Academy of Physician Associates
- Physician Assistant Education Association
- American Association of University Professors
- Democratic Women of North Carolina
Elections
2026
See also: North Carolina's 10th Congressional District election, 2026
General election
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
The primary will occur on March 3, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. Additional general election candidates will be added here following the primary.
General election for U.S. House North Carolina District 10
Steven Feldman is running in the general election for U.S. House North Carolina District 10 on November 3, 2026.
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 | Steven Feldman (L)  | |
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 10
The following candidates are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 10 on March 3, 2026.
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| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 10
Incumbent Pat Harrigan and Matthew Sin are running in the Republican primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 10 on March 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Pat Harrigan | |
| Matthew Sin | ||
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| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Libertarian primary election
The Libertarian primary election was canceled. Steven Feldman advanced from the Libertarian primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 10.
Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Ashley Bell completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Bell's responses.
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I was raised in ruby red rural East Texas by small business owners. My grandfather started an HVAC business in 1957 that still operates today. I was the first in my family to attend college, graduating from the University of Houston - thanks to the Pell grant, academic and music scholarships, and multiple part time jobs to pay my way.
I'm not a career politician — I'm a physician associate and teacher who has spent my life in public service. I am the ONLY candidate in this race who has direct, first hand experience with healthcare, education, and national leadership.
I understand what it's like to lose a job due to illness, to be denied reasonable accommodations so one can do their job, and to experience financial crisis because of that. It's all happened to me personally, and I know the consequences of poor policies and how they harm working families.
Many years ago, I chose North Carolina as my permanent home. I love the people, the places, and the opportunities here. I'm committed to making sure others in NC-10 have access to the opportunities they want to pursue.- The United States has the resources to ensure that our citizens are taken care of and given the opportunity they need to succeed. However, current conditions are presenting barriers to that.
Everything is too expensive. The "waste, fraud and abuse" people are creating more waste, fraud, and abuse. Millions are losing their healthcare. People can't afford rent, or to buy homes. Children are going hungry. Some veterans - people who have served our country - are homeless and without access to healthcare. And who's really thriving? Billionaires.
It is embarrassing that in the greatest country in the world, people can't afford to pay for basic needs. This has to change. - Our healthcare system is a mess from top to bottom, and has been for as long as most of us can remember. As a PA, I understand the crisis from the inside. I've treated patients who can’t afford meds, can’t access mental health care, and can’t get appointments. Don't even get me started on arguments with insurance companies. Prior authorization MUST be outlawed. I believe healthcare providers should be calling the shots on healthcare in this country, rather than sleazy, profit driven politicians with no experience in medicine. I believe that healthcare providers have endured enough abuse in the last several years. Frontline healthcare workers (not overpaid CEOs) have to be treated better so that our patients can be treated better.
- I am an action taker. While those currently in office and other candidates just talk about doing things, I actually do them. If we want change, we have to #DoSomething. As a leader in my profession for the last 15 years, I've served on multiple boards of directors and visited Congress often to advocate for my patients, healthcare providers and students. I LOVE fighting corruption, which is good, since there's plenty of it in Congress. When a billion dollar ed-tech company tried to exploit my students for money in exchange for poor quality education, I teamed up with the Wall Street Journal and the US Department of Education to expose their lack of ethics and poor business practices. Not long after, that company filed bankruptcy.
Second, it’s the job of Congress to write and pass laws that actually improve people’s lives. That includes lowering healthcare costs, investing in education and workforce training, supporting small businesses, protecting our freedoms, and strengthening rural communities.
Third, a representative must provide real oversight — making sure taxpayer dollars are used wisely, holding government agencies accountable, and keeping our democracy strong and stable.
Families are being squeezed by the rising cost of healthcare, housing, childcare, medications, and education. If people can’t afford to live, work, and raise a family in their own communities, then the American Dream slips further away. Fixing this means lowering healthcare and prescription costs, expanding the workforce, rebuilding the middle class, and investing in small businesses and local economies.
Second, we face deep threats to our democratic stability.
Our country is more polarized than at any point in modern history. Trust in institutions is falling. Political violence, disinformation, and attacks on election integrity are real dangers. Protecting democracy means defending the rule of law, ensuring safe and fair elections, and electing leaders who will lower the temperature instead of inflaming division.
Third, we must prepare for global competition and technological change.
