Shelly Willingham

Shelly Willingham

Democratic Party

North Carolina House of Representatives District 23

Tenure

2015 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

10

Predecessor

Joe Tolson

Compensation

Base salary

$13,951/year

Per diem

$104/day

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Contact

Official website

Campaign website

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Shelly Willingham (Democratic Party) is a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives, representing District 23. He assumed office on January 1, 2015. His current term ends on January 1, 2027.

Willingham (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the North Carolina House of Representatives to represent District 23. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

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

Willingham was assigned to the following committees:

• Alcoholic Beverage Control Committee, Chair
• Appropriations Committee
• Appropriations on Transportation Committee
• Election Law and Campaign Finance Reform
• Federal Relations and American Indian Affairs Committee
• Insurance Committee, Vice Chair
• Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House Committee
• State Personnel Committee

2021-2022

Willingham was assigned to the following committees:

• Appropriations on Transportation Committee
• Election Law and Campaign Finance Reform
• Insurance Committee, Vice chair
• Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House Committee
• Alcoholic Beverage Control Committee, Vice chair
• State Personnel Committee
• Appropriations Committee

2019-2020

Willingham was assigned to the following committees:

• Alcoholic Beverage Control Committee
• Appropriations on Transportation Committee
• Election Law and Campaign Finance Reform
• Appropriations Committee
• Insurance Committee
• Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House Committee
• House State and Local Government Committee

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

2015 legislative session

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

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

2024

See also: North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 23

Incumbent Shelly Willingham defeated Brent Roberson in the general election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 23 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Shelly Willingham (D)	56.5	25,140
		Brent Roberson (R)	43.5	19,390

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 44,530
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 23

Incumbent Shelly Willingham defeated Abbie Lane in the Democratic primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 23 on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Shelly Willingham	78.8	6,769
		Abbie Lane	21.2	1,816

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 8,585
= 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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Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Brent Roberson advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 23.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Willingham in this election.

2022

See also: North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 23

Incumbent Shelly Willingham defeated James Crowell Proctor in the general election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 23 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Shelly Willingham (D)	54.4	16,488
	Submit photo	James Crowell Proctor (R)	45.6	13,809

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 30,297
= 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Abbie Lane (Independent)

Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Shelly Willingham advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 23.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. James Crowell Proctor advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 23.

2020

See also: North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 23

Incumbent Shelly Willingham defeated Claiborne Holtzman and Abbie Lane in the general election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 23 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Shelly Willingham (D)	58.8	21,754
		Claiborne Holtzman (R)	39.6	14,656
		Abbie Lane (G)	1.7	612

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 37,022
= 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 Shelly Willingham advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 23.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Claiborne Holtzman advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 23.

Green primary election

The Green primary election was canceled. Abbie Lane advanced from the Green primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 23.

2018

See also: North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

General election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 23

Incumbent Shelly Willingham defeated Claiborne Holtzman in the general election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 23 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Shelly Willingham (D)	60.9	15,959
		Claiborne Holtzman (R)	39.1	10,266

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 26,225
= 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 House of Representatives District 23

Incumbent Shelly Willingham advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 23 on May 8, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Shelly Willingham

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.
= 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 House of Representatives District 23

Claiborne Holtzman advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 23 on May 8, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Claiborne Holtzman

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= 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 House of Representatives elections, 2016

Elections for the North Carolina House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election was held on March 15, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was December 21, 2015.

Incumbent Shelly Willingham ran unopposed in the North Carolina House of Representatives District 23 general election.

North Carolina House of Representatives, District 23 General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Democratic	Shelly Willingham Incumbent (unopposed)
Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections

Incumbent Shelly Willingham ran unopposed in the North Carolina House of Representatives District 23 Democratic primary.

North Carolina House of Representatives, District 23 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Democratic	Shelly Willingham Incumbent (unopposed)

2014

See also: North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2014

Elections for the North Carolina House of Representatives 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. Shelly Willingham and Rusty Holderness defeated Taro Knight and Bronson Williams in the Democratic primary. Willingham defeated Holderness in the July 15 run-off primary and was unchallenged in the general election.

North Carolina House of Representatives, District 23 Democratic Primary, 2014

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Shelly Willingham (advanced to runoff)	35.6%	2,978
Rusty Holderness (advanced to runoff)	30.4%	2,543
Taro Knight	20.5%	1,715
Bronson Williams	13.5%	1,126
Total Votes		8,362

North Carolina House of Representatives, District 23, Run-off Democratic Primary, 2014

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Shelly Willingham (advanced to general election)	52.2%	2,702
Rusty Holderness	47.8%	2,478
Total Votes		5,180

Endorsements

In 2014, Willingham's endorsements included the following:

• State Employees Association of North Carolina (SEANC)

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Shelly Willingham did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Shelly Willingham did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Shelly Willingham did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 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.

