ALBEMARLE — The 2022 election for Stanly County’s representatives to the General Assembly in Raleigh features just one competitive contest: the race for a state Senate seat shared with Rowan County. Republican State Sen. Carl Ford, who is seeking his third term in the Senate, faces off against Democratic nominee Tangela Morgan for the 33rd Senate District.
Ford entered public office as a Rowan County Commissioner from 2008-2012, serving as both Chair and Vice Chair. He was elected to the N.C. House of Representatives in 2012 and served three terms. In his time in the House, he was the committee chair for the Committee on State and Local Government for two terms.
He ran for the N.C. Senate in 2018 and has served there since January 2019. In the upper chamber, he has been the chairman of the State and Local Government Committee and is a co-chairman of the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on General Government. Ford also serves as the Senate Republican Joint Caucus Leader.
In the most recent legislative session, Ford was either a sponsor or co-sponsor of six bills that were signed into law. Those bills included the Farm Act of 2021, Certificate of Need threshold amendments, and bond information transparency.
The American Conservative Union’s Center for Legislative Accountability has given a 92% rating to Ford for his time in the N.C. Senate. In the 2021-22 session, Ford earned a “Conservative Excellence” award.
Morgan is a Stanly County native but says she has lived in Rowan County for the past 20 years. According to her campaign website, she is a former teacher and current school counselor. Morgan is a leader in the Rowan-Salisbury N.C. Association of Educators (NCAE) affiliate and the Rowan-Salisbury NAACP.
She lists six priorities she is running on: education, protecting abortion, Medicaid expansion, ending reliance on fossil fuels, raising the minimum wage, and increased broadband service.
“I believe that a safe, thriving community is one in which the citizens are healthy, educated, and gainfully employed. Right now, there are systems and policies in place that prevent the citizens of Rowan and Stanly County from thriving,” Morgan said in a candidate questionnaire posted by the Rowan County Democratic Party.
Following the state’s 2021 redistricting session, the boundaries of the 33rd District were unchanged: it covers all of Rowan and Stanly counties. The population split favors Rowan County, which comprises 70% of the district, and Stanly has the remaining 30%.
Based on recent election results, it is a strongly Republican district, with recent election results giving Republicans nearly 70% of the vote in state races.
In the N.C. House of Representatives, incumbent Republican state Rep. Wayne Sasser is unopposed for a third term in the 67th House District.
Following the 2021 redistricting session, the district comprises all of Stanly and Montgomery counties.
Sasser, a registered pharmacist, is the only pharmacist serving in the General Assembly.