Wesley Harris
Wesley Harris (Democratic Party) is a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives, representing District 105. He assumed office on January 1, 2019. His current term ends on January 1, 2025.
Harris (Democratic Party) is running for election for North Carolina Treasurer. He is on the ballot in the general election on November 5, 2024. He advanced from the Democratic primary on March 5, 2024.
Harris completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Wesley Harris was born in Taylorsville, North Carolina. He graduated from Statesville High School. Harris earned a bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2009. He also earned a graduate degree and a Ph.D. from Clemson University in 2010 and 2014, respectively. His career experience includes teaching at numerous universities and working as an economic consultant.[1]
2024 battleground election
- See also: North Carolina Treasurer election, 2024
Ballotpedia identified the November 5, general election as a battleground race. The summary below is from our coverage of this election, found here.
Wesley Harris (D) and Brad Briner (R) are running in the November 5, 2024, general election for North Carolina Treasurer. Incumbent Dale Folwell (R) ran unsuccessfully for the Republican gubernatorial nomination on March 5, 2024.
North Carolina's treasurer is the state's chief financial officer, official banker, and a member of the Council of State. The office's duties include managing the state's pension and healthcare plans, investments, and unclaimed property and providing financial support to local governments.[1]
The treasurer is the sole fiduciary or trustee of the state's pension plan. In a sole trustee model, a single individual is responsible for the investment of pension fund assets rather than a board or department. According to the National Association of State Retirement Administrators, North Carolina is one of three states with a sole trustee model.[2]
Harris represents the 105th district in North Carolina's House of Representatives. Before holding public office, he earned a bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a graduate degree and a Ph.D. from Clemson University. He also worked as a college professor and consultant.[3] Harris is running on his background as an economist and his experience in state government.
In response to Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, Harris said, "As a PhD economist with a specialization in Public Finance, making sure our State's finances are in impeccable shape so that we can make the investments we need is definitely what I am most passionate about." In an interview with The News & Observer, Harris said he would "invest more of our pension plan to boost returns instead of holding cash, negotiate with health care providers for lower costs by promoting more preventative care, and focus on the financial aspects of a local government’s investments instead of my political leanings."[4]
Briner is an investment manager and a board member of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He previously worked as a Chief Investment Officer for Willet Advisors, which manages the assets of the Bloomberg family. Briner earned a bachelor's degree from UNC Chapel Hill and a master's in business from Harvard Business School. He is running on his investment experience.[5]
In his response to Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, Briner said, "With my deep experience in managing large pools of capital, I can and will improve performance of the pension plans, which will free up billions for the State Legislature to return to taxpayers or to spend on essential services like education or infrastructure. Currently, we are funding ~$2.8 billion per year into the pension plans, or one in every 6 income tax dollars our state collects. Properly managed, we could reduce that to zero over time." Briner said he wants to move away from the sole trustee model because he believes small groups make better investment decisions than individuals and because he believes the model enables corruption.[6] In an interview with PBS North Carolina's Kelly McCullen, Briner said, "It's ironic, I'm running for office to diminish the power of the office ultimately but I think it's the right thing to do for our state."[7]
Harris said he wants to maintain the sole fiduciary model and said eliminating it would give more power to the legislature, which he opposes. Harris said, "It's about accountability. This is a position that is elected by the people. Not every treasurer is elected by the people, and so the people get the say, and that is something that I hold near and dear. That's the backbone of our democracy and one person can be corrupted, so can a group of political appointees."[8]
In 2023, North Carolina's General Assembly passed House Bill 750 enacting anti-ESG policies requiring the state treasurer to only focus on financial factors and prohibiting them from evaluating investments or awarding state contracts based on "environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria."[9]
Both candidates completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. To read those survey responses, click here.[10]
North Carolina is one of 48 states that has a treasurer and one of 10 states holding an election for treasurer in 2024. As of August 2024, 12 states have a Democratic treasurer, 24 states have a Republican treasurer, and 12 states have a nonpartisan treasurer.
Elections
2024
See also: North Carolina Treasurer election, 2024
General election
General election for North Carolina Treasurer
Wesley Harris and Brad Briner are running in the general election for North Carolina Treasurer on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | ||
 | Wesley Harris (D)  | |
 | Brad Briner (R) | |
| ||||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for North Carolina Treasurer
Wesley Harris defeated Gabriel Esparza in the Democratic primary for North Carolina Treasurer on March 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Wesley Harris | 66.6 | 433,791 |
 | Gabriel Esparza | 33.4 | 217,689 | |
| Total votes: 651,480 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for North Carolina Treasurer
Brad Briner defeated Rachel Johnson and A.J. Daoud in the Republican primary for North Carolina Treasurer on March 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Brad Briner | 39.9 | 346,160 |
 | Rachel Johnson | 34.5 | 299,158 | |
 | A.J. Daoud | 25.5 | 221,442 | |
| Total votes: 866,760 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Polls
- See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics, when available. We will regularly check for polling aggregation for this race from those sites and add polls here once available. To notify us of polls available on either outlet for this race, please email us.
