Gale Adcock

Democratic Party

Candidate, North Carolina State Senate District 16

North Carolina State Senate District 16

Tenure

2023 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

3

Predecessor:Wiley Nickel (D)

Prior offices:

North Carolina House of Representatives District 41

Years in office: 2015 - 2023

Predecessor:Thomas Murry (R)

Successor:Maria Cervania (D)

Compensation

Base salary

$13,951/year

Per diem

$104/day

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2024

Next election

November 3, 2026

Education

Bachelor's

East Carolina University, 1978

Graduate

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1987

Personal

Religion

Episcopal

Profession

Nurse practitioner

Contact

Official website

Campaign website

Personal Facebook

Personal Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Gale Adcock (Democratic Party) is a member of theNorth Carolina State Senate, representingDistrict 16. She assumed office on January 1, 2023. Her current term ends on January 1, 2027.

Adcock (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to theNorth Carolina State Senate to representDistrict 16. The Democratic primary for this office onMarch 3, 2026, was canceled.

Biography

Gale Adcock grew up inVirginia, and lives inCary, North Carolina. Adcock earned a nursing diploma from Virginia Baptist Hospital, a bachelor's degree in nursing from East Carolina University in 1978, and a graduate degree in nursing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1987. Her career experience includes working as a nurse practitioner and as chief health officer at SAS Institute. Adcock served as president of the North Carolina Nurses Association and chair of the North Carolina Center for Nursing. She also became a member of the North Carolina Board of Nursing.^[1][2]

Committee assignments

2025-2026

Adcock was assigned to the following committees:

• Senate Appropriations on Health and Human Services Committee
• Commerce and Insurance Committee
• Senate Finance Committee
• Rules and Operations of the Senate Committee
• Health Care Committee
• Senate State and Local Government Committee

2023-2024

Adcock was assigned to the following committees:

• Senate Appropriations on Health and Human Services Committee
• Commerce and Insurance Committee
• Health Care Committee
• Senate State and Local Government Committee

2021-2022

Adcock was assigned to the following committees:

• House Appropriations on Health and Human Services Committee
• Commerce Committee
• Health Committee
• Regulatory Reform Committee
• Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House Committee
• Appropriations Committee

2019-2020

Adcock was assigned to the following committees:

• Education - Universities Committee
• Commerce Committee
• House Finance Committee
• Health Committee
• Regulatory Reform Committee
• Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House Committee

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Adcock served on the following committees:

Sponsored legislation

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according toBillTrack50 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.

Elections

2026

See also: North Carolina State Senate elections, 2026

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

General election for North Carolina State Senate District 16

IncumbentGale Adcock (D),Philip Hensley (R), andJonathan Miller (L) are running in the general election for North Carolina State Senate District 16 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Gale Adcock (D)
		Philip Hensley (R)
	Submit photo	Jonathan Miller (L)

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined.
= candidate completed theBallotpedia 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

The Democratic primary scheduled for March 3, 2026, was canceled. IncumbentGale Adcock (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina State Senate District 16 without appearing on the ballot.

Republican primary

The Republican primary scheduled for March 3, 2026, was canceled.Philip Hensley (R) advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina State Senate District 16 without appearing on the ballot.

Libertarian Party primary

The Libertarian Party primary scheduled for March 3, 2026, was canceled.Jonathan Miller (L) advanced from the Libertarian Party primary for North Carolina State Senate District 16 without appearing on the ballot.

Campaign finance

Endorsements

2024

See also: North Carolina State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for North Carolina State Senate District 16

IncumbentGale Adcock won election in the general election for North Carolina State Senate District 16 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gale Adcock (D)	100.0	84,424

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 84,424
= candidate completed theBallotpedia 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. IncumbentGale Adcock advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina State Senate District 16.

Campaign finance

Endorsements

2022

See also: North Carolina State Senate elections, 2022

General election

General election for North Carolina State Senate District 16

Gale Adcock defeatedJames Powers,Dee Watson, andMichael Trudeau in the general election for North Carolina State Senate District 16 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gale Adcock (D)	65.2	49,204
		James Powers (R)	30.7	23,161
		Dee Watson (L)	2.3	1,771
	Submit photo	Michael Trudeau (G)	1.8	1,348

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 75,484
= candidate completed theBallotpedia 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.Gale Adcock advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina State Senate District 16.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled.James Powers advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina State Senate District 16.

Libertarian primary election

The Libertarian primary election was canceled.Dee Watson advanced from the Libertarian primary for North Carolina State Senate District 16.

Campaign finance

2020

See also: North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 41

IncumbentGale Adcock defeatedScott Populorum andGuy Meilleur in the general election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 41 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gale Adcock (D)	62.0	40,934
	Submit photo	Scott Populorum (R)	34.9	23,040
		Guy Meilleur (L)	3.1	2,057

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 66,031
= candidate completed theBallotpedia 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. IncumbentGale Adcock advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 41.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled.Scott Populorum advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 41.

