North Carolina Senate

North Carolina Senate
North Carolina Senate
North Carolina General Assembly
	Great Seal of the State of North Carolina
Type
Type	Upper house
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 1, 2021
Leadership
President	Mark Robinson (R) ; since January 3, 2021
President pro tempore	Phil Berger (R) ; since January 26, 2011
Majority Leader	Kathy Harrington (R) ; since January 1, 2021
Minority Leader	Dan Blue (D) ; since March 5, 2014
Structure
Seats	50
Political groups	Majority Republican (28); Minority Democratic (22);
Length of term	2 years
Elections
Last election	November 3, 2020; (50 seats)
Next election	November 8, 2022; (50 seats)
Meeting place
	Senate chamber; North Carolina Legislative Building; Raleigh, North Carolina, United States
Website
	www.ncleg.gov/Senate
Constitution
	North Carolina Constitution

The North Carolina Senate is the upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina.

The Senate's prerogatives and powers are similar to those of the other house, the House of Representatives. Its members do, however, represent districts that are larger than those of their colleagues in the House. The President of the Senate is the Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina, but the Lt. Governor has very limited powers and only votes to break a tie. Before the office of Lt. Governor was created in 1868, the Senate was presided over by a "Speaker." After the 1988 election of James Carson Gardner, the first Republican Lt. Governor since Reconstruction, Democrats in control of the Senate shifted most of the power held by the Lt. Governor to the senator who is elected President Pro Tempore (or Pro-Tem). The President Pro Tempore appoints members to standing committees of the Senate, and holds great sway over bills.

According to the state constitution, the Senate is also the "Court for the Trial of Impeachments". The House of Representatives has the power to impeach state officials, after which the Senate holds a trial, as in the federal system. If the Governor or Lt. Governor is the official who has been impeached, the Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court presides.

Qualifications[]

The qualifications to be a senator are found in the state Constitution: "Each Senator, at the time of his election, shall be not less than 25 years of age, shall be a qualified voter of the State, and shall have resided in the State as a citizen for two years and in the district for which he is chosen for one year immediately preceding his election."

2021–22 composition[]

	Republican	Democratic		Vacant
Affiliation	Party (shading indicates majority caucus)		Total

End of (2017–18) legislature	35	15	50	0
Beginning of previous (2019–20) legislature	29	21	50	0
End of previous (2019–20) legislature	29	20	50	1
Beginning of current (2021–22) legislature	28	21	50	1
Since January 11, 2021	28	22	50	0
Latest voting share	56%	44%

Leadership[]

North Carolina Senate^[2] Officers
Position	Name	Party
Lieutenant Governor / President of the Senate	Mark Robinson	Republican
President Pro Tempore	Phil Berger	Republican
Deputy President Pro Tempore	Ralph Hise	Republican
Majority Leader	Kathy Harrington	Republican
Majority Whip	Jim Perry	Republican
Joint Majority Caucus Leader	Norman Sanderson	Republican
Minority Leader	Dan Blue	Democratic
Minority Whip	Jay Chaudhuri	Democratic
Minority Caucus Secretary	Ben Clark	Democratic

Membership[]

Map of current partisan composition of legislative districts for state senate:

