Steve Woodsmall

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Steve Woodsmall

Independent

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 8, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, 1980-05

Graduate

Webster University, 1986

Ph.D

Capella University, 2012-09

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Air Force

Years of service

1975 - 1993

Personal

Birthplace

Washington, Ind.

Religion

Protestant

Contact

Personal Facebook

Personal Twitter

Personal Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Steve Woodsmall (independent) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent North Carolina's 11th Congressional District. He did not appear on the ballot for the general election on November 8, 2022.

Woodsmall was a Democratic 2018 candidate for North Carolina's 11th Congressional District in the U.S. House. He lost the primary on May 8, 2018.

Biography

Steve Woodsmall lives in North Carolina. Woodsmall’s career experience includes working as a commander, executive officer, and management consultant in the Air Force. He worked as a government contractor for the Federal Aviation Administration and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Elections

2022

See also: North Carolina's 11th Congressional District election, 2022

North Carolina's 11th Congressional District election, 2022 (May 17 Republican primary)

North Carolina's 11th Congressional District election, 2022 (May 17 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House North Carolina District 11

Chuck Edwards defeated Jasmine Beach-Ferrara and David Coatney in the general election for U.S. House North Carolina District 11 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chuck Edwards (R)	53.8	174,232
		Jasmine Beach-Ferrara (D)	44.5	144,165
		David Coatney (L)	1.7	5,515

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 323,912
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Steve Woodsmall (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 11

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 11 on May 17, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jasmine Beach-Ferrara	59.7	32,478
		Katie Dean	25.6	13,957
		Jay Carey	7.1	3,858
		Bo Hess	3.8	2,082
	Submit photo	Marco Gutierrez	1.9	1,040
		Bynum Lunsford	1.8	1,002

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 54,417
= 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

• Josh Remillard (D)
• Brooker Smith (D)
• Chelsea White (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 11

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 11 on May 17, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chuck Edwards	33.4	29,496
		Madison Cawthorn	31.9	28,112
		Matthew Burril	9.5	8,341
		Bruce O'Connell	6.8	6,037
		Rod Honeycutt	6.5	5,775
		Michele Woodhouse	5.3	4,668
		Wendy Nevarez	5.1	4,525
		Kristie Sluder	1.5	1,304

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 88,258
= 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

• Eric Batchelor (R)

Libertarian primary election

The Libertarian primary election was canceled. David Coatney advanced from the Libertarian primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 11.

2020

See also: North Carolina's 11th Congressional District election, 2020

North Carolina's 11th Congressional District election, 2020 (March 3 Republican primary)

North Carolina's 11th Congressional District election, 2020 (March 3 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House North Carolina District 11

Madison Cawthorn defeated Morris Davis, Tracey DeBruhl, and Tamara Zwinak in the general election for U.S. House North Carolina District 11 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Madison Cawthorn (R)	54.5	245,351
		Morris Davis (D)	42.3	190,609
		Tracey DeBruhl (L)	1.9	8,682
		Tamara Zwinak (G)	1.2	5,503

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 450,145
= 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 runoff election

Republican primary runoff for U.S. House North Carolina District 11

Madison Cawthorn defeated Lynda Bennett in the Republican primary runoff for U.S. House North Carolina District 11 on June 23, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Madison Cawthorn	65.8	30,636
		Lynda Bennett	34.2	15,905

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 46,541
= 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 U.S. House North Carolina District 11

Morris Davis defeated Gina Collias, Phillip Price, Michael O'Shea, and Steve Woodsmall in the Democratic primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 11 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Morris Davis	47.3	52,983
		Gina Collias	22.7	25,387
		Phillip Price	11.3	12,620
		Michael O'Shea	11.2	12,523
		Steve Woodsmall	7.5	8,439

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 111,952
= 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• James Howell Trowbridge (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 11

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 11 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lynda Bennett	22.7	20,606
✔		Madison Cawthorn	20.4	18,481
		Jim Davis	19.3	17,465
		Chuck Archerd	9.1	8,272
		Wayne King	8.7	7,876
		Daniel Driscoll	8.6	7,803
		Joseph Osborne	7.1	6,470
		Vance Patterson	2.5	2,242
		Matthew Burril (Unofficially withdrew)	0.6	523
		Albert Wiley Jr.	0.4	393
	Submit photo	Dillon Gentry	0.4	390
		Steven Fekete	0.2	175

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 90,696
= 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Mark Meadows (R)

Green primary election

The Green primary election was canceled. Tamara Zwinak advanced from the Green primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 11.

Libertarian primary election

The Libertarian primary election was canceled. Tracey DeBruhl advanced from the Libertarian primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 11.

