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Joyce Waddell

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Joyce Waddell
Image of Joyce Waddell

Democratic Party

North Carolina State Senate District 40
Tenure

2015 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

10

Prior offices
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education District 3

Compensation

Base salary

$13,951/year

Per diem

$104/day

Elections and appointments
Last elected

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

South Carolina State University

Graduate

University of North Carolina, Charlotte

Ph.D

University of North Carolina, Greensboro

Contact

Official website

Official Facebook

Official Instagram

Official YouTube

Campaign Twitter

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Joyce Waddell (Democratic Party) is a member of the North Carolina State Senate, representing District 40. She assumed office on January 1, 2015. Her current term ends on January 1, 2027.

Waddell (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the North Carolina State Senate to represent District 40. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Biography

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

Waddell is a graduate of South Carolina State University and holds a master's degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, North Carolina A & T State University and Appalachian State University. She earned her doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She has served on more than 15 boards and community organizations, many serving children, in appointed and elected capacities. Waddell has three decades of experience in education, including 21 years in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools as a teacher and administrator.[1]

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

Waddell was assigned to the following committees:

2021-2022

Waddell was assigned to the following committees:

2019-2020

Waddell 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 Education/Higher Education
• Education/Higher Education
• Finance
• Transportation

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Waddell served on the following committees:

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 State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for North Carolina State Senate District 40

Incumbent Joyce Waddell defeated Jeff Scott in the general election for North Carolina State Senate District 40 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Joyce Waddell
Joyce Waddell (D)
 
79.4
 
67,654
Image of Jeff Scott
Jeff Scott (We the People Party)
 
20.6
 
17,569

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

Total votes: 85,223
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.

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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Joyce Waddell advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina State Senate District 40.

Campaign finance

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Waddell in this election.

2022

See also: North Carolina State Senate elections, 2022

General election

General election for North Carolina State Senate District 40

Incumbent Joyce Waddell defeated Bobbie Shields in the general election for North Carolina State Senate District 40 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Joyce Waddell
Joyce Waddell (D)
 
67.2
 
36,799
Image of Bobbie Shields
Bobbie Shields (R) Candidate Connection
 
32.8
 
17,954

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

Total votes: 54,753
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 Joyce Waddell advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina State Senate District 40.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Bobbie Shields advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina State Senate District 40.

Campaign finance

2020

See also: North Carolina State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for North Carolina State Senate District 40

Incumbent Joyce Waddell defeated Bobbie Shields in the general election for North Carolina State Senate District 40 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Joyce Waddell
Joyce Waddell (D)
 
72.1
 
64,278
Image of Bobbie Shields
Bobbie Shields (R)
 
27.9
 
24,906

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

Total votes: 89,184
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 Joyce Waddell advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina State Senate District 40.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Bobbie Shields advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina State Senate District 40.

Campaign finance

2018

See also: North Carolina State Senate elections, 2018

General election

General election for North Carolina State Senate District 40

Incumbent Joyce Waddell defeated Bobbie Shields in the general election for North Carolina State Senate District 40 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Joyce Waddell
Joyce Waddell (D)
 
75.6
 
44,773
Image of Bobbie Shields
Bobbie Shields (R)
 
24.4
 
14,426

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

Total votes: 59,199
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 40

Incumbent Joyce Waddell advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina State Senate District 40 on May 8, 2018.

Candidate
✔
Image of Joyce Waddell
Joyce Waddell

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 40

Bobbie Shields advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina State Senate District 40 on May 8, 2018.

Candidate
✔
Image of Bobbie Shields
Bobbie Shields

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.[2] The candidate filing deadline was December 21, 2015.[3]

Incumbent Joyce Waddell defeated Marguerite Cooke in the North Carolina State Senate District 40 general election.[4][5]

North Carolina State Senate, District 40 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Joyce Waddell Incumbent 82.51% 61,481
     Republican Marguerite Cooke 17.49% 13,032
Total Votes 74,513
Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections


Incumbent Joyce Waddell defeated Nasif Majeed in the North Carolina State Senate District 40 Democratic primary.[6][7]

