North Carolina's 12th Congressional District

North Carolina's 12th Congressional District

Incumbent

Alma Adams

Assumed office: November 12, 2014

North Carolina's 12th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives is represented by Alma Adams (D).

As of the 2020 Census, North Carolina representatives represented an average of 746,711 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 735,829 residents.

Elections

2024

See also: North Carolina's 12th Congressional District election, 2024

North Carolina's 12th Congressional District election, 2024 (March 5 Democratic primary)

North Carolina's 12th Congressional District election, 2024 (March 5 Republican primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House North Carolina District 12

Incumbent Alma Adams defeated Addul Ali in the general election for U.S. House North Carolina District 12 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Alma Adams (D)	74.0	259,627
		Addul Ali (R)	26.0	91,128

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 350,755
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Alma Adams advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 12.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Addul Ali advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 12.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Eric L. Levinson (R)

2022

See also: North Carolina's 12th Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House North Carolina District 12

Incumbent Alma Adams defeated Tyler Lee in the general election for U.S. House North Carolina District 12 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Alma Adams (D)	62.7	140,494
		Tyler Lee (R)	37.3	83,414

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 223,908
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Diana Jimison (Independent)
• Vino Andrade (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 12

Incumbent Alma Adams defeated John Sharkey in the Democratic primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 12 on May 17, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Alma Adams	91.7	37,984
		John Sharkey	8.3	3,460

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 41,444
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 12

Tyler Lee defeated Andrew Huffman and Nalini Joseph in the Republican primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 12 on May 17, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tyler Lee	42.9	10,388
	Submit photo	Andrew Huffman	34.3	8,311
		Nalini Joseph	22.9	5,543

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 24,242
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Joel Maxwell (R)
• Ro Lawsin (R)

2020

See also: North Carolina's 12th Congressional District election, 2020

General election

General election for U.S. House North Carolina District 12

Incumbent Alma Adams won election in the general election for U.S. House North Carolina District 12 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Alma Adams (D)	100.0	341,457

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 341,457
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Richard Smith (Unaffiliated)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 12

Incumbent Alma Adams defeated Keith Cradle in the Democratic primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 12 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Alma Adams	88.1	109,009
		Keith Cradle	11.9	14,713

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 123,722
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Roderick Davis (D)

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Bill Brewster (R) (Disqualified, appeared on ballot)

2018

See also: North Carolina's 12th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House North Carolina District 12

Incumbent Alma Adams defeated Paul Wright in the general election for U.S. House North Carolina District 12 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Alma Adams (D)	73.1	203,974
		Paul Wright (R)	26.9	75,164

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 279,138 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 12

Incumbent Alma Adams defeated Keith Young, Patrick Register, and Gabe Ortiz in the Democratic primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 12 on May 8, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Alma Adams	85.5	38,849
	Submit photo	Keith Young	5.6	2,549
		Patrick Register	4.6	2,074
		Gabe Ortiz	4.3	1,959

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 45,431
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 12

Paul Wright defeated Paul Bonham and Carl Persson in the Republican primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 12 on May 8, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Paul Wright	43.2	3,221
		Paul Bonham	31.5	2,349
		Carl Persson	25.3	1,885

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 7,455
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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2016

See also: North Carolina's 12th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Democratic. Incumbent Alma Adams (D) defeated Republican candidate Leon Threatt in the general election. Alma Adams (D) defeated Carla Cunningham, Gardenia Henley, Malcolm Graham, Rick Miller, and Tricia Cotham in the Democratic primary on June 7, 2016. Leon Threatt defeated Ryan Duffie and Paul Wright for the Republican nomination. The general election took place on November 8, 2016.

U.S. House, North Carolina District 12 General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Alma Adams Incumbent	67%	234,115
	Republican	Leon Threatt	33%	115,185
Total Votes				349,300
Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections

U.S. House, North Carolina District 12 Republican Primary, 2016

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Leon Threatt	41.8%	3,495
Paul Wright	34.6%	2,894
Ryan Duffie	23.6%	1,973
Total Votes		8,362
Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections

U.S. House, North Carolina District 12 Democratic Primary, 2016

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Alma Adams Incumbent	42.5%	12,400
Malcolm Graham	28.9%	8,428
Tricia Cotham	21.1%	6,165
Carla Cunningham	4.3%	1,255
Gardenia Henley	1.5%	444
Rodney Moore (withdrawn)	0.8%	245
Rick Miller	0.8%	235
Total Votes		29,172
Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections

2014

See also: North Carolina's 12th Congressional District elections, 2014

The 12th Congressional District of North Carolina held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Alma Adams (D) defeated Vince Coakley (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, North Carolina District 12 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Alma Adams	75.3%	130,096
	Republican	Vince Coakley	24.7%	42,568
Total Votes				172,664
Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections

2014 special election

The 12th Congressional District of North Carolina held a special election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014, concurrent with the regular general election, to fill the vacancy left by former Rep. Melvin Watt (D), who resigned in January 2014. Alma Adams (D) defeated Vince Coakley (R) in the special election.

U.S. House, North Carolina District 12 Special Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Alma Adams	75.4%	127,668
	Republican	Vince Coakley	24.6%	41,578
Total Votes				169,246
Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections

2012

See also: North Carolina's 12th Congressional District elections, 2012

The 12th Congressional District of North Carolina held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012, in which incumbent Melvin L. Watt (D) won re-election. He defeated Jack Brosch (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, North Carolina District 12 General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Melvin L. Watt Incumbent	79.6%	247,591
	Republican	Jack Brosch	20.4%	63,317
Total Votes				310,908
Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

2010
On November 2, 2010, Melvin L. Watt won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Greg Dority (R) and Lon Cecil (Libertarian) in the general election.