2018

See also: North Carolina's 11th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House North Carolina District 11

Incumbent Mark Meadows defeated Phillip Price and Clifton Ingram Jr. in the general election for U.S. House North Carolina District 11 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mark Meadows (R)	59.2	178,012
		Phillip Price (D)	38.7	116,508
		Clifton Ingram Jr. (L)	2.0	6,146

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 300,666 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= 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 U.S. House North Carolina District 11

Phillip Price defeated Steve Woodsmall and Scott Donaldson in the Democratic primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 11 on May 8, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Phillip Price	40.6	13,499
		Steve Woodsmall	31.1	10,356
	Submit photo	Scott Donaldson	28.3	9,402

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 33,257
= 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Matt Coffay (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 11

Incumbent Mark Meadows defeated Chuck Archerd in the Republican primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 11 on May 8, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mark Meadows	86.3	35,665
		Chuck Archerd	13.7	5,639

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 41,304
= 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Christopher Money (R)

Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 11

Clifton Ingram Jr. advanced from the Libertarian primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 11 on May 8, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Clifton Ingram Jr.

---

	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.

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Steve Woodsmall did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Steve Woodsmall completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Woodsmall's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Steve enlisted in the US Air Force in 1975 and retired as a Major. He held several command positions and was selected as Company Grade Officer of the Year and Outstanding Airman of the Year.

He was a Jaycees "Outstanding Young Men of America" in 1983 and 1988. He holds a master's degree in Business Administration and a PhD in Organization and Management, has published academic papers, and authored the book, "It Beats Eatin' Lizards-Lessons in Life and Leadership."

Following his Air Force retirement, Steve served at the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Aviation Administration, in corporate leadership, a community action agency, and taught college including graduate courses for Forbes School of Business. He's active in his community, previously serving as Executive Director for VISION Transylvania leadership program, member of the Transylvania County Planning Board, and board of directors for Brevard Little Theatre, also performing in numerous productions. He's conducted seminars for the Chamber of Commerce, is a member of the Transylvania County NAACP, has volunteered at Schenk Job Corps, and is active in Moms Demand Action and Be SMART groups.

He's a former NCAA women's college and AAU National basketball official, currently officiating North Carolina high school.

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?

• I believe in overturning the Citizens United decision. It's time to get dark money and unlimited corporate funds out of our electoral process.
• I support common sense gun regulation. Gun safety is not a 2nd Amendment issue, it is a public safety issue.
• Quality healthcare and affordable prescription drugs are a basic human right for everyone, especially our veterans. I support single-payer universal healthcare.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Climate change

Fair and equal treatment for all human beings regardless of nationality, ethnic origin, color, religion, language, sexual orientation, gender identification, or any other status.
A simpler, fair tax code to level the playing field for all Americans and a living wage.

Actual checks and balances in our government to hold all of our elected officials accountable.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I've always admired President Lincoln, whose determination to do the right thing and ability to get it done despite the circumstances saved the country. I will bring that same determination to Congress.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Without question, integrity and adherence to the oath of office to support and defend the Constitution. I took a similar oath in the military, and too many elected officials cater to the party, the big donors, or the occupant of the White House and are derelict in their duty as stated in the oath. elected officials must be held to a higher standard.

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

I have very diverse experience, having served in the military, as a corporate executive, in not-for-profit management, as a government contractor, and as a college professor. This, coupled with my education, gives me a unique perspective to bring to office. I also place a high value on doing the right thing and take the oath of office very seriously. I believe we must turn this country around so we can leave it for our children and grandchildren better than we found it.

What is your favorite book? Why?

I read "The Call of the Wild" by Jack London as a child, and as an animal lover was captivated by the story being told from the perspective of Buck, the dog.

If you are not a current representative, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

As a retired USAF officer, I would like to serve on the Armed Services committee. I would also like to serve on the Oversight committee to enforce the standards of ethics and integrity in government.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

Term limits only address a symptom of the problem, which is our lack of free and fair elections due to partisan gerrymandering, dark money, and election tampering. I will work to fix the broken election process; then, terms will be limited by voters.

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

I was holding a meet and greet and a young boy raised his hand to ask a question. I was happy to see a young person engaged and interested in the political process and was eager to hear his question. I called on him and asked his name; "David." I asked how old he was, and he replied he was in the 7th grade. "Thanks for coming, David--what is your question?"

"I don't feel safe when I go to school--what can you do about that?"

I will never forget the response in that room, nor how I felt hearing that from a 7th grader. That moment made the importance of what I was trying to do very real, and made me even more determined to win this race and finally get the gun issue in this country resolved.

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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Footnotes

[show]

North Carolina's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Ted Budd (R)

Thom Tillis (R)

Representatives

District 1

Donald Davis (D)

District 2

Deborah Ross (D)

District 3

Gregory Murphy (R)

District 4

Valerie Foushee (D)

District 5

Virginia Foxx (R)

District 6

Addison McDowell (R)

District 7

David Rouzer (R)

District 8

Mark Harris (R)

District 9

Richard Hudson (R)

District 10

Pat Harrigan (R)

District 11

Chuck Edwards (R)

District 12

Alma Adams (D)

District 13

Brad Knott (R)

District 14

Timothy Moore (R)

Republican Party (12)

Democratic Party (4)