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Wesley Harris

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Wesley Harris
Image of Wesley Harris

Democratic Party

Prior offices
North Carolina House of Representatives District 105
Successor: Tricia Cotham
Predecessor: Scott Stone
Elections and appointments
Last election

November 5, 2024

Education

High school

Statesville High School

Bachelor's

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 2009

Graduate

Clemson University, 2010

Ph.D

Clemson University, 2014

Personal
Birthplace
Taylorsville, N.C.
Religion
Methodist
Profession
Economist
Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Campaign YouTube

Campaign TikTok

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Wesley Harris (Democratic Party) was a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives, representing District 105. He assumed office on January 1, 2019. He left office on January 1, 2025.

Harris (Democratic Party) ran for election for North Carolina Treasurer. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Harris completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Wesley Harris was born in Taylorsville, North Carolina. He graduated from Statesville High School. Harris earned a bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2009. He also earned a graduate degree and a Ph.D. from Clemson University in 2010 and 2014, respectively. His career experience includes teaching at numerous universities and working as an economic consultant.[1]

Elections

2024

See also: North Carolina Treasurer election, 2024

General election

General election for North Carolina Treasurer

Brad Briner defeated Wesley Harris in the general election for North Carolina Treasurer on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Brad Briner
Brad Briner (R) Candidate Connection
 
52.4
 
2,900,059
Image of Wesley Harris
Wesley Harris (D) Candidate Connection
 
47.6
 
2,629,444

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 5,529,503
Candidate Connection = 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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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for North Carolina Treasurer

Wesley Harris defeated Gabriel Esparza in the Democratic primary for North Carolina Treasurer on March 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Wesley Harris
Wesley Harris Candidate Connection
 
66.6
 
433,791
Image of Gabriel Esparza
Gabriel Esparza Candidate Connection
 
33.4
 
217,689

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 651,480
Candidate Connection = 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 Treasurer

Brad Briner defeated Rachel Johnson and A.J. Daoud in the Republican primary for North Carolina Treasurer on March 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Brad Briner
Brad Briner Candidate Connection
 
39.9
 
346,160
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Rachel Johnson
 
34.5
 
299,158
Image of A.J. Daoud
A.J. Daoud
 
25.5
 
221,442

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 866,760
Candidate Connection = 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

Campaign finance

Endorsements

To view Harris's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Harris in this election.

2022

See also: North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 105

Incumbent Wesley Harris defeated Joshua Niday in the general election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 105 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Wesley Harris
Wesley Harris (D)
 
56.9
 
17,545
Image of Joshua Niday
Joshua Niday (R)
 
43.1
 
13,307

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 30,852
Candidate Connection = 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 Wesley Harris advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 105.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Joshua Niday advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 105.

Campaign finance

2020

See also: North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 105

Incumbent Wesley Harris defeated Amy Bynum in the general election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 105 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Wesley Harris
Wesley Harris (D) Candidate Connection
 
54.8
 
25,732
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Amy Bynum (R) Candidate Connection
 
45.2
 
21,245

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 46,977
Candidate Connection = 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 Wesley Harris advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 105.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Amy Bynum advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 105.

Campaign finance

2018

See also: North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

General election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 105

Wesley Harris defeated incumbent Scott Stone in the general election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 105 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Wesley Harris
Wesley Harris (D)
 
52.3
 
18,362
Image of Scott Stone
Scott Stone (R) Candidate Connection
 
47.7
 
16,753

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 35,115
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Candidate Connection = 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 105

Wesley Harris defeated Ayoub Ouederni (Unofficially withdrew) in the Democratic primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 105 on May 8, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Wesley Harris
Wesley Harris
 
70.5
 
2,244
Image of Ayoub Ouederni
Ayoub Ouederni (Unofficially withdrew)
 
29.5
 
940

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 3,184
Candidate Connection = 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 105

Incumbent Scott Stone advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 105 on May 8, 2018.

Candidate
✔
Image of Scott Stone
Scott Stone Candidate Connection

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.

Candidate Connection = 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

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Wesley Harris completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Harris' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

I'm currently a Representative in the State House, I was first elected in 2018 after I flipped a seat Red to Blue that the incumbent had won by 10% two years earlier. I'm the only PhD Economist in the Legislature, and have been the lead Democrat on every budgetary and finance issue since I was elected. I'm also a proud product of rural North Carolina, having grown up in Alexander and Iredell counties.
  • I'm the only candidate in this race with any experience in State Government. It is critical for the Treasurer to have relationships with members on both side of the aisle in the legislature if they want to get things done.
  • I have the support and endorsement of the two groups most impacted by the Treasurer's office: The State Employees Association and the North Carolina Association of Educators. These two groups rely on the Treasurer every single day, and they trust me to be their voice in the office.
  • I'm the only candidate in this race who has experience living in rural, suburban, and urban North Carolina. I'm going to go into every corner of our state and fight for the investments needed in order to make sure all 100 of our counties can thrive.
As a PhD economist with a specialization in Public Finance, making sure our State's finances are in impeccable shape so that we can make the investments we need is definitely what I am most passionate about.
"Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln" and "The Bully Pulpit" by Doris Kearns Goodwin.
Honesty, transparency, dedication, and having a vision for the future.
That there is a tangible expansion of opportunity and a notable decrease of the urban-rural divide in North Carolina when I'm done.
I worked on an assembly line putting together modems the summer after my first year of college.
Jed Bartlet
The three main responsibilities of this office are to manage the State Pension Plan, oversee the State Health Plan, and overseeing the Local Government Commission.
Yes, because the Treasurer needs to be able to work with members of both parties in the legislature. You can get things done with you understand relationships.
The NC Association of Educators, the NC State Employees Association, the African American Caucus of the NC Democratic Party, Planned Parenthood Votes, The Sierra Club, the Communication Workers of America, the Young Democrats of NC, the Durham People's Alliance, the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Black Political Caucus, the George C. Simkins Memorial PAC, the Wake County Voter Education Coalition.