The founders designed it so representatives would stay accessible, responsive, and accountable. If your community’s needs change, you shouldn’t have to wait six years to get new leadership.
However, I also recognize the downside: it forces members of Congress into a nonstop campaign cycle.
Too many representatives spend more time fundraising and playing political games than governing.
So while I respect the two-year term as part of our constitutional design, I believe the real solution is not lengthening terms; it’s fixing the political incentives.
However, term limits alone aren’t enough. We also need to fix the money system that keeps the same politicians in office year after year. That means reducing the influence of big donors, ending gerrymandering, and strengthening ethics rules. Otherwise, term limits just shuffle the same power from one insider to another.
To me, compromise doesn’t mean abandoning your values.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign website
Bell's campaign website stated the following:
LEARN MORE ABOUT
Our Campaign’s Top Issues
What does Ashley stand for?
Save America
Top priority: to end the hostile takeover of our country by fascists. Then, clean up the mess that's been made since January 2025.
Ashley Bell is running for office with an urgent mission: to save American democracy. At a time when fundamental freedoms, fair elections, and the rule of law are under attack, Ashley is stepping up with the courage to defend our institutions and restore faith in government.
Ashley understands that preserving democracy means standing up to extremism, protecting the voices of everyday people, and fighting for accountability at every level.
Our country's executive branch is employing tactics used in 1930s Germany, Russia and other authoritarian regimes. The judicial branch has been weaponized. Judges are being arrested, and local leaders are being threatened with the same. United States citizens and legal residents are being deported without due process. Congress is controlled by a political party that has been brainwashed and threatened into compliance.
As a Courage Candidate with Citizens' Impeachment, Ashley has committed to filing articles of impeachment against Donald J. Trump on day 1 of her Congressional term....but she's not stopping there. She will file against additional members of the cabinet as needed to get our country back on track.
Ashley will also demand that those committing crimes against Americans - whether they're DHS agents, insurrectionists, cabinet members, or the President - be held accountable. Our country can't move forward until we do so.
Affordability
Everything is too expensive. We have to institute a national minimum wage, expand aid for costs that people can't avoid, and make costs for others more manageable. And...stop the TACO rollercoaster with the tariffs.
- Increase aid for necessary costs.
- Cap prescription drug prices and outlaw PBM middleman games
- Protect and expand ACA subsidies
- Universal out-of-pocket caps for healthcare
- Insulin, inhalers, and EpiPens capped monthly
- End surprise billing and junk fees in healthcare
- Make housing affordable.
- Incentivize construction of starter homes and duplexes
- Fund first-time homebuyer assistance
- Expand low-interest construction loans for rural communities
- Stop Wall Street from hoarding single-family homes
- Tie federal infrastructure dollars to local housing production
- Decrease everyday prices.
- Enforce antitrust laws against grocery, meat, and energy monopolies
- Ban hidden fees in banking, travel, telecom, and utilities
- Expand community solar and energy efficiency rebates
- Increase take home pay.
- $17/hour National Minimum Wage with cost of living scale adjustments
- Expand the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit
- Support paid family leave so a baby doesn’t mean bankruptcy
- Student loan relief for public service and healthcare workers
- Workforce training tied to real local jobs
- Cut other costs.
- Automatic student loan repayment caps
- Universal free school meals
- Childcare tax credits and direct subsidies
- Simplify tax filing and reinstate IRS Free File
Make Insurance Pay
Insurance companies can no longer be allowed to dictate diagnosis and treatment. Prior authorization must end, and patients should get the service they're paying for without a fight.
Insurance costs are astronomical, and not affordable for most Americans. Despite this, patients and providers often have to fight to get insurance companies to do what they agreed to do when the policy was issued - pay for medical care.
- Prior authorization must be abolished. Healthcare providers are well qualified to recommend the best treatment for their patients. This should be all that is required for an insurance company to pay for said treatment. Insurance companies have been allowed to practice medicine without a license for far too long. Prior authorization wastes time for providers and staff, and delays needed treatment for patients. The only ones who benefit are the insurance companies who make billions in the business of keeping Americans sick.
- Formularies must go. A formulary is a list of drugs an insurance company will pay for based on a particular medical condition. Often these formularies list drugs or doses that are no longer considered effective, or not the best treatment for that condition. Formularies are entirely focused on saving the insurance company money. Healthcare providers should be able to recommend the best treatment for their patients, regardless of the insurance company's financial concerns.
