North Carolina House of Representatives District 34 candidate surveys, 2022

Elections in North Carolina, 2022

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This article shows responses from candidates in the 2022 election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 34 who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

• Click here to see candidates and election results.
• Click here to see Candidate Connection survey responses.

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 34

Tim Longest defeated Ashley Seshul and Kat McDonald in the general election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 34 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tim Longest (D)	60.3	24,413
		Ashley Seshul (R)	36.7	14,853
		Kat McDonald (L)	3.1	1,240

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 40,506
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Grier Martin (D)

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.

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.

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Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Tim Longest (D)

Support and fund our schools. I am a proud, lifelong product of North Carolina public schools. As the son of a public-school teacher, I know that strong, well-funded public schools are the foundation not only of our children’s futures, but of our state’s future. Great public schools start with a great teacher in every classroom, but Republicans have refused to pay teachers what they deserve, resulting in a teacher shortage. I support raising teacher pay to above the national average to recruit and retain the best teachers for North Carolina. I will fight to restore funding to public schools so that every child has the education they need to succeed.

Fight for working families. Working families need help. The costs of living are rising, but wages have not kept up, and it is getting harder to afford a home. As your representative, I will be a strong advocate for working families. I will fight to bring well-paying jobs to North Carolina, raise the minimum wage, and ensure workers’ rights. I will push for relief for poor and working families, such as restoring the Earned Income Tax Credit, while ensuring big corporations pay their fair share. I will work to make housing affordable for all North Carolinians.

Defend women's rights. I am proudly pro-choice. After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Republicans in North Carolina and elsewhere have shown they want to further restrict and even ban abortion. I know a woman’s decision to obtain an abortion is a private decision between her and her doctor. Lawmakers should not interfere in personal health matters. I will fiercely fight against any new restrictions on abortion. I will uphold Governor Cooper’s veto of such bills.

Kat McDonald (L)

School Choice

Housing Affordability

Abolish the ABC System

Ashley Seshul (R)

EDUCATION. We must address the negative educational, behavioral health, and developmental impacts that are a direct result of how Covid-19 was managed. While many recognize in retrospect that the least vulnerable (children age 0 - 18 years) were subjected to policy decisions that did not make sense, the focus today must be on meeting the problems these policy decisions created head on. To do this effectively will require input from many stakeholders, with a primary focus on parent input.

ECONOMY. From gas prices to groceries, inflation burdens everyone. Let's restrain government spending so that North Carolina taxes lower and citizens keep more of their hard earned money.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH and CONSTRUCTIVE DEBATE WITHOUT CENSORSHIP; FREEDOM OF RELIGION; MEDICAL FREEDOM and PRIVACY in MEDICAL DECISION MAKING without FEAR of RETRIBUTION

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Tim Longest (D)

I am personally passionate about education, voting rights, and taking action to protect our climate and natural resources.

As the son of a public-school teacher and a proud product of NC public schools from kindergarten through Carolina Law, I know what strong public schools can do for our children and our state's future. A strong public school system the best investment our state can make.

During law school, I fought for voting rights and ensuring fair representation. I will defend voting rights as your representative.

Finally, as an Eastern NC native, I grew up loving our state's natural beauty. I will fight to protect our air and water, green spaces, and wildlife, and build transportation and energy systems that will protect our planet for future generations.

Kat McDonald (L)

Criminal Justice Reform, Housing Reform, Education Reform, Abortion, the War on Drugs

Ashley Seshul (R)

EDUCATION, ECONOMY (TAX POLICY, RESPONSE TO INFLATION, AND BUSINESS FRIENDLY POLICY), FREEDOMS, and COMMUNITY SAFETY

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Ashley Seshul (R)

Solution Finder

Tenacity Relationship Builder Integrity

See also

More about these elections:

• North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2022

Select a district below to read responses from candidates in those races:

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