Cole Johnson
Cole Johnson (Republican Party) ran for election to the North Carolina State Senate to represent District 1. He lost in the Republican primary on March 3, 2026.
Johnson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Cole Johnson served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2012 to 2020. He attended University of Mount Olive. His career experience includes working as a farmer.[1]
Elections
2026
See also: North Carolina State Senate elections, 2026
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
General election for North Carolina State Senate District 1
Melissa Zehner (D) and Jerry R. Tillett (R) are running in the general election for North Carolina State Senate District 1 on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Melissa Zehner (D) | ||
 | Jerry R. Tillett (R)  | |
| ||||
| = 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. | ||||
Democratic primary
The Democratic primary scheduled for March 3, 2026, was canceled. Melissa Zehner (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina State Senate District 1 without appearing on the ballot.
Republican primary
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Republican primary for North Carolina State Senate District 1
Jerry R. Tillett (R) defeated Jay Lane (R), David Forsythe (R), and Cole Johnson (R) in the Republican primary for North Carolina State Senate District 1 on March 3, 2026.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jerry R. Tillett | 37.9 | 7,529 |
| Jay Lane | 31.6 | 6,270 | ||
 | David Forsythe | 15.8 | 3,148 | |
 | Cole Johnson | 14.7 | 2,924 | |
| Total votes: 19,871 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Campaign finance
Endorsements
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Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Cole Johnson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Johnson's responses.
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- Limited Government for and by the People: Government should serve the people, not special interests. I will fight to restrain overreach, protect farmers, fishermen, and small businesses, and ensure laws reflect the needs of everyday North Carolinians.
- Parental Rights and Medical Freedom: Parents—not bureaucrats—should make decisions for their children. I will protect parental authority in education, safeguard informed consent, and defend medical freedom for all citizens.
- Affordability Through Lower Taxes: Families and small businesses are being squeezed. I will fight for low taxes while cutting unnecessary spending so North Carolinians can keep more of what they earn. Government should encourage, not punish property ownership, hard work, and contributing members of society. I will fight for you to keep hard earned money in your wallet.
Equal Protections North Carolina
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 finance summary
Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
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Candidate North Carolina State Senate District 1 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on January 29, 2026
