Donna McDowell White

Donna McDowell White

Republican Party

North Carolina House of Representatives District 26

Tenure

2017 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

8

Predecessor

Namon Daughtry

Compensation

Base salary

$13,951/year

Per diem

$104/day

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Contact

Official website

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Donna McDowell White (Republican Party) is a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives, representing District 26. She assumed office on January 1, 2017. Her current term ends on January 1, 2027.

White (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the North Carolina House of Representatives to represent District 26. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.

2023-2024

White was assigned to the following committees:

• Appropriations Committee, Vice Chair
• House Appropriations on Health and Human Services Committee, Chair
• Education - Community Colleges Committee
• Environment Committee
• Health Committee, Chair
• Local Government Committee
• Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House Committee

2021-2022

White was assigned to the following committees:

• House Appropriations on Health and Human Services Committee, Chair
• Education - K-12 Committee
• Environment Committee
• Families, Children, and Aging Policy Committee
• Health Committee, Chair
• Appropriations Committee, Vice chair

2019-2020

White was assigned to the following committees:

• House Appropriations on Health and Human Services Committee, Chair
• Families, Children, and Aging Policy Committee
• Education - K-12 Committee
• Appropriations Committee, Vice Chair
• Environment Committee
• Health Committee, Chair

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

Sponsored legislation

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Elections

2024

See also: North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 26

Incumbent Donna McDowell White defeated Matthew Wood and Kevin Terrett in the general election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 26 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Donna McDowell White (R)	55.1	29,943
		Matthew Wood (D)	41.7	22,671
	Submit photo	Kevin Terrett (L)	3.2	1,732

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 54,346
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Matthew Wood advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 26.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Donna McDowell White advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 26.

Libertarian primary election

The Libertarian primary election was canceled. Kevin Terrett advanced from the Libertarian primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 26.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for White in this election.

Pledges

White signed the following pledges.

• U.S. Term Limits

2022

See also: North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 26

Incumbent Donna McDowell White defeated Linda Bennett in the general election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 26 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Donna McDowell White (R)	59.2	19,984
		Linda Bennett (D)	40.8	13,783

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 33,767
= 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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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Linda Bennett advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 26.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 26

Incumbent Donna McDowell White defeated Rick Walker in the Republican primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 26 on May 17, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Donna McDowell White	65.8	4,851
		Rick Walker	34.2	2,520

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,371
= 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.

2020

See also: North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 26

Incumbent Donna McDowell White defeated Linda Bennett and Denton Lee in the general election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 26 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Donna McDowell White (R)	53.7	33,495
		Linda Bennett (D)	34.8	21,689
		Denton Lee (Independent)	11.6	7,227

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 62,411
= 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 election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Linda Bennett advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 26.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 26

Incumbent Donna McDowell White defeated Justin Tate in the Republican primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 26 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Donna McDowell White	72.5	7,110
	Submit photo	Justin Tate	27.5	2,695

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 9,805
= 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.

2018

See also: North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

General election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 26

Incumbent Donna McDowell White defeated Linda Bennett in the general election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 26 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Donna McDowell White (R)	59.8	22,770
		Linda Bennett (D)	40.2	15,283

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 38,053
= 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 election

Democratic primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 26

Linda Bennett advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 26 on May 8, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Linda Bennett

---

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

Republican primary election

Republican primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 26

Incumbent Donna McDowell White advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 26 on May 8, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Donna McDowell White

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.
= 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.

2016

See also: North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2016

Elections for the North Carolina House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election was held on March 15, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was December 21, 2015. Incumbent Namon Daughtry (R) did not seek re-election.

Donna McDowell White defeated Rich Nixon in the North Carolina House of Representatives District 26 general election.

North Carolina House of Representatives, District 26 General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Donna McDowell White	58.05%	25,899
	Democratic	Rich Nixon	41.95%	18,716
Total Votes				44,615
Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections

Rich Nixon ran unopposed in the North Carolina House of Representatives District 26 Democratic primary.

North Carolina House of Representatives, District 26 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Democratic	Rich Nixon  (unopposed)

Donna McDowell White defeated Dennis Nielsen in the North Carolina House of Representatives District 26 Republican primary.