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Shelly Willingham campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	North Carolina House of Representatives District 23	Won general	$100,699	$60,767
2022	North Carolina House of Representatives District 23	Won general	$52,070	$39,658
2020	North Carolina House of Representatives District 23	Won general	$30,720	N/A**
2016	North Carolina House of Representatives, District 23	Won	$19,415	N/A**
2014	North Carolina House of Representatives, District 23	Won	$24,225	N/A**
Grand total			$227,129	$100,425
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** 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.

2024

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show].

In 2024, the North Carolina State Legislature was in session from April 24 to December 13. Civitas Action Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. NC Values Coalition Legislators are scored on their votes on bills relating to family issues. North Carolina Chamber Legislators are scored on their votes related to business.

2023

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show].

In 2023, the North Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 11 to October 25. Affordable Healthcare Coalition of North Carolina Legislators are scored based on their stance related to healthcare costs. Civitas Action Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. NC Values Coalition Legislators are scored on their votes on bills relating to family issues. North Carolina Chamber Legislators are scored on their votes related to business. North Carolina League of Conservation Voters Legislators are scored on their votes on environment and conservation issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2022

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show].

In 2022, the North Carolina State Legislature was in session from May 18 to July 1. Affordable Healthcare Coalition of North Carolina Legislators are scored based on their stance related to healthcare costs. Civitas Action Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. NC Values Coalition Legislators are scored on their votes on bills relating to family issues. North Carolina Chamber Legislators are scored on their votes related to business. North Carolina League of Conservation Voters Legislators are scored on their votes on environment and conservation issues.

2021

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show].

In 2021, the North Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 13 to December 30. Affordable Healthcare Coalition of North Carolina Legislators are scored based on their stance related to healthcare costs. Civitas Action Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. North Carolina Chamber Legislators are scored on their votes related to business. North Carolina League of Conservation Voters Legislators are scored on their votes on environment and conservation issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2020

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show].

In 2020, the North Carolina State Legislature was in session from April 28 to September 3. The legislature was in recess from July 8 to September 1 and then reconvened September 2 to September 3. Civitas Action Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. NC Values Coalition Legislators are scored on their votes on bills relating to family issues. North Carolina League of Conservation Voters Legislators are scored on their votes on environment and conservation issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2019

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show].
In 2019, the General Assembly of North Carolina was in session from January 9 through August 27. Civitas Action Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. North Carolina League of Conservation Voters Legislators are scored on their votes on environment and conservation issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2018

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show].
In 2018, the General Assembly of North Carolina was in session from January 10 through July 4. Civitas Action Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. North Carolina League of Conservation Voters Legislators are scored on their votes on environment and conservation issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2017

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show].

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. Civitas Action Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. NC Values Coalition Legislators are scored on their votes on bills relating to family issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2016

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show].

In 2016, the General Assembly of North Carolina was in session from April 25 through July 1. Civitas Action: 2016 Full Rankings Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. North Carolina League of Conservation Voters: 2016 Legislative Scorecard Legislators are scored on their votes on environment and conservation issues. N.C. Values Coalition: 2016 scorecard Legislators are scored on their votes on bills relating to family issues. The American Conservative Union: 2016 Legislative Scorecard Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2015

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show].

In 2015, the General Assembly of North Carolina was in session from January 14 through September 30. Civitas Action: 2015 Full Rankings Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. North Carolina League of Conservation Voters: 2015 Legislative Scorecard Legislators are scored on their votes on environment and conservation issues. North Carolina Voters for Animal Welfare: Senate and House Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to animals issues. The American Conservative Union: 2015 Legislative Scorecard Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

See also

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Candidate

North Carolina House of Representatives District 23

Website

Officeholder

North Carolina House of Representatives District 23

Website

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Joe Tolson (D)	North Carolina House of Representatives District 23 2015-Present	Succeeded by -

[show]

Current members of the North Carolina House of Representatives

Leadership

Speaker of the House:Destin Hall

Majority Leader:Brenden Jones

Minority Leader:Robert Reives

Representatives

District 1

Ed Goodwin (R)

District 2

Ray Jeffers (D)

District 3

Steve Tyson (R)