Republican senator

Democratic senator

District	Full Name of Senator	Party	Residence	Counties Represented	First elected
1	Bob Steinburg	Republican	Edenton	Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Hertford, Hyde, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Tyrrell, Washington	2018
2	Norman Sanderson	Republican	Minnesott Beach	Carteret, Craven, Pamlico	2012
3	Ernestine Bazemore	Democratic	Aulander	Beaufort, Bertie, Martin, Northampton, Vance, Warren	2020
4	Toby Fitch	Democratic	Wilson	Edgecombe, Halifax, Wilson	2018↑
5	Donald G. Davis	Democratic	Greenville	Greene, Pitt	2012
6	Michael Lazzara	Republican	Jacksonville	Jones, Onslow	2020
7	Jim Perry	Republican	Kinston	Lenoir, Wayne	2019↑
8	Bill Rabon	Republican	Winnabow	Bladen, Brunswick, New Hanover (part), Pender	2010
9	Michael Lee	Republican	Wilmington	New Hanover (part)	2020
10	Brent Jackson	Republican	Autryville	Duplin, Johnston (part), Samson	2010
11	Lisa Stone Barnes	Republican	Spring Hope	Johnston (part), Nash	2020
12	Jim Burgin	Republican	Angier	Harnett, Johnston (part), Lee	2018
13	Danny Britt	Republican	Lumberton	Columbus, Robeson	2016
14	Dan Blue	Democratic	Raleigh	Wake (part)	2009↑
15	Jay Chaudhuri	Democratic	Raleigh	Wake (part)	2016↑
16	Wiley Nickel	Democratic	Cary	Wake (part)	2018
17	Sydney Batch	Democratic	Apex	Wake (part)	2021↑
18	Sarah Crawford	Democratic	Raleigh	Franklin, Wake (part)	2020
19	Kirk deViere	Democratic	Fayetteville	Cumberland (part)	2018
20	Natalie Murdock	Democratic	Durham	Durham (part)	2020↑
21	Ben Clark	Democratic	Raeford	Cumberland (part), Hoke	2012
22	Mike Woodard	Democratic	Durham	Durham (part), Granville, Person	2012
23	Valerie Foushee	Democratic	Hillsborough	Chatham, Orange	2013↑
24		Republican	Burlington	Alamance, Guilford (part)	2020
25	Tom McInnis	Republican	Ellerbe	Anson, Moore, Richmond, Scotland	2014
26	David W. Craven Jr.	Republican	Asheboro	Guilford (part), Randolph	2020↑
27	Michael Garrett	Democratic	Greensboro	Guilford (part)	2018
28	Gladys Robinson	Democratic	Greensboro	Guilford (part)	2010
29	Steve Jarvis	Republican	Lexington	Davidson, Montgomery	2020
30	Phil Berger	Republican	Eden	Caswell, Rockingham, Stokes, Surry (part)	2000
31	Joyce Krawiec	Republican	Kernersville	Davie, Forsyth (part)	2014↑
32	Paul A. Lowe Jr.	Democratic	Winston-Salem	Forsyth (part)	2015↑
33	Carl Ford	Republican	China Grove	Rowan, Stanly	2018
34	Vickie Sawyer	Republican	Mooresville	Iredell, Yadkin	2018↑
35	Todd Johnson	Republican	Monroe	Union (part)	2018
36	Paul Newton	Republican	Concord	Cabarrus, Union (part)	2016
37	Jeff Jackson	Democratic	Charlotte	Mecklenburg (part)	2014↑
38	Mujtaba Mohammed	Democratic	Charlotte	Mecklenburg (part)	2018
39	DeAndrea Salvador	Democratic	Charlotte	Mecklenburg (part)	2020
40	Joyce Waddell	Democratic	Charlotte	Mecklenburg (part)	2014
41	Natasha Marcus	Democratic	Davidson	Mecklenburg (part)	2018
42	H. Dean Proctor	Republican	Hickory	Alexander, Catawba	2020↑
43	Kathy Harrington	Republican	Gastonia	Gaston (part)	2010
44	Ted Alexander	Republican	Shelby	Cleveland, Lincoln, Gaston (part)	2018
45	Deanna Ballard	Republican	Blowing Rock	Alleghany, Ashe, Surry (part) Watauga, Wilkes	2016↑
46	Warren Daniel	Republican	Morganton	Avery, Burke, Caldwell	2010
47	Ralph Hise	Republican	Spruce Pine	Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Yancey	2010
48	Chuck Edwards	Republican	Flat Rock	Buncombe (part), Henderson, Transylvania	2016↑
49	Julie Mayfield	Democratic	Asheville	Buncombe (part)	2020
50	Kevin Corbin	Republican	Franklin	Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Swain	2020

↑: Member was originally appointed to fill the remainder of an unexpired term.

