North Carolina's 16th Senate district

North Carolina's 16th
State Senate district
North Carolina's 16th; State Senate district
Senator
	Gale Adcock ; D – Cary
Demographics	53% White ; 10% Black ; 8% Hispanic ; 25% Asian ; 1% Other; 4% Multiracial
Population (2023)	204,170

Last updated July 06, 2025

North Carolina's 16th Senate district is one of 50 districts in the North Carolina Senate. It has been represented by Democrat Gale Adcock since 2023.^[1]

Geography

Since 2003, the district has included part of Wake County. The district overlaps with the 11th, 40th, 41st, and 49th state house districts.

District officeholders since 1973

Multi-member district

Senator	Party	Dates	Notes	Senator	Party	Dates	Notes	Counties
William Saunders ( Southern Pines )	Democratic	January 1, 1973 – January 1, 1975	Redistricted from the 19th district.	A. B. Coleman Jr. ( Hillsborough )	Democratic	January 1, 1973 – January 1, 1975		1973–1983 All of Randolph, Moore, Chatham, and Orange counties.^[2]
Russell Walker ( Asheboro )	Democratic	January 1, 1975 – January 1, 1995	Retired.	Charles Vickery ( Chapel Hill )	Democratic	January 1, 1975 – January 1, 1983
				Wanda Hunt ( Pinehurst )	Democratic	January 1, 1983 – January 1, 1991		1983–1993 All of Randolph, Moore, and Chatham counties. Part of Orange County.^[3]
				Howard Lee ( Chapel Hill )	Democratic	January 1, 1991 – January 1, 1995	Lost re-election.
				Howard Lee ( Chapel Hill )	Democratic	January 1, 1991 – January 1, 1995	Lost re-election.	1993–2003 All of Moore, Chatham, and Orange counties. Parts of Randolph and Lee counties.^[4]
Teena Smith Little ( Southern Pines )	Republican	January 1, 1995 – January 1, 1997	Lost re-election.	Fred Hobbs ( Southern Pines )	Democratic	January 1, 1995 – January 1, 1997	Retired.
Eleanor Kinnaird ( Chapel Hill )	Democratic	January 1, 1997 – January 1, 2003	Redistricted to the 23rd district.	Howard Lee ( Chapel Hill )	Democratic	January 1, 1997 – January 1, 2003	Redistricted to the 23rd district and lost re-nomination.

Single-member district

Senator	Party	Dates	Notes	Counties
Eric Miller Reeves ( Raleigh )	Democratic	January 1, 2003 – January 1, 2005	Redistricted from the 14th district. Retired.	2003–Present Part of Wake County.^[5]^[6] ^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]
Janet Cowell ( Raleigh )	Democratic	January 1, 2005 – January 1, 2009	Retired to run for State Treasurer.
Josh Stein ( Raleigh )	Democratic	January 1, 2009 – March 21, 2016	Resigned to run for Attorney General.
Vacant		March 21, 2016 – April 19, 2016
Jay Chaudhuri ( Raleigh )	Democratic	April 19, 2016 – January 1, 2019	Appointed to finish Stein's term. Redistricted to the 15th district.
Wiley Nickel ( Cary )	Democratic	January 1, 2019 – January 1, 2023	Retired to run for Congress.
Gale Adcock ( Cary )	Democratic	January 1, 2023 – Present

Election results

2024

North Carolina Senate 16th district general election, 2024^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Gale Adcock (incumbent)	84,424	100%
Total votes			84,424	100%
	Democratic hold

2022

North Carolina Senate 16th district general election, 2022^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Gale Adcock	49,204	65.18%
	Republican	James Powers	23,161	30.68%
	Libertarian	Dee Watson	1,771	2.35%
	Green	Michael Trudeau	1,348	1.79%
Total votes			75,484	100%
	Democratic hold

2020

North Carolina Senate 16th district general election, 2020^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Wiley Nickel (incumbent)	80,530	65.65%
	Republican	Will Marsh	42,144	34.35%
Total votes			122,674	100%
	Democratic hold

2018

North Carolina Senate 16th district Democratic primary election, 2018^[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Wiley Nickel	8,585	55.48%
	Democratic	Luis Toledo	6,890	44.52%
Total votes			15,475	100%

North Carolina Senate 16th district general election, 2018^[16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Wiley Nickel	63,335	65.28%
	Republican	Paul Smith	30,308	31.24%
	Libertarian	Brian Irving	3,382	3.49%
Total votes			97,025	100%
	Democratic win (new seat)

2016

North Carolina Senate 16th district Democratic primary election, 2016^[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jay Chaudhuri	20,232	62.93%
	Democratic	Ellis Hankins	11,916	37.07%
Total votes			32,148	100%

North Carolina Senate 16th district general election, 2016^[18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jay Chaudhuri (incumbent)	68,842	65.33%
	Republican	Eric Weaver	36,530	34.67%
Total votes			105,372	100%
	Democratic hold

2014

North Carolina Senate 16th district general election, 2014^[19]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Josh Stein (incumbent)	42,422	67.11%
	Republican	Molotov Mitchell	20,791	32.89%
Total votes			63,213	100%
	Democratic hold

2012

North Carolina Senate 16th district general election, 2012^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Josh Stein (incumbent)	69,405	100%
Total votes			69,405	100%
	Democratic hold

2010

North Carolina Senate 16th district general election, 2010^[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Josh Stein (incumbent)	32,248	54.89%
	Republican	Michael Beezley	24,466	41.64%
	Libertarian	Stephanie E. Watson	2,040	3.47%
Total votes			58,754	100%
	Democratic hold

