Stacie McGinn, a Republican attorney and party official, is certified for the 2026 general election for North Carolina State Senate District 42. She faces Democrat Woodson Bradley, who defeated her in the Nov. 5, 2024, general election by a margin of 50.1% to 49.9%, with 124,311 total votes cast, according to Ballotpedia.

This is a rematch.

Candidate information

  • Party: Republican
  • Office sought: North Carolina State Senate, District 42
  • Election date: Nov. 3, 2026
  • Education: Bachelor of business administration in economics/finance, Baylor University, 1981, according to McGinn's iVoterGuide profile. Juris doctor, Georgetown University Law Center, 1990, according to BallotReady.
  • Professional background: McGinn said she served as general counsel and board of elections liaison for the Mecklenburg County GOP. BallotReady lists her as general counsel for the Republican Party of North Carolina beginning in 2023. She previously worked as deputy general counsel for global consumer and small business banking at Bank of America from 2004 to 2011, and as a partner in the financial institutions group at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom from 1990 to 2004, according to BallotReady.

Experience and public service

McGinn said she is a member of the Republican Women of Greater Charlotte. BallotReady lists her as a director and finance committee chairman of the Charlotte Symphony from 2015 to 2018. She also worked as a partner in the financial institutions group at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett from 2011 to 2013, and has served as a director and advisor since 2013, according to BallotReady.

McGinn won the March 5, 2024, Republican primary for District 42, defeating Jaime Daniell with 51.7% of the vote (11,336 votes to Daniell's 10,584 votes), according to Ballotpedia.

On the issues

The following positions are McGinn's own stated views, drawn from her campaign website and iVoterGuide responses.

Education and school choice: McGinn said she supports school choice and North Carolina's Opportunity Scholarship program. She said the state should fund education by allowing dollars to follow the child, whether to public, private or homeschool settings. She said she supports parental involvement, high academic standards and opportunities for technical training and apprenticeships.

Economy and regulation: McGinn said excessive government regulation "may be the single greatest barrier to American prosperity." She said the state should focus on creating jobs and lowering costs for families. She said corporate executives and fund managers should stay out of politics, and that any fund manager of North Carolina funds using environmental, social and governance ratings should be replaced.

Public safety: McGinn said strong law enforcement is essential to community safety. She said she supports the rights of qualified, law-abiding citizens to own guns and that current background-check laws should apply to all gun sales. She said more needs to be done to keep guns away from children and people with mental illness.

Elections: McGinn said election integrity is critically important. She said that as general counsel of the Mecklenburg County GOP, she led an effort to place 30 new Republican poll judges and increased Republican poll judges approved by the board of elections by 11%. She said absentee mail voting should be limited to voters meeting specific criteria such as age 65 and older, those who are sick or disabled, those expecting to give birth, or those expecting to be absent from the county.

Healthcare: McGinn said she leans toward keeping Medicaid and Medicare available but does not see other taxpayer-funded health programs as necessary. She said she is realistic that the Affordable Care Act is here to stay. She said government medical insurance programs need to eliminate fraud, waste and abuse, and that government-mandated vaccinations during COVID led to job and learning losses.

Endorsements

McGinn has been endorsed by Tariq Bokhari, Charlotte City Council District 6 member, according to her iVoterGuide profile.

The Ballantyne Beacon invited McGinn to complete a candidate questionnaire. This profile will be updated if a response is received. Voters can find more information on McGinn's campaign website and Ballotpedia page.