District 4

James Dixon (R)

District 5

Bill Ward (R)

District 6

Joe Pike (R)

District 7

Matthew Winslow (R)

District 8

Gloristine Brown (D)

District 9

Timothy Reeder (R)

District 10

John Bell (R)

District 11

Allison Dahle (D)

District 12

Chris Humphrey (R)

District 13

Celeste Cairns (R)

District 14

Wyatt Gable (R)

District 15

Phillip Shepard (R)

District 16

Carson Smith (R)

District 17

Frank Iler (R)

District 18

Deb Butler (D)

District 19

Charles Miller (R)

District 20

Ted Davis (R)

District 21

Ya Liu (D)

District 22

William Brisson (R)

District 23

Shelly Willingham (D)

District 24

Dante Pittman (D)

District 25

Allen Chesser (R)

District 26

Donna White (R)

District 27

Rodney Pierce (D)

District 28

Larry Strickland (R)

District 29

Vernetta Alston (D)

District 30

Marcia Morey (D)

District 31

Zack Hawkins (D)

District 32

Bryan Cohn (D)

District 33

Monika Johnson-Hostler (D)

District 34

Tim Longest (D)

District 35

Mike Schietzelt (R)

District 36

Julie von Haefen (D)

District 37

Erin Paré (R)

District 38

Abraham Jones (D)

District 39

James Roberson (D)

District 40

Phil Rubin (D)

District 41

Maria Cervania (D)

District 42

Mike Colvin (D)

District 43

Diane Wheatley (R)

District 44

Charles Smith (D)

District 45

Frances Jackson (D)

District 46

Brenden Jones (R)

District 47

John Lowery (R)

District 48

Garland Pierce (D)

District 49

Cynthia Ball (D)

District 50

Renée Price (D)

District 51

John Sauls (R)

District 52

Ben Moss (R)

District 53

Howard Penny (R)

District 54

Robert Reives (D)

District 55

Mark Brody (R)

District 56

Allen Buansi (D)

District 57

Tracy Clark (D)

District 58

Amos Quick (D)

District 59

Alan Branson (R)

District 60

Cecil Brockman (D)

District 61

Mary Harrison (D)

District 62

John Blust (R)

District 63

Stephen Ross (R)

District 64

Dennis Riddell (R)

District 65

A. Reece Pyrtle (R)

District 66

Sarah Crawford (D)

District 67

Cody Huneycutt (R)

District 68

David Willis (R)

District 69

Dean Arp (R)

District 70

Brian Biggs (R)

District 71

Kanika Brown (D)

District 72

Amber Baker (D)

District 73

Jonathan Almond (R)

District 74

Jeff Zenger (R)

District 75

Donny Lambeth (R)

District 76

Harry Warren (R)

District 77

Julia Howard (R)

District 78

Neal Jackson (R)

District 79

Keith Kidwell (R)

District 80

Sam Watford (R)

District 81

Larry Potts (R)

District 82

Brian Echevarria (R)

District 83

Grant Campbell (R)

District 84

Jeffrey McNeely (R)

District 85

Dudley Greene (R)

District 86

Hugh Blackwell (R)

District 87

Destin Hall (R)

District 88

Mary Belk (D)

District 89

Mitchell Setzer (R)

District 90

Sarah Stevens (R)

District 91

Kyle Hall (R)

District 92

Terry Brown (D)

District 93

Ray Pickett (R)

District 94

Blair Eddins (R)

District 95

Todd Carver (R)

District 96

Jay Adams (R)

District 97

Heather Rhyne (R)

District 98

Beth Gardner Helfrich (D)

District 99

Nasif Majeed (D)

District 100

Julia Greenfield (D)

District 101

Carolyn Logan (D)

District 102

Becky Carney (D)

District 103

Laura Budd (D)

District 104

Brandon Lofton (D)

District 105

Tricia Cotham (R)

District 106

Carla Cunningham (D)

District 107

Aisha Dew (D)

District 108

John Torbett (R)

District 109

Donnie Loftis (R)

District 110

Kelly Hastings (R)

District 111

Paul Scott (R)

District 112

Jordan Lopez (D)

District 113

Jake Johnson (R)

District 114

Eric Ager (D)

District 115

Lindsey Prather (D)

District 116

Brian Turner (D)

District 117

Jennifer Balkcom (R)

District 118

Mark Pless (R)

District 119

Mike Clampitt (R)

District 120

Karl Gillespie (R)

Republican Party (71)

Democratic Party (49)