Durham District Attorney Satana Deberry wins primary, poised for reelection
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Early returns show incumbent Satana Deberry leading challenger Jonathan Wilson II.
- Deberry emphasizes decriminalization of minor offenses and focus on violent crime.
- Wilson increases endorsements and stresses courthouse presence and community work.
In a rematch of the top vote-getters in the 2022 Democratic primary for Durham County district attorney, incumbent Satana Deberry defeated Jonathan Wilson II.
Deberry’s lead of 61% to 39% in unofficial results of the Democratic primary on Tuesday reflect early and absentee votes and all precincts reporting. No others filed to run for the office, which means Deberry could only potentially face write-in candidates in the November election.
Deberry declared victory just before 10 p.m. She took the stage at congressional candidate and Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam’s election watch party along with Aminah Thompson, who declared victory in the race for Durham clerk of court, and said: “I want you to look at this picture of two Black women with locs.”
Deberry thanked her volunteers, her daughters, the People’s Alliance political action committee, a women’s group that organized on her behalf, and the people of Durham. She also took a moment to thank the people who she said came to her defense after a negative op-ed about her ran in Indy Week.
“We still have work to do, and hopefully we will get some more work done over the next four years to make Durham a fairer and safer place,” Deberry said. “... It has been the honor of my career to serve as your district attorney. I have never had a job so hard, but I’ve never had a job so rewarding for people that I care about so much. So I love you all.”
Deberry was first elected district attorney in 2018 and reelected in 2022. That year, she defeated Wilson in the Democratic primary with 79% of the vote. Wilson won nearly 16% and Durham attorney Daniel Meier, who had withdrawn from the race, finished third with just under 5%. There were no other challengers in the November election in Durham, which is a heavily Democratic county.
Deberry was director of the N.C. Housing Coalition when she was first elected. She had also been general counsel with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services from 2001 to 2006.
Since taking office, Deberry has sought to decriminalize minor offenses while dedicating more resources to violent crime. Last month, the Durham Police Department reported that violent crime in 2025 had dropped 16.9% from the previous year.
Deberry drew controversy last year when WRAL examined key card data for the courthouse and found they show “on average, she is in the office just over half of work days, which is significantly less than her counterparts” in Wake and Orange counties. She told WRAL in a statement that the data was not accurate.
Wilson is a criminal defense attorney in Durham. On his campaign website, he alluded to WRAL’s coverage in saying that Durham “deserves a District Attorney who is present in the courthouse and in the community who will work in the trenches alongside prosecutors, case managers, and community advocates to resolve cases and enforce fair and equitable policies.”
Wilson gained more support from political groups in this election than he did last time, winning the endorsement of the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People and the Friends of Durham, while Deberry won the support of the People’s Alliance.
Deberry ran for state attorney general in 2024, but lost in the primary to the eventual winner, then-U.S. Rep. Jeff Jackson.
This story was originally published March 3, 2026 at 9:07 PM.