Louis Pate
Louis Pate (b. September 22, 1936) is a former Republican member of the North Carolina State Senate, representing District 7 from 2011 to 2019. He resigned January 14, 2019, for health reasons.[1] Pate represented District 5 in the Senate before the redistricting process.
Pate previously served in the House from 1995 to 1996 and 2003 to 2008.
Pate passed away on August 29, 2025.[2]
Biography
Pate received his B.S. and M.B.A. from Golden Gate University. He served as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force for 20 years before entering the private sector and opening a building supply business. Pate served as mayor of Mount Olive from 1991 to 1994 and 1999 to 2002.[3]
Committee assignments
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| North Carolina committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Appropriations on Health and Human Services, Chair |
| • Appropriations/Base Budget |
| • Education/Higher Education |
| • Health Care, Chair |
| • Rules and Operations of the Senate |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Pate served on the following committees:
| North Carolina committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Appropriations on Health and Human Services, Co-Chairman |
| • Appropriations/Base Budget |
| • Education/Higher Education |
| • Health Care, Co-Chairman |
| • Judiciary I |
| • Pensions & Retirement & Aging |
| • State and Local Government |
2013-2014
| North Carolina committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Appropriations/Base Budget |
| • Education/Higher Education |
| • Health Care |
| • State and Local Government |
| • Pensions & Retirement & Aging |
| • Appropriations on Health and Human Services |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Pate served on these committees:
| North Carolina committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Appropriations/Base Budget |
| • Education/Higher Education |
| • Health Care |
| • Judiciary I |
| • Pensions & Retirement & Aging |
| • Program Evaluation |
| • State and Local Government |
Issues
No-New-Taxes Pledge (2010)
Nine of North Carolina’s 45 incoming freshman state legislators signed a pledge to "oppose and vote against any and all efforts to increase taxes." The pledge was in line with each of their campaign promises to fix the state’s fiscal hole without resorting to tax hikes. At the time they signed the pledge, North Carolina was looking at a budget deficit as high as $4 billion in 2011.
Pate signed the pledge in November 2010.[4]
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
2018
General election
General election for North Carolina State Senate District 7
Incumbent Louis Pate defeated David B. Brantley in the general election for North Carolina State Senate District 7 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Louis Pate (R) | 53.9 | 30,329 |
| David B. Brantley (D) | 46.1 | 25,940 | ||
| Total votes: 56,269 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Barbara Dantonio (D)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for North Carolina State Senate District 7
Barbara Dantonio advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina State Senate District 7 on May 8, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ |  | Barbara Dantonio |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for North Carolina State Senate District 7
Incumbent Louis Pate advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina State Senate District 7 on May 8, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Louis Pate |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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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.[5] The candidate filing deadline was December 21, 2015.[6]
Incumbent Louis Pate ran unopposed in the North Carolina State Senate District 7 general election.[7][8]
| North Carolina State Senate, District 7 General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican |  Louis Pate Incumbent (unopposed) | |
| Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections | ||
Incumbent Louis Pate ran unopposed in the North Carolina State Senate District 7 Republican primary.[9][10]
| North Carolina State Senate, District 7 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Louis Pate Incumbent (unopposed) | |
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. Incumbent Louis Pate was unopposed in the Republican primary, while Erik Anderson was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Pate defeated Anderson in the general election.[11][12][13][14]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Louis Pate Incumbent |
68.8% | 37,323 | |
| Democratic | Erik Anderson | 31.2% | 16,924 | |
| Total Votes | 54,247 | |||
2012
Pate ran in the 2012 election for North Carolina State Senate District 7. He previously represented District 5, but he was redrawn into newly created District 7 when the General Assembly of North Carolina passed a redistricting plan in 2011. Pate ran unopposed in the Republican primary on May 8. He was unchallenged in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[15]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Louis Pate Incumbent |
100% | 60,120 | |
| Total Votes | 60,120 | |||
2010
Pate defeated incumbent Donald Davis (D) in the November 2 general election.[16]
| North Carolina Senate, General Election Results, District 5 (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Louis Pate (R)
|
25,780 | 54.54% | ||
| Donald Davis (D) | 21,488 | 45.46% | ||
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.
2018
In 2018, the General Assembly of North Carolina was in session from January 10 through July 4.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on environment and conservation issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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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.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the General Assembly of North Carolina was in session from April 25 through July 1.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the General Assembly of North Carolina was in session from January 14 through September 30.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the General Assembly of North Carolina will be in session from May 14 through a date to be determined by the legislature.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the General Assembly of North Carolina was in session from January 9 to July 26.
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2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the General Assembly of North Carolina was in session from May 16 to July 3.
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2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
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In 2011, the General Assembly of North Carolina was in session from January 26 to June 18. A special session dealing with redistricting began July 13 and ended July 28.
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Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
When he served in the state government, Pate and his wife, Joyce, had three children. They resided in Mount Olive, North Carolina.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for "Louis + Pate + North Carolina + Senate"
- All stories may not be relevant to this legislator due to the nature of the search engine.
See also
- North Carolina State Senate
- Senate Committees
- General Assembly of North Carolina
- Joint Committees
- North Carolina state legislative districts
External links
- Profile from Open States
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions via Follow the Money
Footnotes
- ↑ WRAL, "State Sen. Louis Pate resigns, citing health," January 14, 2019
- ↑ yahoo! news, “Pate, former state senator, dies" accessed September 3, 2025
- ↑ Pate NC Senate: Bio (dead link)
- ↑ "Nine Newly Minted N.C. Legislators Sign No-New-Taxes Pledge," Carolina Journal, November 15, 2010
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "2016 Candidate Filing," archived January 19, 2016
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Candidate Listing," accessed August 23, 2016
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "2016 General Election results lookup," accessd December 21, 2016
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Candidate Listing," accessed January 4, 2016
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "03/15/2016 Official primary results - Statewide," March 15, 2016
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Primary Candidate List Grouped by Contest," accessed March 7, 2014
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "General Election Candidate List Grouped by Contest," accessed August 12, 2014
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "05/06/2014 Official Primary Election Results - Statewide," accessed December 5, 2014
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "11/04/2014 Official General Election Results - Statewide," accessed December 5, 2014
- ↑ North Carolina Board of Elections, "Candidate lists," accessed March 5, 2012
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "2010 General Election Results," accessed March 25, 2015
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Donald Davis (D) |
North Carolina State Senate District 5 2011–2019 |
Succeeded by Jim Perry (R) |
