Deborah Ross (née Koff; born June 20, 1963) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

for since 2021. Her district is based in

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, Ross served as a member of the

North Carolina House of Representatives The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the President pro-tem in the North Ca ...

from 2003 to 2013, representing the state's 38th and then 34th House district, including much of northern Raleigh and surrounding suburbs in

Wake County Wake County is located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In the 2020 census, its population was 1,129,410, making it North Carolina's most-populous county. From July 2005 to July 2006, Wake County was the 9th-fastest growing county in the U ...

. Ross was the Democratic nominee in the 2016 U.S. Senate election in North Carolina, unsuccessfully challenging

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

incumbent

Richard Burr Richard Mauze Burr (born November 30, 1955) is an American businessman and politician who is the senior United States senator from North Carolina, serving since 2005. A member of the Republican Party, Burr was previously a member of the United ...

in the general election.

Early life and education

Ross was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, on June 20, 1963, and grew up in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. She is the daughter of Barbara (née Klein) and Marvin Koff. Her father served as a physician in the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

during the

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

era and her mother taught preschool. Ross earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

in 1985 and her

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the

University of North Carolina School of Law The University of North Carolina School of Law is the law school of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Established in 1845, Carolina Law is among the oldest law schools in the United States and is the oldest law school in North Carol ...

in 1990.

Legal career

After graduating from law school, Ross worked for Raleigh-based

Hunton & Williams Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP is an American law firm created by the merger of Hunton & Williams LLP and Andrews Kurth Kenyon LLP on April 2, 2018. The firm has offices in 20 cities, primarily in the United States. History Hunton & Williams (formerl ...

as a tax litigator and municipal bond lawyer. She taught at

Duke Law School Duke University School of Law (Duke Law School or Duke Law) is the law school of Duke University, a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. One of Duke's 10 schools and colleges, the School of Law is a constituent academic unit th ...

as a senior lecturing fellow.

American Civil Liberties Union

Ross was hired as state director for the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

(ACLU) of North Carolina in 1994. She worked on

First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and juvenile justice issues. Alongside Governor

Jim Hunt James Baxter Hunt Jr. (born May 16, 1937) is an American politician and retired attorney who was the List of governors of North Carolina, 69th and 71st Governor of North Carolina (1977–1985, and 1993–2001). He is the longest-serving governo ...

and then State Senator

Roy Cooper Roy Asberry Cooper III (born June 13, 1957) is an American attorney and politician, serving as the 75th governor of North Carolina since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th attorney general of North Carolina from 20 ...

, she overhauled North Carolina's system for dealing with youth offenders. In response to

racial profiling Racial profiling or ethnic profiling is the act of suspecting, targeting or discriminating against a person on the basis of their ethnicity, religion or nationality, rather than on individual suspicion or available evidence. Racial profiling involv ...

reports, she also successfully encouraged state police agencies to collect race-based statistics for traffic stops. Ross stepped down from her position at the ACLU in 2002 when she launched her state House campaign.

GoTriangle

On May 1, 2013, Ross announced she would resign from the legislature in June to serve as legal counsel for

GoTriangle The Research Triangle Regional Public Transportation Authority, known as GoTriangle (previously Triangle Transit and Triangle Transit Authority or TTA), provides regional bus service to the Research Triangle region of North Carolina in Wake, Durha ...

, the triangle area's regional transit agency. On June 1, 2013,

Grier Martin David Grier Martin III (born October 21, 1968) is an American politician and attorney serving as a Democratic member of the North Carolina General Assembly, representing the state's 34th district. His district includes the northern part of Ral ...

was appointed to succeed her in the House.

Smith Moore Leatherwood LLP

In March 2017, Ross joined the regional law firm of Smith Moore Leatherwood LLP in Raleigh. Her practice focused on the economic development, energy, utilities, and infrastructure needs of businesses and government. Smith Moore Leatherwood combined with national law firm

Fox Rothschild Fox Rothschild LLP is an American AmLaw100 law firm founded in Philadelphia in 1907 by Edwin Fox and Jerome J. Rothschild. History From 2005 to 2010, the firm expanded from 10 offices to 15 offices, then to 27 offices in 2018. On January 1, 2016 ...

, LLP, on November 1, 2018.

Early political career

North Carolina legislature

Ross was first elected to 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 ...

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

and defeated Wake County Commissioner Phil Jeffreys in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

to win a second term. She faced no opposition in the 2006 general election, and in 2007, Ross was first elected as one of the House Democratic

Whips A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

. Ross supported the Equal Pay Act, an unsuccessful bill that would have banned North Carolina employers from paying workers differently based on gender. In 2012, Ross compared state coastal protection policies that ignore scientists'

sea level rise Globally, sea levels are rising due to human-caused climate change. Between 1901 and 2018, the globally averaged sea level rose by , or 1–2 mm per year on average.IPCC, 2019Summary for Policymakers InIPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cry ...

forecasts to burying one's "head in the sand". She said she was concerned that increased risk of flooding would lead insurance companies to charge higher premiums for coastal property owners.

2016 U.S. Senate campaign

In 2015, Ross resigned as legal counsel at

to run for the U.S. Senate in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

. She won the March 2016 Democratic primary with 62.4% of the vote from a field of four candidates. Ross was endorsed by

EMILY's List EMILY's List is an American political action committee (PAC) that aims to help elect Democratic female candidates in favor of abortion rights to office. It was founded by Ellen Malcolm in 1985. The group's name is an acronym for "Early Money ...

