Ben Clark (politician)

Ben Clark
Ben Clark
Member of the North Carolina Senate; from the 21st district
	In office; January 1, 2013 – January 1, 2023
Preceded by	Eric Mansfield
Succeeded by	Danny Britt (Redistricting)
Personal details
Born	1959 (age 64–65); Fort Bragg, North Carolina, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Education	North Carolina A&T State University (BS); Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville (MBA); George Washington University (GrDip)
Website	Official website

Ben Clark is an American politician who served in the North Carolina Senate from the 21st district (representing constituents in Hoke and Cumberland counties) from 2013 to 2023.^[1]^[2] He also served as secretary of the Senate Democratic caucus.^[3] On September 20, 2021, Clark announced he wouldn't seek re-election in 2022.^[4] On November 22, 2021, Clark announced he would run for the congress in the newly-drawn NC-09 Congressional district.^[5]

NC Senate

During five terms in the NC Senate, Clark has made his focus supporting the military, expanding healthcare access, and providing every child with a sound education. Clark led the effort to reopen NC schools after COVID-19 rates fell. He was 1 of 4 Democratic conferees on the 2021 budget that repealed NC taxes on military retirement income^[6]

Electoral history

2020

North Carolina Senate 21st district general election, 2020^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ben Clark (incumbent)	50,105	68.02%
	Republican	Sev Palacios	23,557	31.98%
Total votes			73,662	100%
	Democratic hold

2018

North Carolina Senate 21st district Democratic primary election, 2018^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ben Clark (incumbent)	6,491	55.63%
	Democratic	Naveed Aziz	5,177	44.37%
Total votes			11,668	100%

North Carolina Senate 21st district general election, 2018^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ben Clark (incumbent)	33,238	70.94%
	Republican	Timothy Leever	13,616	29.06%
Total votes			46,854	100%
	Democratic hold

2016

North Carolina Senate 21st district Democratic primary election, 2016^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ben Clark (incumbent)	11,736	49.80%
	Democratic	Naveed Aziz	10,432	44.27%
	Democratic	Eronomy Neon (Mohammed) Smith	1,398	5.93%
Total votes			23,566	100%

North Carolina Senate 21st district general election, 2016^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ben Clark (incumbent)	49,081	71.74%
	Republican	Dan Travieso	19,338	28.26%
Total votes			68,419	100%
	Democratic hold

2014

North Carolina Senate 21st district Democratic primary election, 2014^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ben Clark (incumbent)	6,421	55.68%
	Democratic	Billy R. King	3,860	33.47%
	Democratic	Sylvia Adamczyk	766	6.64%
	Democratic	Eronomy (Mohammed) Smith	484	4.20%
Total votes			11,531	100%

North Carolina Senate 21st district general election, 2014^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ben Clark (incumbent)	31,663	100%
Total votes			31,663	100%
	Democratic hold

2012

North Carolina Senate 21st district Democratic primary election, 2012^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Billy R. King	4,353	24.46%
	Democratic	Ben Clark	3,525	19.81%
	Democratic	Larry Shaw	3,523	19.79%
	Democratic	Curtis Worthy	3,385	19.02%
	Democratic	Allen Thomas, Jr.	2,489	13.98%
	Democratic	Eronomy (Mohammed) Smith	523	2.94%
Total votes			17,798	100%

North Carolina Senate 21st district Democratic primary run-off election, 2012^[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ben Clark	2,436	59.88%
	Democratic	Billy R. King	1,632	40.12%
Total votes			4,068	100%

North Carolina Senate 21st district general election, 2012^[16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ben Clark	57,805	100%
Total votes			57,805	100%
	Democratic hold