North Carolina State Senate, District 40 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Joyce Waddell Incumbent 64.65% 14,981
     Democratic Nasif Majeed 35.35% 8,193
Total Votes 23,174


Marguerite Cooke ran unopposed in the North Carolina State Senate District 40 Republican primary.[8][9]

North Carolina State Senate, District 40 Republican Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Republican Green check mark transparent.png Marguerite Cooke  (unopposed)

2014

See also: North Carolina State Senate elections, 2014

Elections for the North Carolina State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 6, 2014. The general election took place on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was February 28, 2014. Joyce Waddell defeated Nasif Majeed, Matt Newton, Ty Turner and Morris McAdoo in the Democratic primary and was unchallenged in the general election.[10][11]

North Carolina State Senate, District 40 Democratic Primary, 2014
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngJoyce Waddell 41.9% 3,244
Nasif Majeed 27.9% 2,163
Matt Newton 13.4% 1,036
Morris McAdoo 10.5% 817
Ty Turner 6.3% 488
Total Votes 7,748

2013

See also: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools elections (2013)

Waddell ran unopposed for the District 3 seat on the school board on November 5, 2013.

Results

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, District 3 General Election, 4-year term, 2013
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngJoyce Waddell Incumbent 98.9% 11,136
     Nonpartisan Write-in votes 1.1% 127
Total Votes 11,263
Source: Mecklenburg County Board of Elections, "Election Results," accessed December 14, 2013

Funding

Waddell reported $500.00 in contributions but no expenditures to the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections, which left her campaign with $500.00 on hand.[12]

Endorsements

Waddell did not receive any official endorsements for her campaign.

2009

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, District 3 General Election, 4-year term, 2009
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngJoyce Waddell 33% 5,304
     Nonpartisan Nicole Hudson 19.8% 3,187
     Nonpartisan Vivian Mitchell 12.7% 2,045
     Nonpartisan W.L. (Pop) Woodward 9.7% 1,563
     Nonpartisan James Ross II 9.6% 1,539
     Nonpartisan Aaron Pomis 7.2% 1,165
     Nonpartisan Hans Peter Plotsender 4.2% 669
     Nonpartisan Joel Levy 3.6% 586
     Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.2% 35
Total Votes 16,093
Source: Mecklenburg County Board of Elections, "Municipal Election November 3, 2009," accessed September 11, 2013

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Joyce Waddell did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Joyce Waddell did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Joyce Waddell did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2018

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's candidate surveys
Candidate Connection

Joyce Davis Waddell participated in Ballotpedia's candidate survey on April 7, 2018. The survey questions appear in bold, and Joyce Davis Waddell's responses follow below.[13]

What would be your top three priorities, if elected?

“ 1) North Carolina needs a strong, sound economy that promotes widespread growth and will benefit families across the state. The state’s current minimum wage of $7.25 does not provide enough income for impoverished families to survive on. We must free our hard-working citizens from the cycle of poverty. Women are the primary breadwinners in four out of ten households in the state. Women should be able to afford necessities and experience economic independence. Raising the minimum wage would benefit nearly 1.3 million citizens, which is one-third of North Carolina’s workforce, and the state’s overall economy. Every worker should be paid a fair wage, and as the economy grows, wages should grow with it. According to seven Nobel-prize winning economists, “increases in the minimum wage had little or no negative effect on the employment of minimum-wage workers.” Economists have found that jobs that increased the minimum wage experience better economic performance, lower unemployment rates, and higher job creation rates than other states that did not. Instead of prioritizing tax cuts for the wealthy, we should support our hardworking middle-class families.