- Pharmacy benefit managers should be outlawed. These organizations (like CVS Caremark, ExpressScripts, OptumRx) are destructive, unnecessary middlemen that increase insurance company profits, impede healthy competition between pharmacies, put independently owned pharmacies out of business, increase the cost of medications, and cause headaches for patients and providers. They also own pharmacies, creating a huge conflict of interest, and United Healthcare owns a bank (Optum Bank)! - this is utterly ridiculous.
- Cap prescription drug prices. If a drug is necessary, it should be affordable to obtain, and insurance should cover it without a fight. In Medicare for All, prescriptions will be covered. Until then, a cap on drug prices must be instituted.
- Insurance companies must make all contracts and publications clear and easy to understand. If a healthcare provider who's been practicing for 14 years (like Ashley) sometimes has trouble figuring out what the insurance company will cover, how do they expect someone with no medical training to understand?
- Insurance companies must reimburse providers at a fair rate for the services they are providing. Reimbursements have dropped to the point that providers are often unable to financially sustain their private practices. This leads to loss of jobs for staff, the inability for providers to offer certain services, greedy corporate takeover of privately owned practices, and ultimately lack of access for patients.
- Protect laws that prevent insurance companies from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions.
Medicare for All...and more
Medicare for All is attainable and necessary. Corporate interests have ruined our current healthcare system. Untether healthcare benefits from employment. Support healthcare providers.
- Medicare For All. This is the goal. Our country is the only "superpower" that does not pay for healthcare for its citizens. Preventative, basic, emergency, dental, vision, and mental healthcare should be paid for 100%. (If we tax billionaires appropriately and stop spending billions on a paramilitary domestic terrorism force called ICE, we can afford it easily.)
- Provide support and funding for private practices. Corporate interests and private insurance industry corruption have robbed our healthcare providers of the ability to start and maintain a private practice. Mergers and acquisitions of these money hungry companies disguised as nonprofits lead to disruptions in care and many times, decreases in quality. Healthcare should be provider led, not profit driven.
- Support healthcare providers. Our country is losing healthcare providers and other healthcare staff in droves. Why? Corporate medicine, short staffing, physical assaults, prior authorization tactics from greedy insurance companies....the list goes on and on. We have to end these unjust practices and start supporting healthcare workers like the heroes they are.
- Increase funding for healthcare provider training. Our failing healthcare system doesn't stop in our hospitals and clinics. Healthcare provider training programs suffer from lack of funding and resources.
Clinical training sites are scarce, and corporate interests have driven an expectation for educational institutions to pay ever-increasing fees to place students in these sites, driving up the cost of education.
Educational programs have difficulty recruiting faculty because they are unable to pay wages that are comparable to those of clinical practice.
These programs then must decrease enrollment, because they are unable to afford the costs of larger class sizes. This vicious cycle means that less healthcare providers are entering the market, which leads to decreased healthcare access for the public.
- Protect the National Health Service Corps and Public Service Loan Forgiveness. These programs are instrumental in recruiting and retaining healthcare providers to work in medically underserved and rural areas.
- Permanently expand telemedicine legal flexibilities. During the COVID19 pandemic, telemedicine was vital to managing the healthcare needs of Americans. Restrictions on telemedicine have been proven unnecessary, and telemedicine increases access to those who might otherwise have difficulty reaching in-person care.
- Support compact and multi-state licensure. Currently, most healthcare providers must have licenses in each state they want to practice in. License application processes are lengthy, requiring from 3 to 6 months or more to approve. This creates unnecessary delays, expenses, and ultimately barriers to care for patients.
- Reinstate funding for research. The Trump administration has ended funding for vital research programs, which causes progress on cures for diseases to come to a halt. More Americans will suffer and die because of this lack of funding.
- Ban surprise medical billing. It's not acceptable for people to get bills after the fact. Patients need to be informed about costs and risks BEFORE they agree to a procedure, and costs should be transparent.
- Untether healthcare coverage from employment. Being healthy shouldn't be tied to a job, and people shouldn't be forced to stay in a job solely for healthcare coverage. This also helps employers who offer healthcare benefits by shifting the financial responsibility to the government. (Again, if we tax billionaires appropriately and stop spending billions on a paramilitary domestic terrorism force called ICE, we can afford it easily.)