U.S. House, North Carolina District 12 General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Melvin L. Watt incumbent	63.9%	103,495
	Republican	Greg Dority	34.1%	55,315
	Libertarian	Lon Cecil	2%	3,197
Total Votes				162,007

2008
On November 4, 2008, Melvin L. Watt won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Ty Cobb, Jr. (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, North Carolina District 12 General Election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Melvin L. Watt incumbent	71.6%	215,908
	Republican	Ty Cobb, Jr.	28.4%	85,814
Total Votes				301,722

2006
On November 7, 2006, Melvin L. Watt won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Ada M. Fisher (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, North Carolina District 12 General Election, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Melvin L. Watt incumbent	67%	71,345
	Republican	Ada M. Fisher	33%	35,127
Total Votes				106,472

2004
On November 2, 2004, Melvin L. Watt won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Ada M. Fisher (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, North Carolina District 12 General Election, 2004
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Melvin L. Watt incumbent	66.8%	154,908
	Republican	Ada M. Fisher	33.2%	76,898
Total Votes				231,806

2002
On November 5, 2002, Melvin L. Watt won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Jeff Kish (R) and Carey Head (Libertarian) in the general election.

U.S. House, North Carolina District 12 General Election, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Melvin L. Watt incumbent	65.3%	98,821
	Republican	Jeff Kish	32.8%	49,588
	Libertarian	Carey Head	1.9%	2,830
Total Votes				151,239

2000
On November 7, 2000, Melvin L. Watt won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Chad Mitchell (R) and Anna Lyon (Libertarian) in the general election.

U.S. House, North Carolina District 12 General Election, 2000
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Melvin L. Watt incumbent	64.8%	135,570
	Republican	Chad Mitchell	33.3%	69,596
	Libertarian	Anna Lyon	1.9%	3,978
Total Votes				209,144

Redistricting

2020-2023

See also: Redistricting in North Carolina after the 2020 census

On October 25, 2023, the North Carolina General Assembly adopted new congressional district boundaries. The legislation adopting the new maps passed the state Senate by a vote of 28-18 and the State House by a vote of 64-40. Both votes were strictly along party lines with all votes in favor by Republicans and all votes against by Democrats.

The New York Times' Maggie Astor wrote, "The map creates 10 solidly Republican districts, three solidly Democratic districts and one competitive district. Currently, under the lines drawn by a court for the 2022 election, each party holds seven seats. The Democratic incumbents who have been essentially drawn off the map are Representatives Jeff Jackson in the Charlotte area, Kathy Manning in the Greensboro area and Wiley Nickel in the Raleigh area. A seat held by a fourth Democrat, Representative Don Davis, is expected to be competitive."

How does redistricting in North Carolina work? In North Carolina, the state legislature is responsible for drawing both congressional and state legislative district lines. District maps cannot be vetoed by the governor. State legislative redistricting must take place in the first regular legislative session following the United States Census. There are no explicit deadlines in place for congressional redistricting.

State law establishes the following requirements for state legislative districts:

• Districts must be contiguous and compact.
• Districts "must cross county lines as little as possible." If counties are grouped together, the group should include as few counties as possible.
• Communities of interest should be taken into account.

There are no similar restrictions in place regarding congressional districts.

Below are the congressional maps in effect before and after the 2020 redistricting cycle. The map on the right was in effect for North Carolina’s 2024 congressional elections.

Below are the congressional maps in effect before and after the 2020 redistricting cycle. The map on the right was in effect for North Carolina’s 2024 congressional elections.

Below are the congressional maps in effect before and after the 2020 redistricting cycle. The map on the right was in effect for North Carolina’s 2024 congressional elections.

North Carolina District 12
before 2020 redistricting cycle

Click a district to compare boundaries.

North Carolina District 12
after 2020 redistricting cycle

Click a district to compare boundaries.

See also: Redistricting in North Carolina after the 2010 census

North Carolina's congressional district plan was subject to litigation following its adoption in 2011. Two challenges to the plan were heard by the Supreme Court of the United States: Cooper v. Harris, which was decided in 2017, and Rucho v. Common Cause, which decided on June 27, 2019. As a result of Rucho, North Carolina's congressional district plan was upheld. For more complete information, see this article.

District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

2024

Heading into the 2024 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+23. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 23 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made North Carolina's 12th the 48th most Democratic district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have defeated Donald Trump (R) 74.4%-24.2%.

2022

Heading into the 2022 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+13. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 13 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made North Carolina's 12th the 110th most Democratic district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have received 64.4% of the vote in this district and Donald Trump (R) would have received 34.2%.

2018

Heading into the 2018 elections, based on results from the 2016 and 2012 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+17. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 17 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made North Carolina's 12th Congressional District the 79th most Democratic nationally.

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 0.92. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 0.92 points toward that party.

See also

• Redistricting in North Carolina
• North Carolina's 12th Congressional District election, 2024
• North Carolina's 12th Congressional District election, 2022
• North Carolina's 12th Congressional District election, 2020
• North Carolina's 12th Congressional District election, 2018

External links

• GovTrack District 12

Footnotes

[show]

North Carolina's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Ted Budd (R)

Thom Tillis (R)

Representatives

District 1

Donald Davis (D)

District 2

Deborah Ross (D)

District 3

Gregory Murphy (R)

District 4

Valerie Foushee (D)

District 5

Virginia Foxx (R)

District 6

Addison McDowell (R)

District 7

David Rouzer (R)

District 8

Mark Harris (R)

District 9

Richard Hudson (R)

District 10

Pat Harrigan (R)

District 11

Chuck Edwards (R)

District 12

Alma Adams (D)

District 13

Brad Knott (R)

District 14

Timothy Moore (R)

Republican Party (12)

Democratic Party (4)