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Jay Chaudhuri

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Jay Chaudhuri
Democratic Party
Candidate, North Carolina State Senate District 15
North Carolina State Senate District 15
Tenure
2019 - Present
Term ends
2027
Years in position
7
Predecessor: John Alexander (R)
Prior offices:
North Carolina State Senate District 16
Years in office: 2016 - 2019
Successor: Wiley Nickel (D)
Compensation
Base salary
$13,951/year
Per diem
$104/day
Elections and appointments
Last election
March 3, 2026
Next election
November 3, 2026
Contact
Official website
Campaign website
Campaign Facebook
Campaign X
Campaign Instagram
Personal Facebook
Personal LinkedIn
Personal TikTok

Jay Chaudhuri (Democratic Party) is a member of the North Carolina State Senate, representing District 15. He assumed office on January 1, 2019. His current term ends on January 1, 2027.

Chaudhuri (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the North Carolina State Senate to represent District 15. He is on the ballot in the general election on November 3, 2026. The Democratic primary for this office on March 3, 2026, was canceled.

Chaudhuri was first appointed to the chamber to represent District 16 on April 19, 2016, but ran in District 15 in 2018 due to redistricting.

Committee assignments

2025-2026

Chaudhuri was assigned to the following committees:

2023-2024

Chaudhuri was assigned to the following committees:

2021-2022

Chaudhuri was assigned to the following committees:

2019-2020

Chaudhuri was assigned to the following committees:

2017 legislative session

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

North Carolina committee assignments, 2017
• Agriculture/Environment/Natural Resources
• Appropriations on Pensions, Compensation, and Benefits
• Appropriations/Base Budget
• Education/Higher Education
• State and Local Government

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

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 15

Incumbent Jay Chaudhuri (D) and David Bankert (R) are running in the general election for North Carolina State Senate District 15 on November 3, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Jay Chaudhuri
Jay Chaudhuri (D)
Image of David Bankert
David Bankert (R)

Incumbents are bolded and underlined.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary

The Democratic primary scheduled for March 3, 2026, was canceled. Incumbent Jay Chaudhuri (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina State Senate District 15 without appearing on the ballot.

Republican primary

The Republican primary scheduled for March 3, 2026, was canceled. David Bankert (R) advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina State Senate District 15 without appearing on the ballot.

Campaign finance

Endorsements

Chaudhuri received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here.

2024

See also: North Carolina State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for North Carolina State Senate District 15

Incumbent Jay Chaudhuri defeated David Bankert and Kat McDonald in the general election for North Carolina State Senate District 15 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Jay Chaudhuri
Jay Chaudhuri (D)
 
65.9
 
67,355
Image of David Bankert
David Bankert (R)
 
30.2
 
30,867
Image of Kat McDonald
Kat McDonald (L)
 
3.8
 
3,915

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

Total votes: 102,137
Candidate Connection = 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. Incumbent Jay Chaudhuri advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina State Senate District 15.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. David Bankert advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina State Senate District 15.

Libertarian primary election

The Libertarian primary election was canceled. Kat McDonald advanced from the Libertarian primary for North Carolina State Senate District 15.

Campaign finance

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Chaudhuri in this election.

2022

See also: North Carolina State Senate elections, 2022

General election

General election for North Carolina State Senate District 15

Incumbent Jay Chaudhuri defeated Emanuela Prister and Sammie Brooks in the general election for North Carolina State Senate District 15 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Jay Chaudhuri
Jay Chaudhuri (D)
 
67.6
 
52,742
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Emanuela Prister (R)
 
29.2
 
22,776
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Sammie Brooks (L)
 
3.2
 
2,463

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

Total votes: 77,981
Candidate Connection = 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. Incumbent Jay Chaudhuri advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina State Senate District 15.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Emanuela Prister advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina State Senate District 15.

Libertarian primary election

The Libertarian primary election was canceled. Sammie Brooks advanced from the Libertarian primary for North Carolina State Senate District 15.