Money Out of Politics
Running for office should be accessible to every American. Right now, it's not - only the rich can afford to run a competitive campaign. And that impacts everyone, not just candidates.
Ashley has signed the Money out of Politics pledge (moneyoutofpolitics.org) and will refuse AIPAC, SuperPAC, corporate PAC and for profit corporation funding.
Why we must get money out of politics
- Big donors drown out everyday voters—policy starts serving wealth, not people
- It fuels corruption and the appearance of corruption, eroding trust in democracy
- Lawmakers spend more time fundraising than governing
- Industries buy influence to block reforms (healthcare, housing, climate, wages)
- It locks in inequality: those with money get access; everyone else gets ignored
- It radicalizes politics—outrage raises cash faster than problem-solving
How we do it
- Overturn Citizens United with a constitutional amendment
- Cap individual and corporate political donations
- Ban corporate PACs and dark-money groups
- Require real-time, full transparency of all political spending
- Create public financing of elections (small-donor matching)
- Give every voter “democracy dollars” to support candidates
- Prohibit members of Congress from trading stocks or lobbying after office
- Enforce strict penalties for violations
Bottom line
- Democracy should be powered by people, not purchased by corporations
- Your voice should matter more than a billionaire’s check
- Government should answer to voters—not donors
Education
Education and training open doors regardless of the field or level. They should be accessible to every American.
Education is under attack in America. From early childhood programs to universities, education is being underfunded, privatized, and influenced by political extremists. Trump is currently trying to dismantle the Department of Education. Why? Because education is how we develop critical thinking skills that enable us to think for ourselves, rather than blindly follow whatever he says.
- Increase support for public schools. Public schools are the backbone of our educational system. They should be appropriately funded and supported in order to provide high quality education to every student, regardless of the situation. (NC state legislature, we're looking at you. Fund public schools as the Leandro decision required you to do.)
- Want your kid to go to a charter or private school? Great. Don't make taxpayers fund the bill. These schools often have little to no standards they have to meet and there is often no oversight on what is being taught. Taxpayers shouldn't have to pay for that. And public schools shouldn't have their funding depleted in order to pay for charter schools.
- Treat teachers with the respect they deserve and PAY THEM. Teachers shouldn't have to work multiple jobs to make ends meet. Teachers should be paid much more than their current wage. They shouldn't be forced to teach propaganda and treat it as fact. They should not fear for their lives due to gun violence, nor feel that they have to arm themselves at their workplaces.
- Protect programs that help with the cost of higher education. Student loans, Pell grants, and Public Service Loan Forgiveness made it possible for Ashley to get an education and become a PA. Without these programs, less students will become professionals in fields that our country needs to survive.
- Make the cost of higher education feasible for everyone regardless of socioeconomic status. The cost of higher education has become exorbitant, which limits access and drives increased student loan debt. Community college, skills training and vocational school should be free for students.
- Fund Universal pre-K and provide subsidized childcare.
- Feed kids. Make school meals free.
Abolish ICE
ICE has terrorized immigrants and US Citizens alike. They cannot be trusted and will never be trusted in the future. We need humane and legal immigration reform.
ICE as an institution has terrorized immigrants and US Citizens alike. They cannot be trusted and will never be trusted in the future. They have done irreparable damage to local law enforcement agencies, who have had their attempts to regain and maintain trust undermined by a violent paramilitary force.
Not only should we abolish ICE, but we should hold those who beat, murdered and enabled these crimes accountable. This includes agents AND leadership in DHS/ICE/CBP.
Reform or additional training will not fix this issue. This administration has already demonstrated that they do not follow rules, training or laws.
This doesn't mean that we don't need immigration enforcement or immigration reform. We DO. But to quote Andrea Pitzker, American journalist: "The correct response to Dachau was not better training for the guards.” Saying we need to reform ICE is like saying Germany should have reformed the Gestapo. We need an entirely new system, process and method of enforcement.
Taking a clear stand on this particular issue, in Ashley's opinion, is a preview of the type a representative will be. If a candidate can't clearly stand on the side of human rights and call out criminal actions, they're showing they'll play both sides in Congress on other issues.
And we don't need another Fetterman or Tillis.
Women's Rights
Abortion, birth control, voting, and more....
Let's go, girls.
Women are more than capable of making their own decisions and running their own lives. We don't need the government, politicians, or anyone else helping us with that.
