Source: Editorial Board
Democrat Woodson Bradley is running for a seat in North Carolina’s 42nd Senate District, currently represented by Democrat Rachel Hunt, who is running for state lieutenant governor. The district covers southeastern Mecklenburg County including Mint Hill, Matthews, South Charlotte and Providence.
Bradley is a married mom of three, a Mecklenburg County community leader, a small business owner and a domestic abuse and sexual assault survivor and advocate. Her opponent is Republican Stacie McGinn, a MAGA extremist, self-professed “Republican Party activist,” lawyer, and ex-bank executive who takes pride in her involvement with extremist groups like Moms for Liberty.
Senate District 42 is considered a +2 Democratic district. The population within the district’s current boundaries voted for President Joe Biden over Trump by more than six points in 2020.
McGinn’s views – such as being anti-abortion, anti-public education and anti-LGBTQ+ – are too extreme for SD-42.
Bradley is an outspoken defender of reproductive freedoms and in an op-ed called North Carolina Republicans’ 12-week abortion ban “only step one in their plan” to eventually ban all abortions. Bradley wrote about how the ban impacts victims of domestic violence and sexual violence, minors and women with fatal fetal diagnoses. Pro-reproductive rights organizations EMILY’s List, Lillian’s List and Planned Parenthood have endorsed her.
Bradley is a concealed carry permit holder and owns a gun because of her experience as the victim of a domestic abuser who threatened her with a gun. Though she owns a gun, she is a supporter of common sense laws, including universal background checks and fully closing the “boyfriend loophole” that allows those convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence crimes to restore their gun rights after five years if they haven’t committed other crimes. She has been endorsed by Moms Demand Action.
Bradley also supports properly funding public education in North Carolina and has said teachers, school faculty and staff don’t get paid enough. She is opposed to the state Republicans’ law that siphons taxpayer money away from public schools to put toward vouchers for wealthy families to send their kids to private schools. McGinn supports the plan and is an advocate for private schools.
Bradley’s support for public school goes beyond words on a website – she works with schools as a volunteer, substitute teacher and instructor for Love Speaks Out, a teen dating violence prevention program that seeks a future without dating abuse and domestic violence. She has been endorsed by the North Carolina Association of Educators, the state’s public school employees union.
The voters of Senate District 42 have a choice between Bradley, a pro-choice, pro-education community leader and small business owner, and McGinn, a Republican Party activist with ties to right-wing extremist groups. The decision is clear.
Early voting is underway now and ends at 3 p.m. on Nov. 2. The deadline to register online to vote has passed, however, during the early voting period, you can register in person when you go to vote. ID is now required for voting in North Carolina, and you can view a list of approved IDs here.