Campaign finance

2020

See also: North Carolina State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for North Carolina State Senate District 15

Incumbent Jay Chaudhuri defeated Mario Lomuscio and Kat McDonald in the general election for North Carolina State Senate District 15 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Jay Chaudhuri
Jay Chaudhuri (D)
 
58.0
 
71,700
Image of Mario Lomuscio
Mario Lomuscio (R) Candidate Connection
 
36.8
 
45,457
Image of Kat McDonald
Kat McDonald (L)
 
5.2
 
6,441

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

Total votes: 123,598
Candidate Connection = 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. Incumbent Jay Chaudhuri advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina State Senate District 15.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Mario Lomuscio advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina State Senate District 15.

Libertarian primary election

The Libertarian primary election was canceled. Kat McDonald advanced from the Libertarian primary for North Carolina State Senate District 15.

Campaign finance

2018

See also: North Carolina State Senate elections, 2018

General election

General election for North Carolina State Senate District 15

Incumbent Jay Chaudhuri defeated Alan David Michael and Brian Lewis in the general election for North Carolina State Senate District 15 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Jay Chaudhuri
Jay Chaudhuri (D)
 
73.1
 
60,805
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Alan David Michael (R)
 
23.3
 
19,365
Image of Brian Lewis
Brian Lewis (L)
 
3.6
 
3,005

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

Total votes: 83,175
Candidate Connection = 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 State Senate District 15

Incumbent Jay Chaudhuri advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina State Senate District 15 on May 8, 2018.

Candidate
✔
Image of Jay Chaudhuri
Jay Chaudhuri

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

Candidate Connection = 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 State Senate District 15

Alan David Michael advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina State Senate District 15 on May 8, 2018.

Candidate
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Alan David Michael

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

Candidate Connection = 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 State Senate elections, 2016

Elections for the North Carolina State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election was held on March 15, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016.[1] The candidate filing deadline was December 21, 2015.[2] Incumbent Josh Stein (D) resigned from the state Senate on March 21, 2016. Jay Chaudhuri (D) was appointed to the seat on April 19, 2016.

Incumbent Jay Chaudhuri defeated Eric Weaver in the North Carolina State Senate District 16 general election.[3][4]

North Carolina State Senate, District 16 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Jay Chaudhuri Incumbent 65.33% 68,842
     Republican Eric Weaver 34.67% 36,530
Total Votes 105,372
Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections


Jay Chaudhuri defeated Ellis Hankins in the North Carolina State Senate District 16 Democratic primary.[5][6]

North Carolina State Senate, District 16 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Jay Chaudhuri 62.93% 20,232
     Democratic Ellis Hankins 37.07% 11,916
Total Votes 32,148


Eric Weaver ran unopposed in the North Carolina State Senate District 16 Republican primary.[7][8]

North Carolina State Senate, District 16 Republican Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Republican Green check mark transparent.png Eric Weaver  (unopposed)

2016 primary

Main article: Battleground state primaries in North Carolina, 2016

Chaudhuri questioned Hankins' Democratic credentials, bringing up Hankins' donations to Republican candidates in the 1990s, like U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx (R). Chaudhuri distributed campaign mailers stating that Hankins "has a long record of supporting right-wing Republicans."[9]

Hankins confirmed that he donated between $100 and $200 to Republican candidates in 1995 and 1996 after he had been asked by a former law partner to provide small donations to Republicans after the party's takeover of the General Assembly of North Carolina in 1994. "I reluctantly made some of those, and it was 21 years ago," Hankins said. Hankins also criticized Chaudhuri for raising the issue, commenting that "we should be focused on issues that matter to people and their qualifications to serve."[9]

Below were key endorsements for Chaudhuri and Hankins.[10][11]

Key endorsements
Chaudhuri Hankins
American Federation of Teachers - North Carolina Former Treasurer Richard Moore
NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina State Employees Association of North Carolina
North Carolina State AFL-CIO Former Raleigh Mayor Smedes York
Raleigh Police Protective Association
Raleigh Professional Fire Fighters Association
Teamsters Local 391

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Jay Chaudhuri has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. Send a message to Jay Chaudhuri asking him to fill out the survey. If you are Jay Chaudhuri, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?

Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's Ballotpedia profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for.  More than 26,000 candidates have taken Ballotpedia's candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the survey here.

You can ask Jay Chaudhuri to fill out this survey by using the buttons below or emailing jay@jayfornc.com.