Past composition of the Senate[]

References[]

^ WRAL (March 6, 2014). "State Senator Martin Nesbitt dies from stomach cancer :". WRAL.com. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
^ "Leadership - North Carolina General Assembly". www.ncleg.gov. Retrieved June 19, 2021.

External links[]

Coordinates: 35°46′59.53″N 78°38′20.24″W / 35.7832028°N 78.6389556°W / 35.7832028; -78.6389556

[1] WRAL (March 6, 2014). "State Senator Martin Nesbitt dies from stomach cancer :". WRAL.com. Retrieved June 19, 2021.

[2] "Leadership - North Carolina General Assembly". www.ncleg.gov. Retrieved June 19, 2021.

[1]

[2]

show v t Members of the North Carolina State Senate
155th General Assembly (2021–2022) President of the Senate Mark Robinson (R) President pro tempore Philip E. Berger (R) Majority Leader Kathy Harrington (R) Minority Leader Dan Blue (D)
Bob Steinburg (R) Norman W. Sanderson (R) Ernestine Bazemore (D) Toby Fitch (D) Donald G. Davis (D) Michael Lazzara (R) Jim Perry (R) Bill Rabon (R) Michael V. Lee (R) W. Brent Jackson (R) Lisa Stone Barnes (R) Jim Burgin (R) Danny Britt (R) Dan Blue (D) Jay Chaudhuri (D) Wiley Nickel (D) Sydney Batch (D) Sarah Crawford (D) Kirk deViere (D) Natalie Murdock (D) Ben Clark (D) Mike Woodard (D) Valerie Foushee (D) (R) Tom McInnis (R) Dave Craven (R) Michael Garrett (D) Gladys A. Robinson (D) Steve Jarvis (R) Phil Berger (R) Joyce Krawiec (R) Paul A. Lowe Jr. (D) Carl Ford (R) Vickie Sawyer (R) Todd Johnson (R) Paul Newton (R) Jeff Jackson (D) Mujtaba A. Mohammed (D) DeAndrea Salvador (D) Joyce Waddell (D) Natasha Marcus (D) H. Dean Proctor (R) Kathy Harrington (R) W. Ted Alexander (R) Deanna Ballard (R) Warren Daniel (R) Ralph Hise (R) Chuck Edwards (R) Julie Mayfield (D) Kevin Corbin (R)
Republican (28) Democratic (22) North Carolina General Assembly North Carolina House of Representatives North Carolina Senate

show v t North Carolina General Assemblies by year convened and order
List of North Carolina state legislatures Senate President pro tempore of the Senate House of Commons House of Representatives Speakers of the House of Representatives (see Note)	1 (1777) 2 (1778) 3 (1779) 4 (1780) 5 (1781) 6 (1782) 7 (1783) 8 (Apr 1784) 9 (Oct 1784) 10 (1785) 60 (1835) 61 (1836) 73 (1860) 74 (1862) 78 (1868) 94 (1899) 145 (2001) 146 (2003) 147 (2005) 148 (2007) 149 (2009) 150 (2011) 151 (2013) 152 (2015) 153 (2017) 154 (2019) 155 (2021)
Other	Executive Branch: Governor of North Carolina, List of Governors, Lieutenant Governors (since 1868), Cabinets, Council of State, Attorney General
Conventions	Hillsborough Convention of 1788 Fayatteville Convention of 1789
Provincial Congresses and Constitution	North Carolina Provincial Congress (1774–1776: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th), Constitution of North Carolina (1776, 1835 Convention, 1861 Convention, 1868 redraft, 1875 Convention, Constitution of 1971)
Notes: Prior to the Constitution of 1868: the lower house of the North Carolina Legislature was known as the House of Commons and the leader of the Senate was called the Speaker of the Senate.

show v t Legislatures of the United States
United States Congress	United States House of Representatives United States Senate
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Other legislatures	District of Columbia American Samoa (H, S) Guam Northern Mariana Islands (H, S) Puerto Rico (H, S) U.S. Virgin Islands
Legislative elections	2010 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
List of U.S. state legislators

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