Summary:
- The Carolina Forward Slate is a group of candidates running for the North Carolina General Assembly
- Though partisan gerrymandering limits the number of competitive seats, this year’s election will be pivotal
- “The Slate” will support North Carolina’s schools, fight out of control corruption in Raleigh
Today, Carolina Forward is proud to announce our official 2026 slate of endorsements for the North Carolina General Assembly.
Under the North Carolina state constitution, our state legislature is the single most powerful branch of government by far. With the help of aggressive partisan gerrymandering, this arm of government has also been captured and distorted by extreme far-right ideologues who have insulated themselves from meaningful voter accountability. Pervasive political corruption, insider dealing, and greasy pay-to-play politics run rampant in today’s North Carolina General Assembly, and our beloved state deserves better.
For the fourth election cycle in a row, Carolina Forward is endorsing a slate of candidates for the North Carolina General Assembly not only to support better public policy out of Raleigh, but also to fight the corruption and broken politics in our state government:
“The Slate” is a group of 11 candidates – seven in the State House, four in the State Senate – who are running on a mission to change how Raleigh works.
- Rep. Dante Pittman (HD-24): Rep. Pittman first won election in 2024, and has distinguished himself as a young star in the State House.
- Lorenza Wilkins (HD-25): After falling short in the 2024 election by <1% point, Wilkins is running again in this critical swing district.
- Curtis McRae (HD-32): McRae, a former Marine and prisons officer, is stepping in to run for this frontline district after Democratic Rep. Bryan Cohn declined to seek re-election.
- Evonne Hopkins (HD-35): Hopkins, a family law attorney, also ran in 2024 and fell short by less than 200 votes. She is running a second time in a district quickly trending her way.
- Winn Decker (HD-37): Decker, an educational policy specialist, is running to flip Wake County’s most famously gerrymandered district.
- Amy Taylor North (HD-74): After notably over-performing her party’s ticket in 2024, North has spent more time building her campaign base.
- Ken McCool (HD-105): McCool, a Matthews town commissioner, is taking on party-switcher Tricia Cotham in a fast-trending district.
- James Gailliard (SD-11): Pastor Gailliard is a former State House representative and well-known religious leader.
- Sen. Terence Everitt (SD-18): Senator Everitt, a former State House representative, has won three consecutive close elections in northern Wake and Granville counties, and is looking forward to his fourth.
- April Cook (SD-34): Cook, a health policy expert and free clinic founder, is hoping to flip one of North Carolina’s fastest-trending counties.
- Sen. Woodson Bradley (SD-42): After first winning office in 2024, Senator Bradley has distinguished herself through community outreach.
A second round of endorsements will be forthcoming as well.
Endorsements for the Carolina Forward Slate were chosen on these criteria:
- Positions on key issues: support for public schools, reproductive freedom, fighting corruption in state government, and support for independent redistricting reform.
- District competitiveness: how close is the district politically, and what will the impact of a win there be on the balance of power in the legislature?
How the Slate works
The Carolina Forward Slate lives on ActBlue, where contributors can donate to “The Slate” as a single entity. Those contributions are automatically split up between all candidates. This way, supporters can know that their contributions are going directly to the candidates and campaigns that need it most. As a bonus, contributors are also able to skip sharing their email addresses with recipient campaigns if they wish.
Support a brighter future for North Carolina. Support the Carolina Forward Slate.
