Thanks to Republican gerrymandering, North Carolina Senate District 18 has gotten steadily more Republican-leaning since 2020, when Democrat Sarah Crawford won the district by almost 8 points. Republicans in the state legislature redrew the district lines in 2022, but Democrats still prevailed, with Democrat Mary Wills Bode winning by almost 6 points.
Now in 2024, Republicans have once again redrawn the district lines – Senate District 18 now comprises the northernmost parts of Wake County and the entirety of Granville County. Republicans have tried to make the district as favorable as possible to them – Trump won the area that now makes up SD18 by less than 2 points in 2020.
This makes SD18 one of the most competitive districts in the state, and the winner of this race could be the deciding vote on protecting reproductive freedom. The Republican-led NC General Assembly passed a 12-week ban on abortion last year. Republican legislators have referred to the measure as a “down payment” towards their goal of eliminating access entirely.
And in the same breath, Republicans want to make Lt. Governor Mark Robinson the next Governor of North Carolina. Robinson has already expressed his desire to ban abortion entirely in partnership with a “willing legislature.”
Enter Ashlee Bryan Adams, an event planner with no legislative experience or record to run on. Adams’ campaign website includes an issues page that has NO mention of reproductive rights. It includes a pledge to “stand for conservative family values.”
The people of Senate District 18 deserve to know: what does “conservative family values” mean to Adams? Should the General Assembly choose to follow up on their “down payment” and introduce a total ban on abortion, would Adams vote with them?
Since she has refused to define her position at the time of this writing, we can look to the actions of her predecessors in the Senate. There were four new Republican senators elected in 2022 and they voted with the Republican majority 99.4% of the time since joining the General Assembly. This includes their votes in support of the latest abortion restriction in lockstep with their caucus.
And not for nothing, her household has donated to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign on more than one occasion. Trump has repeatedly bragged and claimed credit for overturning Roe v Wade, eliminating federal protections for reproductive rights.
Adams is running against Democratic Representative Terence Everitt, who has represented House District 35 since 2019. In office, Everitt has been a strong defender of abortion rights, public education, and the environment, and an avid proponent of common sense gun safety reform and increasing support for small businesses.
