Erica Smith-Ingram
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Erica Danette Smith (born November 24, 1969) is an American engineer and politician who represented District 3 in the North Carolina Senate from 2015 to 2021. She was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate in 2020. She finished second in the Democratic primaries on March 3, 2020. She was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate in 2022, but she switched to the race for North Carolina's 1st congressional district after Rep.
G. K. Butterfield George Kenneth Butterfield Jr. (born April 27, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 1st congressional district from 2004 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elec ...
announced that he would not run for another term.


Early life and education

A native of
Fayetteville, North Carolina Fayetteville () is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city. Fayetteville has received the All-America C ...
, Smith graduated from high school at the North Carolina School of Science and Math in Durham. Smith holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from North Carolina A&T State University, and a master's degree in religious studies from Howard University. Smith began her career as a Senior Engineering Specialist for the Boeing Co. Prior to her retirement from the engineering field, she also served as a patent examiner in the Chemical Engineering Technology Center of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.


Political career


North Carolina Senate

A Democrat who was first elected to the North Carolina Senate in 2014, Smith represented Senate District 3 from 2015 to 2021. Senate District 3 includes Beaufort, Bertie, Martin, Northampton, Vance, and Warren Counties. Smith was re-elected without opposition in 2016 and defeated Republican Chuck Early in 2018. Smith co-chaired the Joint Legislative Women's Caucus, and served as Chair and Second Vice-Chair of the N.C. Legislative Black Caucus, Co-Chair of the Joint Legislative Tech Caucus, Democratic Women's Caucus, Chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus Rural Working Group, and the NCLBC Agriculture Working Group. Smith served for six years on the Northampton County Board of Education 2008–2014 and in grassroots organizing and community leadership as Democratic Party Chair and First Vice-Chair for Northampton County from 2001 to 2015. In 2020, Smith published a complaint alleging harassment from other North Carolina state senators. She did not press charges, but argued for a change to the culture of the NC Senate to stop harassment.


2020 United States Senate race

Smith began mapping out her path to the United States Senate at a Congressional Black Caucus "boot camp" Political Training Institute in 2005. She briefly put her plans on hold in 2012 following the death of her 5-year-old son.


Entering the race

In January 2019, Smith announced her candidacy for the United States Senate seat held by Thom Tillis. Smith, who currently works as a math instructional specialist, has likened her platform to a six-point lesson plan. During her primary contest, a Republican group, created just a few weeks earlier in 2020 and funded entirely by a
Mitch McConnell Addison Mitchell McConnell III (born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and retired attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky and the Senate minority leader since 2021. Currently in his seventh term, McConne ...
-created conduit called "Faith and Power", spent $2.95 million to run ads supporting Smith,McConnell-linked group funds ads helping N Carolina Democrat
''
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
'', Gary D. Robertson, February 21, 2020.
the content of which she found objectionable. Her campaign said it, "....disavows and disassociates ourselves from the interference of Republicans in the Democratic Senate Primary". "This entity is not authorized to represent our views and positions."Erica Smith upset after TV ad supports her campaign for U.S. Senate
'' WTVD'', Steve Daniels, February 7, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
Cal Cunningham, her major opponent, to whom she eventually finished second said, "Washington Republicans know Senator Tillis is weak, and apparently they don't like his chances against me in November. Now they're resorting to shady tactics to meddle in our election and it's disrespectful to North Carolina voters." The Tillis campaign denied foreknowledge of the ad buy, claiming it, "...couldn't be the least bit concerned with which radical liberal emerges from the chaos that is the Democratic primary". Cunningham lost a very close general election race to Tillis who received 48.7% of the vote to Cunningham's 46.9%.


2022 United States Senate race

Smith was a candidate in the Democratic primary for the 2022
U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...
election in North Carolina. She says her campaign will not accept donations from the
fossil fuel A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. The main fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. Fossil fuels m ...
industry or large corporate PACs.


2022 United States House of Representatives race

On November 23, 2021, Smith withdrew from the Senate race and announced her campaign for the redrawn
North Carolina's 1st congressional district North Carolina's 1st congressional district is located in the northeastern part of the state. It consists of many Black Belt in the American South, Black Belt counties that border Virginia and it extends southward into several counties of the I ...
, aiming to replace retiring
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 ...
G. K. Butterfield George Kenneth Butterfield Jr. (born April 27, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 1st congressional district from 2004 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elec ...
. On May 17, 2022, Don Davis won the Democratic primary, defeating Smith, who came in second, and two other candidates.


Other work

Smith is a curriculum and instructional specialist for
Haliwa-Saponi The Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe, also the Haliwa-Saponi Tribe, is a state-recognized tribe and nonprofit organization in North Carolina. They are not a federally recognized as a Native American tribe. They are headquartered in Hollister, North Ca ...
Tribal School in Hollister, North Carolina. She was formerly associate pastor at a Missionary Baptist Church.


References


External links


Campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Erica D. 1969 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians African-American state legislators in North Carolina African-American women in politics Candidates in the 2020 United States Senate elections Candidates in the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections Living people Democratic Party North Carolina state senators People from Fayetteville, North Carolina Women state legislators in North Carolina 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women