Two years ago, 209 votes decided the state Senate seat for south and east Charlotte, Matthews and Mint Hill. On Nov. 3, the same two candidates are on the ballot for it again.
Sen. Woodson Bradley, a Democrat finishing her first term, says North Carolina is a 50/50 state and its legislature should be more evenly divided. Republican Stacie McGinn, a retired lawyer and former Bank of America executive, says that as part of the majority party in Raleigh she can make a difference for the community. Republicans hold 30 of the Senate's 50 seats.
In 2024, Bradley received 62,260 votes in District 42 to McGinn's 62,051, according to the State Board of Elections' official results. Senators serve two-year terms, and the 50-member Senate and the 120-member House together write the state budget and state law.
Through June, Bradley had raised far more from donors. McGinn, who had lent her own campaign $300,000, had more cash on hand on June 30: $275,868 to Bradley's $240,069. On Oct. 19, McGinn gave her campaign another $80,000.
Woodson Bradley
Bradley, who said in September she was 53, told the Sarah Stevenson Tuesday Forum that month that she has lived in Charlotte about 25 years. She graduated from Hollins University in 1995 with a degree in economics and business administration and became a real estate agent and small business owner, according to her campaign site. The site describes her as a domestic violence survivor who sits on the planning board of the Mecklenburg County Family Justice Center, known as the Umbrella Center.
"I believe that one full-time income should yield a full-time life," Bradley said at the forum on Sept. 8. "And affordability is a real thing."
Her campaign lists three priorities: "Lowering Costs for Families," "Protecting Public Schools" and "Public Safety." On costs, the site says she wants to "reduce the financial burden on families by lowering the cost of childcare, expanding paid family and medical leave, and making everyday necessities more affordable." Bills she has sponsored, by her campaign's list, include the Safe Schools Transparency Act (SB 628), which would require schools to notify parents and law enforcement about serious threats, and the NC Victims of Crime Assistance Act (SB 719), which would create a state fund for crime victims.
She also argued for a more open Senate. "We need to have a transparent North Carolina Senate," she said, and "I think it's time hard-working regular people like me represent hard-working regular people like all of you and your families."
Her campaign site lists endorsements including the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Fraternal Order of Police, the International Association of Firefighters, the North Carolina Association of Educators and Planned Parenthood.
Stacie McGinn
McGinn graduated from Baylor University with a business degree, went to Georgetown Law at night and became a partner at the law firm Skadden, working on bank mergers and consumer protection, according to her campaign site. She later ran Bank of America's global consumer legal group and has lived in Charlotte for 21 years, the site says.
She told the same forum she is running on crime, education and the economy. "I think the passage of Iryna's Law was a critical first step to getting repeat offenders off the street," she said. Iryna's Law is a 2025 state law, House Bill 307, that changed the rules for releasing criminal defendants before trial, along with other changes to criminal law. On schools: "I do believe in the various forms of parents' choice that we have today," she said, but "we can't give up on the public school system."
Her campaign site says she will "support parental rights in their children's education, while improving overall student proficiency in reading and math, with an emphasis on early education." It also says she will support "low personal income and property taxes and reasonable regulations that attract well-paying jobs," and will "balance the benefits of economic growth with the quality of life North Carolinians treasure."
This month her campaign released a TV ad, "The Only Choice," and a second ad, "Smooth Operator." Both attack Bradley's character.
The money
Both candidates' latest full campaign finance reports, filed with the State Board of Elections in July, cover fundraising through June 30.
| Through June 30, 2026 | Woodson Bradley | Stacie McGinn |
|---|---|---|
| Total receipts for the 2026 election | $441,657 | $422,735 |
| From individual donors | $368,712 | $121,735 |
| From party committees | $43,330 | $500 |
| From other political committees | $24,873 | $0 |
| Loans | $0 | $300,000, from McGinn herself |
| Refunds, interest and other receipts | $4,743 | $500 |
| Cash on hand, June 30 | $240,069 | $275,868 |
Figures are rounded to the nearest dollar.
Not counting her own loan, McGinn's campaign had raised $122,735 for the 2026 election by June 30. Her $80,000 contribution on Oct. 19 was reported in a 48-hour notice filed Oct. 20. State law requires candidates to report any contribution of $1,000 or more within 48 hours from Oct. 18 through Nov. 3. Bradley's campaign had posted no 48-hour notices for that period as of Tuesday evening, according to the State Board's list of her campaign's filings.
Third-quarter reports, covering July 1 through Oct. 17, were due Tuesday, Oct. 27. Neither campaign's report had been posted on the State Board's site as of Tuesday evening.
Who lives in District 42
The district is entirely in Mecklenburg County. It had 209,378 residents in the 2020 census, according to the General Assembly's district statistics. About 146,000 of them live in Charlotte, and the district takes in all of Matthews and nearly all of Mint Hill, by the same figures. Its 44 precincts vote at polling places that run from Myers Park Traditional Elementary on Radcliffe Avenue and Christ Episcopal Church on Providence Road, through the SouthPark and Carmel Road areas and along Pineville-Matthews Road, to St. Matthew Catholic Church on Ballantyne Commons Parkway, Lebanon Road Elementary, Matthews Community Center and Mint Hill Town Hall. Voters can confirm their district on their sample ballot in the state's Voter Search.
How to vote
Early voting runs through 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, at 25 sites in Mecklenburg. On Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, polls are open 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and voters must go to their assigned polling place. The rest of the county's ballot is on our elections page.