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Lynne Russo
Lynne Russo (Democratic Party) is running for election to the North Carolina House of Representatives to represent District 117. She declared candidacy for the 2026 election.[source]
Russo completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
Elections
2026
See also: North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2026
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
General election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 117
Lynne Russo is running in the general election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 117 on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
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Endorsements
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Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Lynne Russo completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Russo's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Lynne’s connection to North Carolina runs deep. Her grandparents met here at a dance while her grandfather was serving in the Navy. That family tie has shaped her love for the state ever since.
Over the course of her career, Lynne has helped national nonprofits raise millions for communities in need and tell human-centered stories that drive change. Her work has spanned respected organizations like The Education Trust, the Milken Family Foundation, and the Prostate Cancer Foundation.
Now, she’s stepping up to serve Western North Carolina as a state representative because in this turbulent time, we need serious leaders. Leaders who are willing to roll up their sleeves and confront the challenges trickling down from Washington. Leaders who will fight for what really matters.- EDUCATION North Carolina ranks near the bottom nationally in education funding, 43rd in overall teacher pay and 39th in starting salary, leading to high turnover and ongoing staffing shortages. Lynne will fight to fully fund public schools and push back on the continued diversion of $1.3 billion in taxpayer dollars to private school vouchers. She’ll also work to rebuild and modernize schools damaged by Hurricane Helene, ensuring students and teachers have safe, functional classrooms equipped for the future.
- SMALL BUSINESS RECOVERY Small businesses make up 96% of all businesses in Western North Carolina, yet many were left without meaningful state or federal support after Hurricane Helene. While some received help through SBA loans or nonprofit grants, too many are still struggling to reopen, rehire, or rebuild. Lynne will fight to expand access to state-led recovery programs and push for targeted grants that support storefront repairs, equipment replacement, and revitalization of local business districts. She’ll also work to simplify the application process for state assistance, so small business owners aren’t forced to navigate red tape just to survive. Because when small businesses thrive, our entire community thrives.
- FARMERS & AGRICULTURE When Hurricane Helene hit, WNC farmers lost critical fencing, equipment, and infrastructure. Lynne will push for targeted disaster recovery grants to help them rebuild barns, greenhouses, irrigation systems, and more. She’ll also fight for policies that protect family farms, strengthen local markets, and preserve our agricultural way of life because rural resilience starts with supporting the people who grow our food.
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.
Campaign finance summary
Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
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Candidate North Carolina House of Representatives District 117 |
Personal |
Footnotes