9 Democratic Members of Congress, including all 7 current Democratic members of our Congressional Delegation. 73 Democratic State Legislators. 96 locally elected officials across the State.

I think it's critical to maintain trust in our institutions. People have to believe in what you're doing, and the only way to make them believe in what you're doing is to show them what you're doing.

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 website

Harris’ campaign website stated the following:

“

For too many of our communities, the last few decades have shown what happens when the world leaves them behind. Lack of investment has left once-vibrant places hollowed out, and our most vulnerable families have suffered as a result. Without opportunity, folks lose hope, which threatens the stability of not only our economy, but our very democracy. Our state is overflowing with potential, but to make opportunity accessible to every North Carolinian, we need a state government and we need a Treasurer who’s willing to invest in the most valuable asset we have: our people.

Let’s think and plan not just for tomorrow, but for years to come
As Treasurer, Wesley Harris will be an advocate for long-term thinking that will keep our state financially solvent for years to come. For too long, the Treasurer’s office has failed to look past tomorrow and adequately prepare our state for the challenges of the future. While doing so may yield results in the short-term, it leaves North Carolina’s funds vulnerable as our economy changes over time.

Let’s protect our state bond ratings and expand our investment capacity
North Carolina is one of only twelve states with a AAA credit rating, the highest possible. A strong bond rating allows our state to do more for our people, getting better rates as we seek to invest in infrastructure that improves people’s lives, like schools, clean water, and safe transportation. By managing our money responsibly, Wesley will protect our strong rating and expand our capacity to invest.

Let’s do right by our state employees
Growing up as the son of a lifelong public school teacher, Wesley saw firsthand how the benefits that the state offers affect our state employees and their families. In order to ensure the best possible future for our state, we need to have reliable benefits that will attract world-class employees to our schools and other government jobs. Wesley will always make wise investment decisions and look out for the health of our state pension fund and ensure that state employees benefit from a world-class health plan.

Let’s cut out the culture war nonsense and focus on the job at hand
The Treasurer’s office shouldn’t be a playground for partisan games—but at times, it has been. The current Treasurer has worked to deny healthcare to state employees who are part of vulnerable minority groups and to meddle in private companies’ affairs over their recognition that the market is embracing green energy. As Treasurer, Wesley will cut out the games and just focus on providing excellent value to North Carolina taxpayers.[2]

”
—Wesley Harris’ campaign website (2024)[3]

2022

Wesley Harris did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Candidate Connection

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

Expand all | Collapse all

Wesley Harris is a native North Carolinian, growing up in Iredell County to a mom who was a lifelong public school teacher and a dad who was a local banker. Wesley is serving his first term in the North Carolina House of Representatives, representing district 105 in the Ballantyne area of Charlotte. Wesley is the only PhD Economist in the NC General Assembly. Outside of the Legislature, Wesley lives in South Charlotte, working as an Economic Consultant and Adjunct Professor of Economics at UNC Charlotte.
  • Quality Education
  • Smart Infrasturcture
  • Affordable Healthcare
As an economist, I am most passionate about making sure that our state government is investing in our people so that we can home-grow our talent and create a booming economy that creates opportunities for every single citizen. To do this we have to make sure that we invest in Quality Education, Smart Infrastructure, and Affordable Healthcare. Ensuring that all of our children have the opportunity to succeed is paramount to creating a thriving and sustainable economy. Additionally, we need to make sure our communities have the smart infrastructure investments to help manage our growth. An economy and a community is only as strong as it is healthy, so we have to ensure we expand medicaid and help provide affordable health insurance to everyone. The past 10 years have consisted of major giveaways to corporations and the wealthy at the expense of investing in our people and communities. I am running for re-election because I know investments in our people pay greater dividends in the long term.
Redistricting needs to be out of the hands of elected officials. I supporting a constitutional amendment appointing a non-partisan independent commission to handle all redistricting.

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

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.

Wesley Harris campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024* North Carolina TreasurerLost general$0 $0
2022North Carolina House of Representatives District 105Won general$119,896 $90,302
2020North Carolina House of Representatives District 105Won general$217,883 N/A**
Grand total$337,779 $90,302
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.

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

Harris was assigned to the following committees:

2021-2022

Harris was assigned to the following committees:

2019-2020

Harris was assigned to the following committees:


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.


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

In 2024, the North Carolina State Legislature was in session from April 24 to December 13.

Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills relating to family issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes related to business.


2023


2022


2021


2020


2019







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External links

Candidate

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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on February 29, 2024
    2. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
    3. ↑ Wesley Harris for State Treasurer, “Platform,” accessed February 19, 2024

    Political offices
    Preceded by
    Scott Stone (R)     		North Carolina House of Representatives District 105
    2019-2025    		 Succeeded by
    Tricia Cotham (R)


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