Yvonne Lewis Holley (born August 12, 1952) is an American politician who served as the North Carolina state representative for the 38th district from 2013 to 2021. 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 ...

, her district consisted of part of Wake County. She was the Democratic nominee for

lieutenant governor of North Carolina The lieutenant governor of North Carolina is the second-highest elected official in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is the only elected official to have powers in both the legislative and executive branches of state government. A member o ...

in the

2020 North Carolina lieutenant gubernatorial election The 2020 North Carolina lieutenant gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 2020, to elect the Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate ...

, which she narrowly lost to Mark Robinson.

Early life and education

Holley is the daughter of

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 ...

broadcast personality J.D. Lewis of

WRAL-TV WRAL-TV (channel 5) is a television station licensed to Raleigh, North Carolina, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for the Research Triangle area. It is the flagship station of the locally based Capitol Broadcasting Company, which h ...

. She attended

William G. Enloe High School William G. Enloe High School, also known as Enloe Magnet High School or Enloe High School, is a public magnet high school offering Gifted & Talented and International Baccalaureate programs located in eastern Raleigh, North Carolina, United Stat ...

and graduated from Howard University, with a B.A. in political science and government in 1974.

Career

Before her career as a state legislator, she worked for the

North Carolina Department of Administration The North Carolina Department of Administration was established in 1957 and authorized by North Carolina General Statute 143B, Article 9, Paragraph 143B-366. The department provides business management to the North Carolina government. NCDOA is o ...

, division of purchase and contract, as a procurement and contract specialist. In 2020, governor

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 ...

appointed Holley to the Andrea Harris social, economic, environmental, and health equity task force.

2020 campaign for lieutenant governor

Holley unsuccessfully ran for lieutenant governor of North Carolina in the 2020 election. She placed first in the Democratic primary on March 3, 2020, but with less than the 30 percent required to avoid the possibility of a runoff. The second-place finisher,

Terry Van Duyn Teresa Van Duyn (born September 21, 1951) is a former Democratic member of the North Carolina Senate. She represented District 49, which encompasses most of Asheville and Buncombe County, North Carolina from 2014 until 2021. Early life and educ ...

, declined to call for a runoff, however, making Holley the Democratic nominee. Holley campaigned on what she called an Affordable Living Initiative (ALI), which would bring together "public/private partnerships, non-profits, urban and rural governments, legislators, environmentalists, homebuilders, and everyday citizens to help solve some of the problems that have become critical needs in communities across NC. ALI will focus on the following: attainable housing; access to affordable and healthy food; jobs (living wages, entrepreneurial, small business, and workforce development); and transportation."IndyWeek (Independent Weekly) Candidate Questionnaire: Yvonne Holley, Lieutenant Governor
/ref> Holley lost the general election to the Republican candidate, Mark Robinson, 51%-48%.

References

External links

Representative Yvonne Lewis Holley
government website
Holley for Lt. Governor
campaign website * , - 1952 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Living people Democratic Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives William G. Enloe High School alumni Howard University alumni Women state legislators in North Carolina African-American people in North Carolina politics African-American women in politics 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women {{NorthCarolina-politician-stub