Last week, Carolina Journal reported on how Mecklenburg County’s only remaining state House seat represented by a Republican, out of 13 districts, was a toss-up, putting the GOP at risk of being completely shut out of the state’s second-most-populous county. But Wake County, North Carolina’s most-populous county, is seeing a similar dynamic, with the two remaining Republican seats, held by NC House Reps. Mike Schietzelt and Erin Paré, anticipated to be close races this November.
Schietzelt represents the 35th district, while Paré represents the 37th district; both are R+0 districts according to the 2026 Civitas Partisan Index (CPI) from the John Locke Foundation.
“Paré & Schietzelt’s districts are the last bastion of Republican representation in Wake County’s 14-member House delegation,” Andy Jackson, director of the Civitas Center for Public Integrity at the John Locke Foundation, told the Carolina Journal. “However, like other Republican-held districts on the edge of urban areas, those districts are trending towards the Democrats. Both districts went from R+3 in 2024 to R+0 this year (R+0 means the district leans Republican by less than half a percentage point).”
Paré has been representing the 37th district in the House since 2021 and is currently serving her third term. She is running against Democrat Winn Decker in the general election this fall.
Schietzelt and Paré have allied this session on many bills, co-sponsoring bills like No Tax on Tips, Overtime, Bonus Pay (HB 11), The NC Farmland and Military Protection Act (HB 133), and many more.
“House District 35 has seen real results over the past 18 months, and I’m proud to stand on that record heading into November,” Schietzelt told the Carolina Journal. “Capital Blvd’s redesign is moving forward without tolls. The county has paused the WakeMed-Atrium merger to give the public time to understand what the deal means for patients. In February, Wake Forest and Rolesville received more than $8.5 million for new park projects. I fought alongside my district for each of these victories. I’ve also spearheaded legislation to pay our teachers more, keep drunk drivers off our streets, and remove regulatory barriers for small businesses.”
Currently serving his first term in the House, which began in January 2025, Scheitzelt is defending his seat against Democrat Evonne Hopkins in the general election. Most recently, on April 21, he introduced HB 1032, a bill that would repeal the 2% sales tax on groceries, on which Paré is also a primary sponsor.
“This session, we’re working on a bill to lower energy bills by requiring Duke Energy to share fuel cost risk rather than passing 100% of overruns to ratepayers, as well as a bill to remove sales taxes on family essentials, said Schietzelt. “My team and I have been present around the district, knocking on doors and talking with neighbors. We’ve heard overwhelmingly positive things about our work regardless of the national environment. I look forward to speaking with thousands of voters between now and November.”
Schietzelt is also a sponsor of HB 87, the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA). In August, Gov. Josh Stein vetoed HB 87, which currently sits on the House calendar for a veto override vote.
Paré is also the primary sponsor of HB 1089, introduced on April 28. The bill that would place a constitutional amendment on the ballot in the general election this fall, capping how much local governments can grow property tax revenues.
“Both representatives have shown they can win competitive races, but this midterm election might be their toughest challenge yet. The president’s party tends to do poorly across the ballot in midterms,” said Jackson.
Of the 120 seats in the NC House, 37 are considered safely Democratic, with another six leaning likely Democratic and four leaning Democratic, according to the CPI. Seven races are rated as toss-ups. On the Republican side, 15 seats lean Republican, 10 are likely Republican, and 41 are considered safely Republican.