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Lisa Grafstein

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Lisa Grafstein
Member of the North Carolina Senate
from the 13th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 1, 2023
Preceded byConstituency established
Personal details
Born (1966-09-07) September 7, 1966 (age 58)
Political partyDemocratic
EducationNorthwestern University (BA)
University of North Carolina School of Law (JD)

Lisa Grafstein (born 1966) is an American lawyer and politician serving as a member of the North Carolina Senate from the 13th district since 2023. She is a civil rights attorney specializing in employment law. She was the litigation counsel of Disability Rights North Carolina. As of 2023, she is the only out LGBTQ North Carolina state senator.

Life

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Grafstein was born in 1965 or 1966.[1] She earned a B.A. in English from Northwestern University.[1][2] In 1993, while completing law school, Grafstein spoke in support of gay rights.[2] She completed a J.D. from University of North Carolina School of Law.[1]

Grafstein is a civil rights attorney from Raleigh, North Carolina.[3][2] She specializes in employment law.[4] In 2022, she was working as the litigation counsel of a nonprofit organization, Disability Rights North Carolina.[1][3]

A Democrat, Grafstein ran successfully in the 2022 North Carolina Senate election for the 13th district. She defeated city council member Patrick Buffkin in the primary election and retired engineer David Bankert and political scientist Michael Munger in the general election.[3] On March 7, 2023, she introduced Bill 225 aimed at permitting North Carolina municipalities to enact rent regulation.[5] In June 2023, she expressed skepticism over a proposal to introduce a photo ID requirement for all voters including by mail.[6] She also worried about the potential impacts of a fast-moving bill to legalize video sports gambling.[6] In July 2023, she opposed the Republican-led ban on gender-affirming care.[7] As of 2023, she is the only out LGBTQ North Carolina state senator.[7]

Electoral history

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North Carolina Senate 13th district Democratic primary election, 2022[8]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Lisa Grafstein 11,931 66.59%
Democratic Patrick Buffkin 5,987 33.41%
Total votes 17,918 100%
North Carolina Senate 13th district general election, 2022[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Lisa Grafstein 50,937 62.34%
Republican David Bankert 28,001 34.27%
Libertarian Michael Munger 2,769 3.39%
Total votes 81,707 100%
Democratic win (new seat)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Ingram, Kyle (October 8, 2022). "Lisa Grafstein, candidate for NC Senate District 13". The News & Observer. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
  2. ^ a b c "Neighbors part 2 N&O 4/25/1993". The News and Observer. 1993-04-25. p. 72. Retrieved 2023-08-17.
  3. ^ a b c "Our choices for state Senate in Wake County". The Herald-Sun. 2022-10-27. pp. A7. Retrieved 2023-08-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Biesecker, Michael (2009-12-18). "Rand did no wrong, report to LEA finds". The News and Observer. p. 23. Retrieved 2023-08-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Ramsey, Mary (2023-03-30). "Bill proposed in state Senate would legalize rent control". The Charlotte Observer. pp. A7. Retrieved 2023-08-17 – via Newspaper.com.
  6. ^ a b Henkel, Clayton (2023-06-12). "Senator Lisa Grafstein shares her worries about proposed election law changes". NC Newsline. Retrieved 2023-08-17.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  7. ^ a b Schoenbaum, Hannah (2023-08-16). "Veto overridden: Ban on gender-affirming care for minors takes effect in North Carolina". AP News. Retrieved 2023-08-17.
  8. ^ [1] North Carolina State Board of Elections.
  9. ^ [2] North Carolina State Board of Elections.
[edit]
North Carolina Senate
Preceded by Member of the North Carolina Senate
from the 13th district
2023–present 		Incumbent
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