Source: Editorial Board
Three-term State Representative Terence Everitt is now campaigning for a seat in the State Senate, representing District 18. His platform focuses on protecting abortion rights, improving public education, enhancing public safety, and supporting North Carolina families.
Everitt, a lawyer with his own practice in Wake Forest, specializes in assisting small businesses with legal matters and the development of new enterprises. His dedication to local growth is evident through his service on the Board of Directors for the Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce.
Everitt has been actively involved in the community. He completed the Leadership Wake Forest program and served on the Wake County Transit Advisory Committee, which helped shape the county’s transit plan. He earned his law degree from The Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law in Washington, D.C., where he met his wife, Jennifer. The couple chose to settle in North Carolina to raise their two children in Wake Forest.
A staunch advocate for reproductive rights, Everitt and his wife have openly shared their personal experience with abortion. During his 2022 re-election campaign for House District 35, Everitt spoke for the first time about his wife’s 2007 miscarriage and the subsequent surgery required to remove the fetus— a procedure similar to those used in abortions. In sharing their story, Everitt emphasized his concern about the restrictions Republicans might impose on abortion, which could have serious implications for women’s health and safety.
At the time, Republicans dismissed his concerns as “ridiculous,” but in 2023, after Rep. Tricia Cotham’s switch to the Republican Party gave the GOP a supermajority, the legislature passed a 12-week abortion ban, proving Everitt’s fears correct.
Although Everitt had initially planned to retire and spend more time with his family, he reconsidered when State Senator Mary Wills Bode announced she wouldn’t seek re-election in one of North Carolina’s few swing Senate districts. Everitt decided to run for the seat, recognizing the district’s critical role in potentially breaking the Republican supermajority.
Senate District 18, which encompasses parts of northeastern Wake County and all of Granville County, is nearly evenly divided between Republican and Democratic voters. This makes it one of the most hotly contested and expensive legislative races in the state.
“Initially, I planned to move on and spend more time with my kids,” Everitt said. “But the clear and present danger posed by the Republicans to my children’s future made this campaign a priority.”
If elected, Everitt aims to lead the General Assembly in addressing the real needs of North Carolinians—investing in public education, keeping government out of women’s healthcare decisions, and tackling the traffic issues that come with community growth—rather than serving the interests of politicians and wealthy donors.
His Republican opponent is Ashlee Bryan Adams, owner of a wedding venue and a catering company in Wake Forest. She has no legislative experience.
Early voting begins on Oct. 17 and ends at 3 p.m. on Nov. 2; the deadline to register online to vote is Oct. 11, however, during the early voting period, you can register in person when you go to vote. ID is now required to vote in North Carolina, and you can view a list of approved IDs here.