North Carolina House of Representatives, District 26 Republican Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Donna McDowell White	59.53%	6,009
	Republican	Dennis Nielsen	40.47%	4,085
Total Votes				10,094

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Donna McDowell White did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Donna McDowell White did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Donna McDowell White did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2016

White's campaign website highlighted the following issues:

“	Fiscal conservative: As the Chair of the Finance Committee for Johnston County Schools during the recession we lost $61 million from local, state, and federal funding. We trimmed the central office, addressed facility usage and cut 1.6 million from the utility bill. We shared $21 million with the County to reduce the debt service and improve the bond rating for future facility needs. During this time we protected the classroom and saved jobs. Transparent and Inclusive Government: During my terms on the Johnston County Board of Education all parents/ teachers /staff have had access to me via cell, email and face-to-face meetings. My office will have an open door policy in Raleigh and I will be visible daily in Johnston County. I will seek opportunities to have small groups of local experts to assist me in topics of concerns and/or issues of the County. Taxpayers will have Facebook and email updates from me from Raleigh weekly. By 2025, 89 of NC's 100 counties including Johnston will have more people over 60 than under 17. The western corridor of Johnston County is already experiencing this reflection. With large numbers of retirees moving to this great climate, and for other amenities, the need of growing the resources to having senior friendly communities is an issue for our very near future. My work experience positions me to work with the needs of the senior population. Collaboration: Growth is a major issue in Johnston County that affects schools, towns, overall infrastructure, roads, and needs for a multi-skilled job base. It is going to take collaboration among citizens and elected officials to seek creative ways to address this good problem of growth. As a member of the House I will use my experience as a school board member, where we have grown a school a year for the last five years, to help navigate the planning for the growth facing NC.	”
—Donna McDowell White

Campaign finance summary

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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.

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Donna McDowell White campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	North Carolina House of Representatives District 26	Won general	$153,351	$170,890
2022	North Carolina House of Representatives District 26	Won general	$158,322	$150,090
2020	North Carolina House of Representatives District 26	Won general	$148,799	N/A**
2016	North Carolina House of Representatives, District 26	Won	$65,006	N/A**
Grand total			$525,477	$320,981
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in North Carolina

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of North Carolina scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

2024

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show].

In 2024, the North Carolina State Legislature was in session from April 24 to December 13. Civitas Action Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. NC Values Coalition Legislators are scored on their votes on bills relating to family issues. North Carolina Chamber Legislators are scored on their votes related to business.

2023

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show].

In 2023, the North Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 11 to October 25. Affordable Healthcare Coalition of North Carolina Legislators are scored based on their stance related to healthcare costs. Civitas Action Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. NC Values Coalition Legislators are scored on their votes on bills relating to family issues. North Carolina Chamber Legislators are scored on their votes related to business. North Carolina League of Conservation Voters Legislators are scored on their votes on environment and conservation issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2022

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show].

In 2022, the North Carolina State Legislature was in session from May 18 to July 1. Affordable Healthcare Coalition of North Carolina Legislators are scored based on their stance related to healthcare costs. Civitas Action Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. NC Values Coalition Legislators are scored on their votes on bills relating to family issues. North Carolina Chamber Legislators are scored on their votes related to business. North Carolina League of Conservation Voters Legislators are scored on their votes on environment and conservation issues.

2021

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show].

In 2021, the North Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 13 to December 30. Affordable Healthcare Coalition of North Carolina Legislators are scored based on their stance related to healthcare costs. Civitas Action Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. North Carolina Chamber Legislators are scored on their votes related to business. North Carolina League of Conservation Voters Legislators are scored on their votes on environment and conservation issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2020

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show].

In 2020, the North Carolina State Legislature was in session from April 28 to September 3. The legislature was in recess from July 8 to September 1 and then reconvened September 2 to September 3. Civitas Action Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. NC Values Coalition Legislators are scored on their votes on bills relating to family issues. North Carolina League of Conservation Voters Legislators are scored on their votes on environment and conservation issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2019

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show].
In 2019, the General Assembly of North Carolina was in session from January 9 through August 27. Civitas Action Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. North Carolina League of Conservation Voters Legislators are scored on their votes on environment and conservation issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2018

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show].
In 2018, the General Assembly of North Carolina was in session from January 10 through July 4. Civitas Action Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. North Carolina League of Conservation Voters Legislators are scored on their votes on environment and conservation issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2017

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show].

In 2017, the General Assembly of North Carolina was in session from January 11 through June 30. Before the legislature adjourned its regular scheduled session, the legislature scheduled the following additional session dates: August 3, August 18 to August 25, August 28 to August 31, and October 4 to October 17. Civitas Action Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. NC Values Coalition Legislators are scored on their votes on bills relating to family issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

See also

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Candidate

North Carolina House of Representatives District 26

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Officeholder

North Carolina House of Representatives District 26

Website

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Namon Daughtry (R)	North Carolina House of Representatives District 26 2017-Present	Succeeded by -

[show]

Current members of the North Carolina House of Representatives

Leadership

Speaker of the House:Destin Hall

Majority Leader:Brenden Jones

Minority Leader:Robert Reives

Representatives

District 1

Ed Goodwin (R)