Election campaign finance
- See also: Campaign finance
The section and tables below contain data from financial reports submitted to state agencies. The data is gathered and made available by Transparency USA. Transparency USA tracks loans separately from total contributions. View each candidates’ loan totals, if any, by clicking “View More” in the table below and learn more about this data here.
Satellite spending
- See also: Satellite spending
Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.[11][12][13]
If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.
Campaign finance
Endorsements
To view Harris's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. To send us an endorsement, click here.
2022
See also: North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 105
Incumbent Wesley Harris defeated Joshua Niday in the general election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 105 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Wesley Harris (D) | 56.9 | 17,545 |
 | Joshua Niday (R) | 43.1 | 13,307 | |
| Total votes: 30,852 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Wesley Harris advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 105.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Joshua Niday advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 105.
Campaign finance
2020
See also: North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 105
Incumbent Wesley Harris defeated Amy Bynum in the general election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 105 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Wesley Harris (D) | 54.8 | 25,732 |
| Amy Bynum (R) | 45.2 | 21,245 | |
| Total votes: 46,977 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Wesley Harris advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 105.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Amy Bynum advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 105.
Campaign finance
2018
General election
General election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 105
Wesley Harris defeated incumbent Scott Stone in the general election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 105 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Wesley Harris (D) | 52.3 | 18,362 |
 | Scott Stone (R) | 47.7 | 16,753 | |
| Total votes: 35,115 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Ayoub Ouederni (D)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 105
Wesley Harris defeated Ayoub Ouederni (Unofficially withdrew) in the Democratic primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 105 on May 8, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Wesley Harris | 70.5 | 2,244 |
 | Ayoub Ouederni (Unofficially withdrew) | 29.5 | 940 | |
| Total votes: 3,184 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 105
Incumbent Scott Stone advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 105 on May 8, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Scott Stone |
| ||||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Wesley Harris completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Harris' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I'm currently a Representative in the State House, I was first elected in 2018 after I flipped a seat Red to Blue that the incumbent had won by 10% two years earlier. I'm the only PhD Economist in the Legislature, and have been the lead Democrat on every budgetary and finance issue since I was elected. I'm also a proud product of rural North Carolina, having grown up in Alexander and Iredell counties.
- I'm the only candidate in this race with any experience in State Government. It is critical for the Treasurer to have relationships with members on both side of the aisle in the legislature if they want to get things done.
- I have the support and endorsement of the two groups most impacted by the Treasurer's office: The State Employees Association and the North Carolina Association of Educators. These two groups rely on the Treasurer every single day, and they trust me to be their voice in the office.
- I'm the only candidate in this race who has experience living in rural, suburban, and urban North Carolina. I'm going to go into every corner of our state and fight for the investments needed in order to make sure all 100 of our counties can thrive.
As a PhD economist with a specialization in Public Finance, making sure our State's finances are in impeccable shape so that we can make the investments we need is definitely what I am most passionate about.
"Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln" and "The Bully Pulpit" by Doris Kearns Goodwin.
Honesty, transparency, dedication, and having a vision for the future.
That there is a tangible expansion of opportunity and a notable decrease of the urban-rural divide in North Carolina when I'm done.
I worked on an assembly line putting together modems the summer after my first year of college.
The three main responsibilities of this office are to manage the State Pension Plan, oversee the State Health Plan, and overseeing the Local Government Commission.
Yes, because the Treasurer needs to be able to work with members of both parties in the legislature. You can get things done with you understand relationships.
The NC Association of Educators, the NC State Employees Association, the African American Caucus of the NC Democratic Party, Planned Parenthood Votes, The Sierra Club, the Communication Workers of America, the Young Democrats of NC, the Durham People's Alliance, the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Black Political Caucus, the George C. Simkins Memorial PAC, the Wake County Voter Education Coalition.
9 Democratic Members of Congress, including all 7 current Democratic members of our Congressional Delegation. 73 Democratic State Legislators. 96 locally elected officials across the State.
