Howard Penny Jr.
2020 - Present
2027
5
Howard Penny Jr. (Republican Party) is a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives, representing District 53. He assumed office on September 17, 2020. His current term ends on January 1, 2027.
Penny (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the North Carolina House of Representatives to represent District 53. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
In August 2020, Penny was selected by the Harnett County GOP Executive Committee to replace retiring incumbent David Lewis, Sr. (R) on the November ballot.[1] He also filled the legislative vacancy left by Lewis on September 8, 2020.[2]
Biography
Penny served on the Harnett County Board of Commissioners.[3] He also has experience as a deacon and Sunday school teacher at Coats Baptist Church and was a member of the Harnett County Tax Board of Equalization and Review. He also served on the Harnett County Board of Adjustments and Planning Board.[4]
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
Penny was assigned to the following committees:
- Agriculture Committee
- Appropriations Committee
- Appropriations on General Government Committee
- Education - Community Colleges Committee
- Environment Committee
- Local Government Committee, Chair
2021-2022
Penny was assigned to the following committees:
- Agriculture Committee
- State Personnel Committee, Vice chair
- Wildlife Resources Committee
- Appropriations Committee
- Appropriations on General Government Committee
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 53
Incumbent Howard Penny Jr. defeated Kevin G. Thurman in the general election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 53 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Howard Penny Jr. (R) | 62.9 | 28,867 |
 | Kevin G. Thurman (D)  | 37.1 | 17,007 | |
| Total votes: 45,874 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Kevin G. Thurman advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 53.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Howard Penny Jr. advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 53.
Campaign finance
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Penny in this election.
2022
See also: North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 53
Incumbent Howard Penny Jr. defeated Kevin G. Thurman in the general election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 53 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Howard Penny Jr. (R) | 67.1 | 22,118 |
| Kevin G. Thurman (D) | 32.9 | 10,824 | |
| Total votes: 32,942 | |||
| = 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Newanda Colvin (D)
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Newanda Colvin advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 53.
Republican primary election
Republican primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 53
Incumbent Howard Penny Jr. defeated Brian Hawley in the Republican primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 53 on May 17, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Howard Penny Jr. | 63.2 | 5,142 |
 | Brian Hawley | 36.8 | 2,988 | |
| Total votes: 8,130 | |||
| = 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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Campaign finance
2020
See also: North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 53
Incumbent Howard Penny Jr. defeated Sally Benson and Zach Berly in the general election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 53 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Howard Penny Jr. (R) | 61.0 | 26,228 |
 | Sally Benson (D) | 35.2 | 15,129 | |
 | Zach Berly (L) | 3.9 | 1,658 | |
| Total votes: 43,015 | |||
| = 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- David Lewis, Sr. (R)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 53
Sally Benson defeated John Fitzpatrick Sr. in the Democratic primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 53 on March 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Sally Benson | 65.9 | 4,045 |
| John Fitzpatrick Sr. | 34.1 | 2,097 | ||
| Total votes: 6,142 | |||
| = 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
The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent David Lewis, Sr. advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 53.
Libertarian primary election
The Libertarian primary election was canceled. Zach Berly advanced from the Libertarian primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 53.
2014
- See also: Harnett County Schools elections (2014)
Howard Penny Jr. defeated incumbent Chuck Levorse in the Republican primary on May 6, 2014. He defeated Democratic challenger Doug Turner in the general election on November 4, 2014 for the District 3 seat.
Results
General
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Howard Penny Jr. |
57.5% | 2,941 | |
| Democratic | Doug Turner | 42.5% | 2,173 | |
| Total Votes | 5,114 | |||
| Source: North Carolina Board of Elections, "2014 General Election Results," accessed December 30, 2014 | ||||
Primary
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Howard Penny Jr. |
52.6% | 461 | |
| Republican | Chuck Levorse Incumbent | 47.4% | 416 | |
| Total Votes | 877 | |||
| Source: North Carolina Board of Elections, "05/06/2014 UNOFFICIAL PRIMARY ELECTION RESULTS - HARNETT, accessed May 7, 2014 | ||||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Howard Penny Jr. did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Howard Penny Jr. did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Howard Penny Jr. did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
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.
Scorecards
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]. |
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In 2024, the North Carolina State Legislature was in session from April 24 to December 13.
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2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the North Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 11 to October 25.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the North Carolina State Legislature was in session from May 18 to July 1.
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2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the North Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 13 to December 30.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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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.
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See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate North Carolina House of Representatives District 53 |
Officeholder North Carolina House of Representatives District 53 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ NC Republicans, "For immediate release: Howard Penny chosen by Harnett County GOP leaders to be added to November ballot for House District 53," August 5, 2020
- ↑ North Carolina General Assembly, "Representative Howard Penny, Jr. (Rep)," accessed September 9, 2020
- ↑ Harnett County, North Carolina, "Board of Commissioners," accessed September 9, 2020
- ↑ The Harnett Dispatch, "Howard Penny Files for Board of Education," February 26, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by David Lewis, Sr. (R) |
North Carolina House of Representatives District 53 2020-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Harnett County Schools, District 3 2014-2016 |
Succeeded by - |
