Jennifer Balkcom
Jennifer Balkcom (Republican Party) is a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives, representing District 117. She assumed office on January 1, 2023. Her current term ends on January 1, 2027.
Balkcom (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the North Carolina House of Representatives to represent District 117. She is on the ballot in the Republican primary on March 3, 2026.[source]
Balkcom completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Jennifer Balkcom was born in Henderson County, North Carolina. She earned a high school diploma from East Henderson High School and an associate degree from Blue Ridge Community College in 2016. Balkcom's career experience includes working as a small business owner as a mortgage loan officer. She also served as the vice president of the Hendersonville Women’s Club and the Hendersonville Lions Club, and as treasurer of the Mortgage Bankers Association of Western North Carolina. Balkcom also served on the boards of the Henderson County Education Foundation, the Advent Health Foundation Board, and the Henderson County Planning Board.[1][2]
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.
Committee assignments
2023-2024
Balkcom was assigned to the following committees:
- Agriculture Committee
- Banking Committee
- House Finance Committee
- Local Government - Land Use, Planning and Development Committee
- State Government Committee
Elections
2026
See also: North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on March 3, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
General election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 117
Lynne Russo (D) is running in the general election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 117 on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Lynne Russo (D)  | |
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| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary
The Democratic primary scheduled for March 3, 2026, was canceled. Lynne Russo (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 117 without appearing on the ballot.
Republican primary
Republican primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 117
Incumbent Jennifer Balkcom (R) and Christopher Wilson (R) are running in the Republican primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 117 on March 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Jennifer Balkcom | |
| Christopher Wilson | ||
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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. | ||||
Endorsements
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2024
See also: North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2024
General election
General election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 117
Incumbent Jennifer Balkcom defeated Steve Martinez in the general election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 117 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jennifer Balkcom (R) | 57.7 | 30,603 |
| Steve Martinez (D) | 42.3 | 22,390 | ||
| Total votes: 52,993 | |||
| = 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. Steve Martinez advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 117.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Jennifer Balkcom advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 117.
Campaign finance
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Balkcom in this election.
Pledges
Balkcom signed the following pledges.
2022
See also: North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 117
Jennifer Balkcom defeated Michael O'Shea in the general election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 117 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jennifer Balkcom (R) | 59.0 | 24,144 |
 | Michael O'Shea (D) | 41.0 | 16,806 | |
| Total votes: 40,950 | |||
| = 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. Michael O'Shea advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 117.
Republican primary election
Republican primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 117
Jennifer Balkcom defeated Chelsea Walsh and Dennis Justice in the Republican primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 117 on May 17, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jennifer Balkcom | 42.6 | 5,599 |
| Chelsea Walsh | 41.4 | 5,441 | ||
 | Dennis Justice | 16.0 | 2,110 | |
| Total votes: 13,150 | |||
| = 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
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Jennifer Balkcom completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Balkcom's responses.
| Collapse all
From the beginning of her time in office, Jennifer has focused on safeguarding families and protecting the most vulnerable. She gained statewide recognition as the primary sponsor of House Bill 574, the Women’s Sports Act, which ensures fairness and equal opportunity for women and girls in athletic competition. The bill passed both chambers with broad support and ultimately became law over the governor’s veto — an effort Jennifer led with strong conviction and clarity.
This session, Jennifer expanded her work on protecting women and children with House Bill 805, the Prevent Sexual Exploitation of Women and Minors Act, a major piece of legislation that strengthens protections against exploitation and abuse and is now state law. She also advanced four additional criminal justice and public safety reforms that were signed into law. These measures strengthen penalties for violent offenders, ensure tougher sentencing for felons caught with firearms, enhance protections for minors by closing loopholes in child-related crimes, and establish new privacy safeguards for grieving families. Collectively, these reforms represent one of the strongest public safety packages enacted in recent years.- Public safety: This session, Jennifer expanded her work on protecting women and children with House Bill 805, the Prevent Sexual Exploitation of Women and Minors Act, a major piece of legislation that strengthens protections against exploitation and abuse and is now state law. She also advanced four additional criminal justice and public safety reforms that were signed into law. These measures strengthen penalties for violent offenders, ensure tougher sentencing for felons caught with firearms, enhance protections for minors by closing loopholes in child-related crimes, and establish new privacy safeguards for grieving families by requiring parental consent before autopsy information of a deceased child can be released.
- Agriculture: As someone who grew up on a family farm in Henderson County, Jennifer understands just how vital agriculture is to our communities. Jennifer's key initiatives in NC agriculture include legislation to provide disaster relief for farmers affected by natural disasters, such as the proposed $475 million grant program for crop losses, and efforts to prevent discrimination in financing against agricultural producers. Additionally, she has introduced the NC Farmland and Military Protection Act to safeguard U.S. farmland from foreign ownership.
- Securing infrastructure and other critical funding for Henderson County
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.
2024
Jennifer Balkcom did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Jennifer Balkcom did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 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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See also
2026 Elections
External links
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Candidate North Carolina House of Representatives District 117 |
Officeholder North Carolina House of Representatives District 117 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Jennifer Capps Balkcom 2022 campaign website, "About Jennifer," accessed March 15, 2023
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on January 28, 2026
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Timothy Moffitt (R) |
North Carolina House of Representatives District 117 2023-Present |
Succeeded by - |
