Shelly Willingham

American politician from North Carolina

Shelly Willingham

Member of the
North Carolina House of Representatives

Incumbent

Assumed office
January 1, 2015
Preceded by| Joe Tolson
Constituency| 23rd District
In office
January 28, 2002 – January 1, 2003
Preceded by| Toby Fitch
Succeeded by| Jean Farmer-Butterfield
Constituency| 70th District
Personal details
Born|

Shelly Willingham

(1943-11-27) November 27, 1943 (age 81)
Rocky Mount, North Carolina
Political party| Democratic
Residence| Rocky Mount, North Carolina
Alma mater| Elizabeth City State University (BA)

Shelly Willingham (born November 27, 1943) is a Democratic member of the North Carolina House of Representatives. He has represented the 23rd district (which includes all of Martin and Edgecombe counties) since 2015.[1] He previously served in the House from 2002 to 2003.

## Political career

[edit]

Willingham was first appointed to the 70th district of the North Carolina House of Representatives in 2002 to succeed Toby Fitch, who stepped down to become a judge. Willingham ran for a full term in the new 24th district (the geographic successor to the 70th district[2][3]) in 2002, but lost the primary to Jean Farmer-Butterfield who went on to win the general election. Willingham unsuccessfully challenged state senator Clark Jenkins in the 2004, 2006, and 2008 primaries. Willingham then served 2 terms on the Edgecombe County School Board.[4] Willingham returned to the NC House in 2015, after being elected in 2014 to the 23rd district. Since his initial election in 2014, Willingham has been re-elected to the NC House a total of 4 times, most recently in 2022.

## Electoral history

[edit]

### 2020

[edit]

North Carolina House of Representatives 23rd district general election, 2020[5] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

|
|
|

| Democratic | Shelly Willingham (incumbent)  | 21,754  | 58.76%
| Republican | Claiborne Holtzman  | 14,656  | 39.59%
| Green | Abbie (Bud) Lane  | 612  | 1.65%
Total votes  | 37,022  | 100%
| Democratic hold

### 2018

[edit]

North Carolina House of Representatives 23rd district general election, 2018[6] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

|
|
|

| Democratic | Shelly Willingham (incumbent)  | 15,959  | 60.85%
| Republican | Claiborne Holtzman  | 10,266  | 39.15%
Total votes  | 26,225  | 100%
| Democratic hold

### 2016

[edit]

North Carolina House of Representatives 23rd district general election, 2016[7] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

|
|
|

| Democratic | Shelly Willingham (incumbent)  | 27,208  | 100%
Total votes  | 27,208  | 100%
| Democratic hold

### 2014

[edit]

North Carolina House of Representatives 23rd district Democratic primary election, 2014[8] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

|
|
|

| Democratic | Shelly Willingham  | 2,978  | 35.61%
| Democratic | R. B. (Rusty) Holderness  | 2,543  | 30.41%
| Democratic | Taro Knight  | 1,715  | 20.51%
| Democratic | Bronson Williams  | 1,126  | 13.47%
Total votes  | 8,362  | 100%
North Carolina House of Representatives 23rd district Democratic primary run-off election, 2014[9] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

|
|
|

| Democratic | Shelly Willingham  | 2,702  | 52.16%
| Democratic | R. B. (Rusty) Holderness  | 2,478  | 47.84%
Total votes  | 5,180  | 100%
North Carolina House of Representatives 23rd district general election, 2014[10] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

|
|
|

| Democratic | Shelly Willingham  | 18,660  | 100%
Total votes  | 18,660  | 100%
| Democratic hold

### 2008

[edit]

North Carolina Senate 3rd district Democratic primary election, 2008[11] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

|
|
|

| Democratic | Clark Jenkins (incumbent)  | 16,187  | 50.52%
| Democratic | Shelly Willingham  | 13,200  | 41.20%
| Democratic | Henry Williams II  | 2,652  | 8.28%
Total votes  | 32,039  | 100%

### 2006

[edit]

North Carolina Senate 3rd district Democratic primary election, 2006[12] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

|
|
|

| Democratic | Clark Jenkins (incumbent)  | 7,969  | 64.28%
| Democratic | Shelly Willingham  | 4,429  | 35.72%
Total votes  | 12,398  | 100%

### 2004

[edit]

