Carl "Ray" Russell (born March 22, 1957) is an American politician, professor, self-taught meteorologist. Russell is a current member of the

Watauga Watauga can refer to: ;Places *Watauga, Kentucky * Watauga County, North Carolina * Watauga, South Dakota * Watauga, Tennessee * Watauga, Texas ;Bodies of Water * Watauga Lake in Tennessee * The Watauga River in North Carolina and Tennessee ;Shi ...

County commission, and former member of the

North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, State government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...

, who represented the State's 93rd

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

district (comprising

and Ashe Counties) from 2019 until 2021. He taught at

Appalachian State University Appalachian State University (; Appalachian, App State, App, or ASU) is a public university in Boone, North Carolina. It was founded as a teachers college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and the latter's wife, Lillie Shull Dough ...

from 1991 until 2021, first in the Mathematics department and later in the Computer Science department. Self-taught in

meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...

, Russell founded the popular

regional In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

weather website, Ray's Weather Center
RaysWeather.com
. In 2016, Russell ran the entire length of the

Blue Ridge Parkway The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The parkway, which is America's longest linear park, runs for through 29 Virginia and North Carolina counties, linking Shenand ...

to raise money for the

Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation is an American nonprofit organization that raises private funding for the Blue Ridge Parkway, one of the most visited units of the National Park system. The Foundation works with the National Park Service, indiv ...

Education

Russell earned bachelor's degrees in computer science and religion at Freed-Hardeman College in 1979, a MS in computer science at

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

in 1985, a MS in mathematics at

Memphis State University } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering ...

in 1982, and a Ph.D. in computer science at

in 1989.

Political career

Russell, a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, defeated incumbent Republican

Jonathan Jordan Jonathan C. Jordan (born May 26, 1968) is a North Carolina politician and attorney who served as the legislator for the 93rd district of the North Carolina House of Representatives from 2011 to 2019. During his first term, Jordan served as the D ...

on November 6th, 2018. Russell won by a margin of 52 percent to 48 percent of Jordan. In the 2020 Democratic Primary, Russell defeated challenger Turner Doolittle by a margin of 88 percent to 12 percent. He was defeated for re-election in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

by Republican challenger

Ray Pickett Phillip Ray Pickett, Jr. is a Republican member of the North Carolina House of Representatives representing the 93rd district (based in Ashe and Watauga counties) since 2021. He defeated incumbent Democrat Carl Ray Russell in the 2020 ...

. On October 4, 2022, Russell was appointed to the

County Commission following the resignation of chairman John Welch.https://www.wataugademocrat.com/news/local/former-state-representative-russell-appointed-to-watauga-county-board-of-commissioners/article_2324ef0c-44ca-11ed-8d0a-cb895cab2b99.html

Electoral history

2020

2018

References

Democratic Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives Living people 21st-century American politicians Appalachian State University faculty 1957 births {{NorthCarolina-politician-stub