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

, the North Carolina Association of Educators, the North Carolina

AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million ac ...

American Association for Justice The American Association for Justice (AAJ), formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) is a nonprofit advocacy and lobbying organization for plaintiff's lawyers in the United States. Focused on opposing tort reform, the organiza ...

End Citizens United End Citizens United (ECU) is a political action committee in the United States. The organization is working to reverse the U.S. Supreme Court 2010 decision in '' Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission'', which deregulated limits on indep ...

, the

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) is the United States Democratic Party, Democratic Hill committee for the United States Senate. It is the only organization solely dedicated to electing Democrats to the United States Senate. ...

Democracy for America Democracy for America (DFA) is a progressive political action committee, headquartered in Burlington, Vermont. Founded by former Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean in 2004, DFA leads public awareness campaigns on a variety of pub ...

, and the

League of Conservation Voters The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is an American environmental advocacy group. LCV says that it "advocates for sound environmental laws and policies, holds elected officials accountable for their votes and actions, and elects pro-environmen ...

. In the general election, Ross ran against the incumbent, Republican

. Ross raised more money than Burr for three consecutive quarters, but nevertheless had less cash on hand as Burr began the year with $5.3 million in campaign funds. As of October 21, Ross was down 2.8% in the

Real Clear Politics RealClearPolitics (RCP) is an American political news website and polling data aggregator formed in 2000 by former options trader John McIntyre and former advertising agency account executive Tom Bevan. The site features selected political ...

average of polls. The race received national attention as ''

The Cook Political Report ''The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter'' is an American online newsletter that analyzes elections and campaigns for the U.S. Presidency, the United States Senate, the United States House of Representatives, and U.S. governors' offices. Sel ...

'' rated the race a toss-up and Democrats viewed the seat as one they could win. Burr won with 51% of the vote.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2020

On December 2, 2019, Ross announced her candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives in North Carolina's newly redrawn 2nd congressional district in 2020. She jumped into the race shortly after a court-ordered redistricting cut the 2nd back to southern Wake County, including almost all of Raleigh. The old 2nd covered roughly half of Wake County, along with several exurbs south and east of the capital. Had the district existed in 2016,

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

would have carried it with 60% of the vote and defeated

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

by over 24 points. By comparison, Trump carried the old 2nd with 53% of the vote, defeating Clinton by 12 points. On paper, the new map turned the 2nd from a Republican-leaning district into a safely Democratic district. With pundits suggesting that the 2nd was a likely Democratic pickup, Republican incumbent

George Holding George Edward Bell Holding (born April 17, 1968) is an American politician, lawyer, and former federal prosecutor who is a former United States Representative for North Carolina's 2nd congressional district from 2017 to 2021. He previously repre ...

, who had represented much of the area for two terms in the 13th district before it was essentially merged with the 2nd in 2016, opted to retire. Holding said that the significantly bluer hue of the new 2nd figured significantly in his decision. Ross won the Democratic primary on March 3. She won the general election on November 3, defeating Republican nominee Alan Swain and Libertarian Jeff Matemu.

Tenure

As of December 2021, Ross had voted in line with Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time. On July 1, 2021, Ross and

Mariannette Miller-Meeks Mariannette Jane Miller-Meeks (born September 6, 1955) is an American physician and politician serving as the U.S. representative from Iowa's 2nd congressional district since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Miller-Meeks served as Iowa sta ...

introduced the America's CHILDREN Act. If enacted, the bill would grant a pathway to permanent residency for children who grew up in the United States legally but were blocked from obtaining permanent residency due to green card backlogs and other legal barriers. Ross voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the

117th Congress The 117th United States Congress is the current meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on ...

, according to a ''

FiveThirtyEight ''FiveThirtyEight'', sometimes rendered as ''538'', is an American website that focuses on opinion poll analysis, politics, economics, and sports blogging in the United States. The website, which takes its name from the number of electors in th ...

'' analysis.

Committee assignments

Committee on the Judiciary Committee on the Judiciary may mean: * United States House Committee on the Judiciary * United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standi ...

** Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet * Committee on Rules *

Committee on Science, Space and Technology The Committee on Science, Space, and Technology is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. It has jurisdiction over non-defense federal scientific research and development. More specifically, the committee has complete jurisdic ...

** Subcommittee on Energy ** Subcommittee on Research and Technology

Caucus memberships

New Democrat Coalition The New Democrat Coalition is a congressional caucus, caucus in the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives of the United States Congress made up of Democratic Party (United States), Democrats, primarily Centrism, cent ...

* Democratic Women’s Caucus

Personal life

Ross and her husband, Steve Wrinn, live in a home that they restored in Boylan Heights, a historic neighborhood in

. Ross is one of three

Unitarian Universalists Unitarian Universalism (UU) is a liberal religion characterized by a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning". Unitarian Universalists assert no creed, but instead are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth, guided by a ...

in Congress.

References

External links

Representative Deborah Ross
official U.S. House website
Deborah Ross for Congress
campaign website * , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Deborah K. 1963 births 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians 20th-century American women lawyers Candidates in the 2016 United States Senate elections Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina Female members of the United States House of Representatives Lawyers from Philadelphia American Unitarian Universalists Living people Democratic Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives North Carolina lawyers People associated with Hunton Andrews Kurth Politicians from Philadelphia University of North Carolina School of Law alumni Women state legislators in North Carolina Brown University alumni American Civil Liberties Union people Duke University School of Law faculty