North Carolina Senate 3rd district Democratic primary election, 2004[13] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

|
|
|

| Democratic | Clark Jenkins (incumbent)  | 5,044  | 33.13%
| Democratic | Shelly Willingham  | 4,991  | 32.79%
| Democratic | Charles Elliott Johnson | 4,011  | 26.35%
| Democratic | Jim Rouse  | 1,177  | 7.73%
Total votes  | 15,223  | 100%
North Carolina Senate 3rd district Democratic primary run-off election, 2004[14] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

|
|
|

| Democratic | Clark Jenkins (incumbent)  | 6,070  | 54.47%
| Democratic | Shelly Willingham  | 5,074  | 45.53%
Total votes  | 11,144  | 100%

### 2002

[edit]

North Carolina House of Representatives 24th district Democratic primary election, 2002[15] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

|
|
|

| Democratic | Jean Farmer-Butterfield | 2,431  | 36.11%
| Democratic | Shelly Willingham (incumbent)  | 2,102  | 31.22%
| Democratic | A P Coleman  | 1,502  | 22.31%
| Democratic | Ronald L. (Ronnie) Williams  | 697  | 10.35%
Total votes  | 6,732  | 100%

## Committee assignments

[edit]

[16]

### 2021-2022 Session

[edit]

* Appropriations
* Appropriations - Transportation
* Alcoholic Beverage Control (Vice Chair)
* Insurance (Vice Chair)
* Election Law and Campaign Finance Reform
* Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
* State Personnel

### 2019-2020 Session

[edit]

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

### 2017-2018 Session

[edit]

* Appropriations
* Appropriations - Justice and Public Safety
* Alcoholic Beverage Control
* Elections and Ethics Law
* Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
* State Personnel
* Transportation

### 2015-2016 session

[edit]

* Appropriations
* Appropriations - Information Technology
* Alcoholic Beverage Control
* Elections
* Agriculture
* Banking
* Education - Universities
* Judiciary IV

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "The Voter's Self Defense System". Vote Smart. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
2. ^ "1992 House Base Plan 5" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
3. ^ "INTERIM HOUSE REDISTRICTING PLAN FOR N.C. 2002 ELECTION" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
4. ^ Calvin Adkins (January 17, 2014). "Willingham ponders District 23 run". The Daily Southerner. Archived from the original on 2014-04-18. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
5. ^ [1] North Carolina State Board of Elections.
6. ^ [2] North Carolina State Board of Elections.
7. ^ [3] North Carolina State Board of Elections.
8. ^ [4] North Carolina State Board of Elections.
9. ^ [5] North Carolina State Board of Elections.
10. ^ [6] North Carolina State Board of Elections.
11. ^ [7] North Carolina State Board of Elections.
12. ^ [8] North Carolina State Board of Elections.
13. ^ [9] North Carolina State Board of Elections.
14. ^ [10] North Carolina State Board of Elections.
15. ^ [11] North Carolina State Board of Elections.
16. ^ "Shelly Willingham". Retrieved January 28, 2022.

## External links

[edit]

North Carolina House of Representatives

Preceded by

Toby Fitch

|  Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives
from the 70th district
2002-2003  | Succeeded by

Bobby Barbee

Preceded by

Joe Tolson

|  Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives
from the 23rd district
2015-present  | Incumbent

* v
* t
* e

Members of the North Carolina House of Representatives

156th General Assembly (2023–2024)

Speaker of the House
Tim Moore (R)
Speaker pro tempore
Sarah Stevens (R)
Majority Leader
John Bell (R)
Minority Leader
Robert Reives (D)