References

^ "North Carolina General Assembly - Senator Ben Clark (Democrat, 2017-2018 Session)". Ncleg.net. Retrieved 2017-10-07.
^ Ovaska, Sarah (2013-03-04). "The Class of 2013 - Senator Ben Clark". NC Policy Watch. Retrieved 2017-10-07.
^ Twitter account of NC Senate Democrats
^ Travis Fain (September 20, 2021). "Cumberland County state senator won't seek re-election". Capitol Broadcasting Company, Inc.
^ Associated Press (November 23, 2021). "NC Lawmakers John Szoka, Ben Clark Launch Congressional Bids". US News.
^ "Military Retirement".
^ [1] North Carolina State Board of Elections.
^ [2] North Carolina State Board of Elections.
^ [3] North Carolina State Board of Elections.
^ [4] North Carolina State Board of Elections.
^ [5] North Carolina State Board of Elections.
^ [6] North Carolina State Board of Elections.
^ [7] North Carolina State Board of Elections.
^ [8] North Carolina State Board of Elections.
^ [9] North Carolina State Board of Elections.
^ [10] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

External links

Ben Clark for Congress campaign website
Senator Ben Clark official legislative website

North Carolina Senate
Preceded by Eric Mansfield	Member of the North Carolina Senate from the 21st district 2013–2023	Succeeded by Tom McInnis

[1] "North Carolina General Assembly - Senator Ben Clark (Democrat, 2017-2018 Session)". Ncleg.net. Retrieved 2017-10-07.

[2] Ovaska, Sarah (2013-03-04). "The Class of 2013 - Senator Ben Clark". NC Policy Watch. Retrieved 2017-10-07.

[3] Twitter account of NC Senate Democrats

[4] Travis Fain (September 20, 2021). "Cumberland County state senator won't seek re-election". Capitol Broadcasting Company, Inc.

[5] Associated Press (November 23, 2021). "NC Lawmakers John Szoka, Ben Clark Launch Congressional Bids". US News.

[6] "Military Retirement".

[7] [1] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[8] [2] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[9] [3] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[10] [4] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[11] [5] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[12] [6] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[13] [7] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[14] [8] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[15] [9] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[16] [10] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

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v t e Members of the North Carolina State Senate
156th General Assembly (2023–2024) President of the Senate Mark Robinson (R) President pro tempore Phil Berger (R) Majority Leader Paul Newton (R) Minority Leader Dan Blue (D)
▌Norman Sanderson (R) ▌Bob Brinson (R) ▌Bobby Hanig (R) ▌Buck Newton (R) ▌Kandie Smith (D) ▌Michael Lazzara (R) ▌Michael Lee (R) ▌Bill Rabon (R) ▌Brent Jackson (R) ▌Benton Sawrey (R) ▌Lisa Stone Barnes (R) ▌Jim Burgin (R) ▌Lisa Grafstein (D) ▌Dan Blue (D) ▌Jay Chaudhuri (D) ▌Gale Adcock (D) ▌Sydney Batch (D) ▌Mary Wills Bode (D) ▌Val Applewhite (D) ▌Natalie Murdock (D) ▌Tom McInnis (R) ▌Mike Woodard (D) ▌Graig Meyer (D) ▌Danny Britt (R) ▌Amy Galey (R) ▌Phil Berger (R) ▌Michael Garrett (D) ▌Gladys Robinson (D) ▌Dave Craven (R) ▌Steve Jarvis (R) ▌Joyce Krawiec (R) ▌Paul Lowe Jr. (D) ▌Carl Ford (R) ▌Paul Newton (R) ▌Todd Johnson (R) ▌Eddie Settle (R) ▌Vickie Sawyer (R) ▌Mujtaba Mohammed (D) ▌DeAndrea Salvador (D) ▌Joyce Waddell (D) ▌Natasha Marcus (D) ▌Rachel Hunt (D) ▌Brad Overcash (R) ▌Ted Alexander (R) ▌Dean Proctor (R) ▌Warren Daniel (R) ▌Ralph Hise (R) ▌Tim Moffitt (R) ▌Julie Mayfield (D) ▌Kevin Corbin (R)
▌Republican (30) ▌Democratic (20) North Carolina General Assembly North Carolina House of Representatives North Carolina Senate