District 2

Ray Jeffers (D)

District 3

Steve Tyson (R)

District 4

James Dixon (R)

District 5

Bill Ward (R)

District 6

Joe Pike (R)

District 7

Matthew Winslow (R)

District 8

Gloristine Brown (D)

District 9

Timothy Reeder (R)

District 10

John Bell (R)

District 11

Allison Dahle (D)

District 12

Chris Humphrey (R)

District 13

Celeste Cairns (R)

District 14

Wyatt Gable (R)

District 15

Phillip Shepard (R)

District 16

Carson Smith (R)

District 17

Frank Iler (R)

District 18

Deb Butler (D)

District 19

Charles Miller (R)

District 20

Ted Davis (R)

District 21

Ya Liu (D)

District 22

William Brisson (R)

District 23

Shelly Willingham (D)

District 24

Dante Pittman (D)

District 25

Allen Chesser (R)

District 26

Donna White (R)

District 27

Rodney Pierce (D)

District 28

Larry Strickland (R)

District 29

Vernetta Alston (D)

District 30

Marcia Morey (D)

District 31

Zack Hawkins (D)

District 32

Bryan Cohn (D)

District 33

Monika Johnson-Hostler (D)

District 34

Tim Longest (D)

District 35

Mike Schietzelt (R)

District 36

Julie von Haefen (D)

District 37

Erin Paré (R)

District 38

Abraham Jones (D)

District 39

James Roberson (D)

District 40

Phil Rubin (D)

District 41

Maria Cervania (D)

District 42

Mike Colvin (D)

District 43

Diane Wheatley (R)

District 44

Charles Smith (D)

District 45

Frances Jackson (D)

District 46

Brenden Jones (R)

District 47

Jarrod Lowery (R)

District 48

Garland Pierce (D)

District 49

Cynthia Ball (D)

District 50

Renée Price (D)

District 51

John Sauls (R)

District 52

Ben Moss (R)

District 53

Howard Penny (R)

District 54

Robert Reives (D)

District 55

Mark Brody (R)

District 56

Allen Buansi (D)

District 57

Tracy Clark (D)

District 58

Amos Quick (D)

District 59

Alan Branson (R)

District 60

Cecil Brockman (D)

District 61

Mary Harrison (D)

District 62

John Blust (R)

District 63

Stephen Ross (R)

District 64

Dennis Riddell (R)

District 65

A. Reece Pyrtle (R)

District 66

Sarah Crawford (D)

District 67

Cody Huneycutt (R)

District 68

David Willis (R)

District 69

Dean Arp (R)

District 70

Brian Biggs (R)

District 71

Kanika Brown (D)

District 72

Amber Baker (D)

District 73

Jonathan Almond (R)

District 74

Jeff Zenger (R)

District 75

Donny Lambeth (R)

District 76

Harry Warren (R)

District 77

Julia Howard (R)

District 78

Neal Jackson (R)

District 79

Keith Kidwell (R)

District 80

Sam Watford (R)

District 81

Larry Potts (R)

District 82

Brian Echevarria (R)

District 83

Grant Campbell (R)

District 84

Jeffrey McNeely (R)

District 85

Dudley Greene (R)

District 86

Hugh Blackwell (R)

District 87

Destin Hall (R)

District 88

Mary Belk (D)

District 89

Mitchell Setzer (R)

District 90

Sarah Stevens (R)

District 91

Kyle Hall (R)

District 92

Terry Brown (D)

District 93

Ray Pickett (R)

District 94

Blair Eddins (R)

District 95

Todd Carver (R)

District 96

Jay Adams (R)

District 97

Heather Rhyne (R)

District 98

Beth Gardner Helfrich (D)

District 99

Nasif Majeed (D)

District 100

Julia Greenfield (D)

District 101

Carolyn Logan (D)

District 102

Becky Carney (D)

District 103

Laura Budd (D)

District 104

Brandon Lofton (D)

District 105

Tricia Cotham (R)

District 106

Carla Cunningham (D)

District 107

Aisha Dew (D)

District 108

John Torbett (R)

District 109

Donnie Loftis (R)

District 110

Kelly Hastings (R)

District 111

Paul Scott (R)

District 112

Jordan Lopez (D)

District 113

Jake Johnson (R)

District 114

Eric Ager (D)

District 115

Lindsey Prather (D)

District 116

Brian Turner (D)

District 117

Jennifer Balkcom (R)

District 118

Mark Pless (R)

District 119

Mike Clampitt (R)

District 120

Karl Gillespie (R)

Republican Party (71)

Democratic Party (49)