Twitter
Email


2024

Jay Chaudhuri did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Jay Chaudhuri did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Jay Chaudhuri did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2018

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's candidate surveys
Candidate Connection

Jay J. Chaudhuri participated in Ballotpedia's candidate survey on April 9, 2018. The survey questions appear in bold, and Jay J. Chaudhuri's responses follow below.[12]

What would be your top three priorities, if elected?

“ 1) Investing in public education

2) Growing the middle class
3) Women's rights[13][14]

”

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Why?

“ I am personally passionate about seeing properly funding class size reductions, common-sense gun reform, and creating a better system for reporting hate crimes.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many[14] ”


2016

Chaudhuri's website highlighted the following campaign themes:

“ Providing a World-Class Education

As the father of two young children, Jay believes nothing is more important than ensuring children are able to reach their potential. In the Senate, he will fight every day to restore the funding Republicans cut from public schools, to raise teacher salaries to above the national average, and to reduce the amount of classroom time spent on high-stakes standardized testing.

Standing Up for Women

Jay Chaudhuri is one hundred percent pro-choice and committed to protecting funding for Planned Parenthood. In the State Senate, he will fight the extremists in the legislature who want to put politicians between women and their doctors.

Building an Economy for All North Carolinians

As State Senator, Jay Chaudhuri will focus on creating jobs, growing the local economy, and reducing inequality between the rich and the poor. His plan to make the economy more fair includes cutting taxes for working and middle class families by making the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share, raising the minimum wage, and making sure women receive equal pay for equal work.

Reducing Gun Violence

As State Senator, Jay Chaudhuri will take on Republicans to push for stronger gun control laws that will keep guns out of the hands of those who commit domestic violence and those who are on the terrorist watch list.

Protecting Our Environment and Creating Green Jobs

Jay Chaudhuri is a champion for North Carolina's environment. In the State Senate, he will crack down on the big coal companies that pollute our rivers and air - and will work to combat climate change by making clean, renewable energy like wind and solar more accessible and affordable for North Carolina families and businesses.[15][14]

”

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.

Jay Chaudhuri campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024North Carolina State Senate District 15Won general$788,429 $766,960
2022North Carolina State Senate District 15Won general$674,433 $648,888
2020North Carolina State Senate District 15Won general$695,808 N/A**
2018North Carolina State Senate District 15Won general$288,890 N/A**
2016North Carolina State Senate, District 16Won $413,803 N/A**
Grand total$2,861,362 $1,415,848
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Election Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards, 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 scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the General Assembly of North Carolina in 2025.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the General Assembly of North Carolina in 2024.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the General Assembly of North Carolina in 2023.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the General Assembly of North Carolina in 2022.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the General Assembly of North Carolina in 2021.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the General Assembly of North Carolina in 2020.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the General Assembly of North Carolina in 2019.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the General Assembly of North Carolina in 2018.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the General Assembly of North Carolina in 2017.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the General Assembly of North Carolina in 2016.

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External links

Candidate

North Carolina State Senate District 15
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    North Carolina State Senate District 15
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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ The primary for U.S. congressional elections was rescheduled to June 7, 2016, following legal challenges to North Carolina's district maps. State races were unaffected.
    2. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "2016 Candidate Filing," archived January 19, 2016
    3. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Candidate Listing," accessed August 23, 2016
    4. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "2016 General Election results lookup," accessd December 21, 2016
    5. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Candidate Listing," accessed January 4, 2016
    6. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "03/15/2016 Official primary results - Statewide," March 15, 2016
    7. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Candidate Listing," accessed January 4, 2016
    8. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "03/15/2016 Official primary results - Statewide," March 15, 2016
    9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 News & Observer, "Democratic state Senate candidate Hankins gave to Republicans in ’90s," March 4, 2016
    10. ↑ Hankins for NC Senate, "Endorsements," accessed March 7, 2016
    11. ↑ Jay for NC, "Endorsements," accessed March 7, 2016
    12. ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
    13. ↑ Ballotpedia's candidate survey, "Jay J. Chaudhuri's responses," April 9, 2018
    14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
    15. ↑ Chaudhuri for New North Carolina Committee, "Issues," accessed March 5, 2016

    Political offices
    Preceded by
    John Alexander (R)     		North Carolina State Senate District 15
    2019-Present    		 Succeeded by
    -
    Preceded by
    -     		North Carolina State Senate District 16
    2016-2019    		 Succeeded by
    Wiley Nickel (D)


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