Attorney beats Wake County school board member in NC Senate GOP primary
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Chris Stock defeated Cheryl Caulfield in the GOP primary for NC Senate District 18.
- Stock will face Democratic Sen. Terence Everitt and Libertarian Brad Hessel in November.
- District 18 remains a swing district after Everitt won by 128 votes in 2024.
Local attorney Chris Stock has defeated Wake County school board member Cheryl Caulfield in the Republican primary for the highly competitive N.C. Senate District 18 seat.
Stock was ahead of Caulfield by more than 20 percentage points as of 11 p.m. Tuesday. The winner will run against Democratic Sen. Terence Everitt and Libertarian candidate Brad Hessel in a district that includes part of Wake County and all of Granville County.
Republicans control the Senate, but District 18 is a swing district. Everitt defeated Republican Ashlee Adams by just 128 votes in 2024.
Self-described conservatives compete for GOP votes
Caulfield was elected in 2022 to the District 1 school board seat that includes Wake Forest, much of eastern Wake and part of North Raleigh. Wake is North Carolina’s largest school district. She’s one of two Republicans serving on the officially nonpartisan school board.
Caulfield has spoken at events for groups such as the N.C. Values Coalition to urge schools to remove books she says are too sexually explicit for students. She’s publicly clashed with the Democratic majority on the school board on issues such as her support for President Donald Trump’s call to eliminate “discriminatory gender ideology” in schools.
Caulfield is eligible to run this year for another 4-year term on the school board.
Stock said he would fight for issues such as increasing education funding. Stock said he would also lessen the tax burden on residents by implementing tax credits for first-time homebuyers and small business owners and by enhancing North Carolina’s child tax credit.
Both GOP candidates say they would provide a conservative voice in the General Assembly.
Caulfield’s endorsements for her legislative run include State Auditor Dave Boliek and state Reps. Erin Paré and John Torbett.
Stock’s endorsements include State Agriculture Secretary Steve Troxler and state Sens. Brent Jackson and Bill Rabon. Stock had previously worked as an aide for Jackson.
Campaign finance records show Stock out-raised Caulfield. As of the first quarter of this year, Stock had raised $54,500 compared to $28,945 for Caulfield..
This story was originally published March 3, 2026 at 11:30 PM.
