Who Democrats selected to replace former NC Sen. Graig Meyer in General Assembly
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- Jonah Garson appointed to finish former Sen. Graig Meyer’s term.
- Nearly all delegates backed Garson, and dozens of local leaders endorsed him.
- In his speech, Garson emphasized maintaining seniority of the district’s House delegation.
N.C. Democratic Party Vice Chair Jonah Garson will finish out the remainder of former N.C. Sen. Graig Meyer’s term in Senate District 23, which covers Orange, Person and Caswell counties.
Five candidates filed to fill Meyer’s seat. Meyer stepped down March 31 to become the executive director of the N.C. Justice Center, which advocates for issues low-income North Carolinians face.
A committee of six Democrats — two from each county in the district — voted Saturday during a Zoom session on who would immediately fill the seat and who would be the candidate in the 2026 general election.
Garson won both votes, so he will also replace Meyer as the Democratic nominee for the Senate district in the November general election.
Garson collected dozens of endorsements from community leaders across the district — from Chapel Hill Mayor Jessica Anderson to Yanceyville Mayor Alvin Foster.
In addition to Garson, the candidates were:
- Rep. Allen Buansi, whose district covers Orange County.
- Rep. Renée Price, whose district covers Orange and Caswell counties
- Kenneth Perry, retired teacher
- Sheila Mikhail, co-founder and CEO of biotech company M34
The Democratic candidate is expected to win handily in Senate District 23, which voted for Meyer by over 30 points in 2024 and whose most populous county, Orange, is a Democratic stronghold.
In his speech before delegates voted, Garson said he would bring “an organizer’s orientation to the job” — robust constituent services and engaging on every issue from farmland loss in Caswell County to asbestos in the ceiling of the UNC Nursing School.
Without naming Buansi or Price, Garson said with the advances the Democratic Party is making in the state House, it was important to maintain the seniority of the three counties’ House delegation.
“Seniority is the currency of power in the state legislature,” Garson said.
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