SE North Carolina News

State Sen. Michael Lee (R) is seeking re-election to the North Carolina State Senate to represent District 7 for an additional two-year term. Lee will face Democrat nominee David Hill, a pediatrician, during the November 5 general election. 

The economy is one of Lee's top priorities, according to his campaign website, with some of his accomplishments including $1.2 billion in tax cuts in 2023 to help families and businesses, cutting red tape to encourage businesses and promote job growth, making the first $25,500 of annual income tax free, investing in infrastructure, and expanding job opportunities for adults with disabilities.

Lee currently serves as Chairman of the Senate Education Committee and his campaign has pledged to ensure that North Carolina's children have access to quality education. Lee has worked to increase funding for North Carolina schools — including more than $46 million for New Hanover County schools — as well as advocated for school choice and reinvestment of savings from the Opportunity Scholarship Program into public schools. Lee sponsored the Parents' Bill of Rights which is designed to enable parents to be more involved in all aspects of their children's education.

According to the Carolina Journal, Lee's challenger, Dr. David Hill, was heavily involved with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), which is a group that supports "gender-affirming healthcare" and "gender-affirming surgeries" in pediatric medicine. Dr. Hill hosted two podcasts for the group in which Hill stated that "the AAP is committed to defending the doctor patient relationship when it comes to gender affirming care" and criticized state laws that banned or limited "gender-affirming" procedures on minors. 

Lee has represented District 7 in the North Carolina State Senate since January 1, 2023. Prior to that, he represented District 9 from January 2015 to January 2019 and again from January 2021 to January 2023.