2) Health and social services have often been neglected in minority communities. Access to optimal healthcare should no longer be a privilege; it should be a right. The Medicaid coverage gap refers to the group of uninsured people who are both ineligible for Medicaid under its previous rules and too poor to qualify for the Affordable Care Act’s subsidies and credits that were designed to allow middle-class Americans to purchase health insurance. North Carolina still has a coverage gap, and the legislature has opted not to enact a bill that would expand Medicaid. Approximately 244,000 uninsured North Carolinians fall in the Medicaid Coverage Gap, and as many as 400,000 citizens would benefit from extending Medicaid coverage. Under Medicaid expansion, the number of children without health insurance would significantly reduce, and outpatient providers could address many of the currently untreated issues that often result in patients seeking inefficient, costly, and inappropriate care in the emergency department. Closing the gap would benefit hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians, some of which are right here in Charlotte. If North Carolina had expanded Medicaid, 48,874 people in Mecklenburg County would have received coverage in the year 2017. By 2020, Medicaid would have created 4,465 jobs, over $2.9 million in new business activity, and over $18 million in new tax revenue for Mecklenburg County.
3) The North Carolina Constitution states that it is the duty of the state to provide a sound basic education for all students. The underfunded public school system is in dire need of assistance. It is vital to invest in public education and new programs that can lead to our state having future innovating entrepreneurs and business leaders. Public taxpayer money should be allocated to public schools exclusively to establish and maintain a uniform system of free public schools. North Carolina is the 9th largest state in the nation but ranks 41st in teacher pay and 50th in principal pay. The state also ranks 43rd nationally in per-pupil spending. The legislature's inability to offer competitive pay has cost North Carolina thousands of fine teachers to other states. North Carolina cannot afford to lose more talented educators. The legislature must raise teacher and administrator pay to show that we value our educators and the countless hours of work they do to provide our children with a sound education and bright future. Every year, $9 billion in state taxpayer money is distributed to North Carolina’s public schools. North Carolina is one of seven states that use an allotment system. The North Carolina Allotment System is based on a Resource Allocation Model. The model distributes funds using a series of allotments, such as classroom teachers, textbooks, etc. Based on that information, a certain base amount is allotted for each student. That base amount varies depending on the characteristics of the student –i.e., grade level, special needs, etc., -adding resources to account for increased costs to serve that child. The problem with this allotment system is that the student population is not indicative of the need that some school districts have for more funding, which causes resources for disadvantaged students to be disproportionately distributed. This is directly linked to teacher pay. Because funding is allocated based on student population, wealthier districts, which have more taxable property wealth per child available, are able to attract teachers who are more experienced and better-educated. North Carolina needs a sustained investment in teacher pay. It is important that we invest in our teachers who in turn invest in our children.[14][15]

”

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

“ My parents instilled in me the importance of education at a very young age. Education is one of the most powerful weapons we can use to change the world. Knowledge is power. I always had a great desire to educate and help others. I served on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, District 3, and have worked for over 30 years in the Charlotte Mecklenburg School System. Students will always be dear to my heart, and I will continue to do all that I can to ensure their future success.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many[15] ”


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.

Joyce Waddell campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024* North Carolina State Senate District 40Won general$15,370 $20,442
2022North Carolina State Senate District 40Won general$22,189 $22,336
2020North Carolina State Senate District 40Won general$50,377 N/A**
2018North Carolina State Senate District 40Won general$44,195 N/A**
2016North Carolina State Senate, District 40Won $18,555 N/A**
2014North Carolina State Senate, District 40Won $18,015 N/A**
** 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.


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2019


2018


2017


2016


2015



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External links

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North Carolina State Senate District 40
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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, "Joyce Waddell," accessed September 12, 2013
    2. ↑ 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.
    3. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "2016 Candidate Filing," archived January 19, 2016
    4. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Candidate Listing," accessed August 23, 2016
    5. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "2016 General Election results lookup," accessd December 21, 2016
    6. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Candidate Listing," accessed January 4, 2016
    7. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "03/15/2016 Official primary results - Statewide," March 15, 2016
    8. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Candidate Listing," accessed January 4, 2016
    9. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "03/15/2016 Official primary results - Statewide," March 15, 2016
    10. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Primary Candidate List Grouped by Contest," accessed March 7, 2014
    11. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "General Election Candidate List Grouped by Contest," accessed August 12, 2014
    12. ↑ Mecklenburg County Board of Elections, "Mecklenburg County Campaign Finance Reports," accessed December 23, 2013, 2013
    13. ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
    14. ↑ Ballotpedia's candidate survey, "Joyce Davis Waddell's responses," April 7, 2018
    15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.

    Political offices
    Preceded by
    -     		North Carolina State Senate District 40
    2015-Present    		 Succeeded by
    -
    Preceded by
    -     		Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education District 3
    -2015    		 Succeeded by
    -


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