I think it's critical to maintain trust in our institutions. People have to believe in what you're doing, and the only way to make them believe in what you're doing is to show them what you're doing.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign ads
| March 13, 2023 |
| February 12, 2024 |
View more ads here:
Campaign website
Harris’ campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
For too many of our communities, the last few decades have shown what happens when the world leaves them behind. Lack of investment has left once-vibrant places hollowed out, and our most vulnerable families have suffered as a result. Without opportunity, folks lose hope, which threatens the stability of not only our economy, but our very democracy. Our state is overflowing with potential, but to make opportunity accessible to every North Carolinian, we need a state government and we need a Treasurer who’s willing to invest in the most valuable asset we have: our people. Let’s think and plan not just for tomorrow, but for years to come Let’s protect our state bond ratings and expand our investment capacity Let’s do right by our state employees Let’s cut out the culture war nonsense and focus on the job at hand |
” |
| —Wesley Harris’ campaign website (2024)[15] | ||
2022
Wesley Harris did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Wesley Harris completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Harris' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Wesley Harris is a native North Carolinian, growing up in Iredell County to a mom who was a lifelong public school teacher and a dad who was a local banker. Wesley is serving his first term in the North Carolina House of Representatives, representing district 105 in the Ballantyne area of Charlotte. Wesley is the only PhD Economist in the NC General Assembly. Outside of the Legislature, Wesley lives in South Charlotte, working as an Economic Consultant and Adjunct Professor of Economics at UNC Charlotte.
- Quality Education
- Smart Infrasturcture
- Affordable Healthcare
As an economist, I am most passionate about making sure that our state government is investing in our people so that we can home-grow our talent and create a booming economy that creates opportunities for every single citizen. To do this we have to make sure that we invest in Quality Education, Smart Infrastructure, and Affordable Healthcare. Ensuring that all of our children have the opportunity to succeed is paramount to creating a thriving and sustainable economy. Additionally, we need to make sure our communities have the smart infrastructure investments to help manage our growth. An economy and a community is only as strong as it is healthy, so we have to ensure we expand medicaid and help provide affordable health insurance to everyone. The past 10 years have consisted of major giveaways to corporations and the wealthy at the expense of investing in our people and communities. I am running for re-election because I know investments in our people pay greater dividends in the long term.
Redistricting needs to be out of the hands of elected officials. I supporting a constitutional amendment appointing a non-partisan independent commission to handle all redistricting.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Committee assignments
2023-2024
Harris was assigned to the following committees:
- Agriculture Committee
- House Finance Committee
- Judiciary III Committee
- Marine Resources and Aqua Culture Committee
- House Transportation Committee
2021-2022
Harris was assigned to the following committees:
- Education - Universities Committee
- House Finance Committee
- Judiciary III Committee
- Marine Resources and Aqua Culture Committee
- House Transportation Committee
2019-2020
Harris was assigned to the following committees:
- Military and Veterans Affairs Committee
- House Finance Committee
- House Judiciary Committee
- House Transportation Committee
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of North Carolina scorecards, email suggestions to [email protected].
2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the North Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 11 to October 25.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the North Carolina State Legislature was in session from May 18 to July 1.
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2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the North Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 13 to December 30.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the North Carolina State Legislature was in session from April 28 to September 3. The legislature was in recess from July 8 to September 1 and then reconvened September 2 to September 3.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the General Assembly of North Carolina was in session from January 9 through August 27.
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See also
2024 Elections
External links
|
Candidate North Carolina Treasurer |
Officeholder North Carolina House of Representatives District 105 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on February 29, 2024
- ↑ National Association of State Retirement Administrators, State Retirement System Governing Authority Arrangements," July 2024
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Wesley Harris, PhD," accessed August 6, 2024
- ↑ The News & Observer, "Candidate for NC treasurer, Democrat Wesley Harris, answers our questions," February 8, 2024
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Brad Briner," accessed August 9, 2024
- ↑ Brad Briner 2024 campaign website, "What Brad will do to fix the Treasurer's office," accessed August 12, 2024.
- ↑ PBS North Carolina, "Brad Briner, Republican Candidate for NC Treasurer," August 2, 2024
- ↑ PBS North Carolina, "Wesley Harris, Democratic Candidate for NC Treasurer," August 2, 2024
- ↑ UNC School of Government Legislative Reporting Service,"Bill Summaries: H750 (2023-2024 Session),accessed August 28, 2024
- ↑ LinkedIn "Brad Briner," accessed August 6, 2024
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Outside Spending," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, All Groups," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ National Review.com, "Why the Media Hate Super PACs," December 12, 2021
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Wesley Harris for State Treasurer, “Platform,” accessed February 19, 2024
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Scott Stone (R) |
North Carolina House of Representatives District 105 2019-Present |
Succeeded by - |
 |
State of North Carolina Raleigh (capital) |
|---|---|
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