Libertarian primary election

The Libertarian primary election was canceled.Guy Meilleur advanced from the Libertarian primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 41.

Campaign finance

2018

See also:North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

General election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 41

IncumbentGale Adcock defeatedEmmanuel Wilder in the general election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 41 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gale Adcock (D)	66.8	26,631
		Emmanuel Wilder (R)	33.2	13,262

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 39,893
= candidate completed theBallotpedia 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

• Liam Leaver (L)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 41

IncumbentGale Adcock advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 41 on May 8, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Gale Adcock

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed theBallotpedia 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 41

Emmanuel Wilder advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 41 on May 8, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Emmanuel Wilder

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed theBallotpedia 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.

2016

See also:North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2016

Elections for theNorth Carolina House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election was held on March 15, 2016, and the general election was held onNovember 8, 2016.^[3] The candidate filing deadline was December 21, 2015.^[4]

IncumbentGale Adcock defeatedChris Shoffner in the North Carolina House of Representatives District 41 general election.^[5][6]

North Carolina House of Representatives, District 41 General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Gale AdcockIncumbent	56.99%	27,491
	Republican	Chris Shoffner	43.01%	20,745
Total Votes				48,236
Source:North Carolina State Board of Elections

IncumbentGale Adcock ran unopposed in the North Carolina House of Representatives District 41 Democratic primary.^[7][8]

North Carolina House of Representatives, District 41 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Democratic	Gale AdcockIncumbent (unopposed)

Chris Shoffner ran unopposed in the North Carolina House of Representatives District 41 Republican primary.^[9][10]

North Carolina House of Representatives, District 41 Republican Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Republican	Chris Shoffner (unopposed)

2014

See also:North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2014

Elections for theNorth Carolina House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 6, 2014. The general election took place onNovember 4, 2014. Thesignature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was February 28, 2014. IncumbentThomas Murry was unopposed in the Republican primary, whileGale Adcock was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Adcock defeated Murry in the general election.^{[11][12][13][14]}

North Carolina House of Representatives, District 41 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Gale Adcock	51.3%	15,160
	Republican	Thomas MurryIncumbent	48.7%	14,383
Total Votes				29,543

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also:Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Gale Adcock has not yet completedBallotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.If you are Gale Adcock,click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?

Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's Ballotpedia profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for.  More than 25,000 candidates have taken Ballotpedia's candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the surveyhere.

Help improve Ballotpedia -send us candidate contact info.

2024

Gale Adcock did not completeBallotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Gale Adcock did not completeBallotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Gale Adcock did not completeBallotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2014

Adcock's website highlighted the following campaign themes:^[15]

Creating Jobs & Growing Our Economy

• Excerpt: "Growing our economy and creating good jobs will require investing in our workforce, supporting our small businesses, and recruiting new companies. When it comes to innovation and research, North Carolina is a leader in the South. We can build on this reputation and grow our middle class by preparing our citizens for the good paying, highly-skilled jobs of the future."

Ensuring Access To Quality Health Care

• Excerpt: "As a Nurse Practitioner I understand that every citizen deserves access to quality health care. I will work to expand insurance coverage and make sure that every citizen has access to the health care providers that they need."

Preserving Public Education

• Excerpt: "Public education is the primary engine of economic growth in North Carolina. Right now it's stuck in reverse. To ensure innovation and opportunity tomorrow, we must invest in our classrooms, colleges, and universities today. That means recruiting and retaining the best teachers and making college affordable for every family."

Protecting Our Environment

• Excerpt: "Every citizen deserves access to clean air, clean water, and open spaces. It is the duty of the legislature to be good stewards of these resources and to ensure that they are protected and available for generations to come."

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 theFEC website. Clickhere for more on federal campaign finance law andhere for more on state campaign finance law.

Scorecards

See also:State legislative scorecards andState legislative scorecards in North Carolina

Ascorecard 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 toeditor@ballotpedia.org.

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

See also

2026 Elections

What's on the ballot?U.S. CongressU.S. Congress special electionsState executivesState legislaturesState courtsBallot measuresMunicipal governmentSchool boardsElection analysis hub

Government

Who represents me?U.S. CongressState executivesState legislatorsState courtsBallot measuresMunicipal governmentSchool boards

Newsletters

The Daily BrewThe Weekly BrewThe Ballot BulletinChecks and BalancesEconomy and SocietyHall PassNumber of the DayRobe & GavelUnion Station

External links

Footnotes

	v • e State ofNorth Carolina Raleigh (capital)
Elections	What's on my ballot? |Elections in 2026 |How to vote |How to run for office |Ballot measures
Government	Who represents me? |U.S. President |U.S. Congress |Federal courts |State executives |State legislature |State and local courts |Counties |Cities |School districts |Public policy