1. ▌Ed Goodwin (R)
2. ▌Ray Jeffers (D)
3. ▌Steve Tyson (R)
4. ▌Jimmy Dixon (R)
5. ▌Bill Ward (R)
6. ▌Joe Pike (R)
7. ▌Matthew Winslow (R)
8. ▌Gloristine Brown (D)
9. ▌Timothy Reeder (R)
10. ▌John Bell (R)
11. ▌Allison Dahle (D)
12. ▌Chris Humphrey (R)
13. ▌Celeste Cairns (R)
14. ▌George Cleveland (R)
15. ▌Phil Shepard (R)
16. ▌Carson Smith (R)
17. ▌Frank Iler (R)
18. ▌Deb Butler (D)
19. ▌Charlie Miller (R)
20. ▌Ted Davis Jr. (R)
21. ▌Ya Liu (D)
22. ▌William Brisson (R)
23. ▌Shelly Willingham (D)
24. ▌Ken Fontenot (R)
25. ▌Allen Chesser (R)
26. ▌Donna McDowell White (R)
27. ▌Michael Wray (D)
28. ▌Larry Strickland (R)
29. ▌Vernetta Alston (D)
30. ▌Marcia Morey (D)
31. ▌Zack Forde-Hawkins (D)
32. ▌Frank Sossamon (R)
33. ▌Rosa Gill (D)
34. ▌Tim Longest (D)
35. ▌Terence Everitt (D)
36. ▌Julie von Haefen (D)
37. ▌Erin Paré (R)
38. ▌Abe Jones (D)
39. ▌James Roberson (D)
40. ▌Joe John (D)
41. ▌Maria Cervania (D)
42. ▌Marvin Lucas (D)
43. ▌Diane Wheatley (R)
44. ▌Charles Smith (D)
45. ▌Frances Jackson (D)
46. ▌Brenden Jones (R)
47. ▌Jarrod Lowery (R)
48. ▌Garland Pierce (D)
49. ▌Cynthia Ball (D)
50. ▌Renee Price (D)
51. ▌John Sauls (R)
52. ▌Ben Moss (R)
53. ▌Howard Penny Jr. (R)
54. ▌Robert Reives (D)
55. ▌Mark Brody (R)
56. ▌Allen Buansi (D)
57. ▌Tracy Clark (D)
58. ▌Amos Quick (D)
59. ▌Alan Branson (R)
60. ▌Cecil Brockman (D)
61. ▌Pricey Harrison (D)
62. ▌John Blust (R)
63. ▌Stephen Ross (R)
64. ▌Dennis Riddell (R)
65. ▌Reece Pyrtle (R)
66. ▌Sarah Crawford (D)
67. ▌Wayne Sasser (R)
68. ▌David Willis (R)
69. ▌Dean Arp (R)
70. ▌Brian Biggs (R)
71. ▌Kanika Brown (D)
72. ▌Amber Baker (D)
73. ▌Diamond Staton-Williams (D)
74. ▌Jeff Zenger (R)
75. ▌Donny Lambeth (R)
76. ▌Harry Warren (R)
77. ▌Julia Craven Howard (R)
78. ▌Neal Jackson (R)
79. ▌Keith Kidwell (R)
80. ▌Sam Watford (R)
81. ▌Larry Potts (R)
82. ▌Kristin Baker (R)
83. ▌Kevin Crutchfield (R)
84. ▌Jeffrey McNeely (R)
85. ▌Dudley Greene (R)
86. ▌Hugh Blackwell (R)
87. ▌Destin Hall (R)
88. ▌Mary Belk (D)
89. ▌Mitchell Setzer (R)
90. ▌Sarah Stevens (R)
91. ▌Kyle Hall (R)
92. ▌Terry Brown (D)
93. ▌Ray Pickett (R)
94. ▌Blair Eddins (R)
95. ▌Grey Mills (R)
96. ▌Jay Adams (R)
97. ▌Heather Rhyne (R)
98. ▌John Bradford (R)
99. ▌Nasif Majeed (D)
100. ▌John Autry (D)
101. ▌Carolyn Logan (D)
102. ▌Becky Carney (D)
103. ▌Laura Budd (D)
104. ▌Brandon Lofton (D)
105. ▌Wesley Harris (D)
106. ▌Carla Cunningham (D)
107. ▌Bobby Drakeford (D)
108. ▌John Torbett (R)
109. ▌Donnie Loftis (R)
110. ▌Kelly Hastings (R)
111. ▌Tim Moore (R)
112. ▌Tricia Cotham (R)
113. ▌Jake Johnson (R)
114. ▌Eric Ager (D)
115. ▌Lindsey Prather (D)
116. ▌Caleb Rudow (D)
117. ▌Jennifer Balkcom (R)
118. ▌Mark Pless (R)
119. ▌Mike Clampitt (R)
120. ▌Karl Gillespie (R)

* ▌Republican (72)
* ▌Democratic (48)

* North Carolina General Assembly
* North Carolina House of Representatives
* North Carolina Senate

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