- Codify a woman's right to choose. Abortion restrictions and bans have not only violated the right to choose to end a pregnancy, but they have been devastating for those with wanted pregnancies who can't get the life-saving care they need. Abortion care is between a woman and her healthcare provider. Healthcare providers are being threatened with jail time, murder charges, and even the death penalty for doing their jobs and saving lives.
- The science and the facts don't support the pro-life movement. But, this movement was never about science or facts. It's about control. Women have died because some politicians have control issues. Let that sink in.
- Increase and ensure access to Plan B and Ella, the "morning after" pills. Access to these medications is not about encouraging unsafe sex or reversing a bad decision. Some patients cannot take birth control for medical reasons. Rape victims shouldn't be forced to conceive their rapist's child. Condoms sometimes fail. Plan B and Ella are NOT abortion pills. They do not end pregnancies once they have already begun. They are safe and effective.
- Repeal any legislation that makes it difficult for women to vote. Recent legislation (like the SAVE Act) imposes unfair and unnecessary requirements that disproportionately impact women. All eligible voters should have every opportunity to exercise their right to vote without jumping through hoops to do so.
- Advocate for wage equality and increase penalties for violations of the Equal Pay Act. Even in 2025, women are still paid less than men for doing the same job - women earn about 83 cents for every dollar earned by men. This is unacceptable.
LGBTQ+ Rights
LGBTQ rights are human rights....period.
In this country, freedom means the right to live without fear, the right to love without shame, and the right to be seen and treated as fully human. That freedom is not negotiable.
I believe in the dignity and equality of every person — no matter who they are or who they love. LGBTQ+ Americans deserve the same rights, protections, and opportunities as anyone else. Period.
In Congress, I will fight to protect LGBTQ+ individuals from discrimination in all its forms. I will defend marriage equality, support inclusive anti-harassment policies, and oppose any attempts to roll back hard-won civil rights.
The politics of hate, division, and fear have no place in a country that calls itself free. If we are truly a nation of liberty and justice for all, then “all” must mean all — including our LGBTQ+ neighbors, friends, and family.
Let’s build a future where every person can live with pride, safety, and full equality under the law. Because love is not a threat. Hate is.
Disability Rights
Those with disabilities have a lot to contribute to our society. They deserve the right to do so.
Promoting disability rights benefits society as a whole. Inclusive education and workplaces foster innovation and diversity. Public spaces designed for accessibility serve everyone. Upholding disability rights challenges harmful stereotypes and builds a more compassionate, just world. It shifts the narrative from viewing disability as a deficit to understanding it as a natural part of the human experience—one that should be met with support, respect, and equal opportunity.
Between the elimination of DEI programs and cuts to Medicaid, disability rights are under attack.
Ashley recognizes this first hand: she was forced to resign from a teaching position because the university refused to honor accommodations for her disability, even though her supervisor agreed that they were reasonable. Furthermore, the process for fighting back against this injustice involved expenses for attorneys and a six month delay for the next available appointment with an ADA representative.
ASHLEY ALSO SUPPORTS
Additional policies....
- Common sense gun reform. We support the 2nd amendment, but we don't support gun violence.
- Expand Veterans' benefits. Improve all of the existing benefits, add loan forgiveness, expanded mental healthcare, living stipends, childcare assistance....and we've got a start at thanking our Veterans.
- Expand the Supreme Court and institute term limits for justices.
- Term limits for lawmakers. Congress isn't supposed to be a career.
- Ban Congressional stock trading. Congress shouldn't make its members rich.
- Regulate AI. AI is powerful....sometimes too powerful. We can't let it cause more issues than it solves....AND we must minimize its impacts on the environment.
- Recognize Palestinian Statehood and stop funding Israel's attacks. Israel is committing genocide against Palestine.
- Support statehood for DC and Puerto Rico. If they're not going to be represented with voting rights in Congress, they shouldn't be taxed.
- Paid sick, family, maternity, paternity leave and expand duration of each.
- Green New Deal. Transition to clean, renewable energy; public transit expansion, increase jobs in clean energy and manufacturing, decreases pollution.
- Ban partisan gerrymandering. Everyone deserves a voice and for their vote to count regardless of whether they live. It's time to stop the games with gerrymandering.
— Ashley Bell's campaign website (February 13, 2026)
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
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Candidate U.S. House North Carolina District 10 |
Personal |
Footnotes