2008

North Carolina Senate 16th district Democratic primary election, 2008^[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Josh Stein	15,715	47.97%
	Democratic	Jack Nichols	13,224	40.37%
	Democratic	Mike Shea	3,822	11.67%
Total votes			32,761	100%

North Carolina Senate 16th district general election, 2008^[23]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Josh Stein	58,357	60.82%
	Republican	John Alexander	37,586	39.18%
Total votes			95,943	100%
	Democratic hold

2006

North Carolina Senate 16th district general election, 2006^[24]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Janet Cowell (incumbent)	30,330	100%
Total votes			30,330	100%
	Democratic hold

2004

North Carolina Senate 16th district Democratic primary election, 2004^[25]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Janet Cowell	5,367	49.03%
	Democratic	Jack Nichols	2,641	24.13%
	Democratic	Carter Worthy	2,136	19.51%
	Democratic	Mike Shea	802	7.33%
Total votes			10,946	100%

North Carolina Senate 16th district general election, 2004^[26]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Janet Cowell	45,396	59.44%
	Republican	Mark A. Bradick	28,995	37.97%
	Libertarian	Jason P. Mara	1,979	2.59%
Total votes			76,370	100%
	Democratic hold

2002

North Carolina Senate 16th district general election, 2002^[27]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Eric Miller Reeves (incumbent)	25,799	49.29%
	Republican	Paul Coble	25,323	48.38%
	Libertarian	Jason Mara	1,215	2.32%
Total votes			52,337	100%
	Democratic hold

2000

North Carolina Senate 16th district general election, 2000^[28]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Eleanor Kinnaird (incumbent)	68,346	27.09%
	Democratic	Howard Lee (incumbent)	65,167	25.83%
	Republican	William T. "Bill" Boyd	60,222	23.87%
	Republican	Vickie Hargrove	58,561	23.21%
Total votes			252,296	100%
	Democratic hold
	Democratic hold

References

↑ "State Senate District 16, NC". Census Reporter. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
↑ J.D. Lewis (2014). "North Carolina State Senate 1973-1974" . Retrieved July 5, 2025.
↑ J.D. Lewis (2014). "North Carolina State Senate Districts Map - 1985 to 1992" . Retrieved July 5, 2025.
↑ "1992 Senate Base Plan #6" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
↑ "Interim Senate Redistricting Plan For N.C. 2002 Elections" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
↑ "2003 Senate Redistricting Plan" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
↑ "Rucho Senate 2" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
↑ "2018 Senate Election Districts" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
↑ "2019 Senate Consensus Nonpartisan Map" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
↑ "S.L. 2022-2 Senate" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
↑ "S.L. 2023-146 Senate" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections.
↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections.
↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections.
↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections.
↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections.
↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections.
↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections.
↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections.
↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections.
↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections.
↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections.
↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections.
↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections.
↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections.
↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections.
↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections.
↑ "NC State Senate 16". Our Campaigns. Retrieved June 2, 2022.

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[1] "State Senate District 16, NC". Census Reporter. Retrieved January 17, 2025.

[2] J.D. Lewis (2014). "North Carolina State Senate 1973-1974" . Retrieved July 5, 2025.

[3] J.D. Lewis (2014). "North Carolina State Senate Districts Map - 1985 to 1992" . Retrieved July 5, 2025.

[4] "1992 Senate Base Plan #6" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved June 2, 2022.

[5] "Interim Senate Redistricting Plan For N.C. 2002 Elections" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved June 2, 2022.

[6] "2003 Senate Redistricting Plan" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved June 2, 2022.

[7] "Rucho Senate 2" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved June 2, 2022.

[8] "2018 Senate Election Districts" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved June 2, 2022.

[9] "2019 Senate Consensus Nonpartisan Map" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved June 2, 2022.

[10] "S.L. 2022-2 Senate" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved December 16, 2022.

[11] "S.L. 2023-146 Senate" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved January 17, 2025.

[12] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[13] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[14] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[15] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[16] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[17] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[18] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[19] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[20] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[21] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[22] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[23] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[24] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[25] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[26] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[27] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[28] "NC State Senate 16". Our Campaigns. Retrieved June 2, 2022.

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v t e Members of the North Carolina State Senate
157th General Assembly (2025–2026) President of the Senate Rachel Hunt (D) President pro tempore Phil Berger (R) Majority Leader Michael Lee (R) Minority Leader Sydney Batch (D)
▌ Bobby Hanig (R) ▌ Norman Sanderson (R) ▌ Bob Brinson (R) ▌ Buck Newton (R) ▌ Kandie Smith (D) ▌ Michael Lazzara (R) ▌ Michael Lee (R) ▌ Bill Rabon (R) ▌ Brent Jackson (R) ▌ Benton Sawrey (R) ▌ Lisa Stone Barnes (R) ▌ Jim Burgin (R) ▌ Lisa Grafstein (D) ▌ Dan Blue (D) ▌ Jay Chaudhuri (D) ▌ Gale Adcock (D) ▌ Sydney Batch (D) ▌ Terence Everitt (D) ▌ Val Applewhite (D) ▌ Natalie Murdock (D) ▌ Tom McInnis (R) ▌ Sophia Chitlik (D) ▌ Graig Meyer (D) ▌ Danny Britt (R) ▌ Amy Galey (R) ▌ Phil Berger (R) ▌ Michael Garrett (D) ▌ Gladys Robinson (D) ▌ Dave Craven (R) ▌ Steve Jarvis (R) ▌ Dana Caudill Jones (R) ▌ Paul Lowe Jr. (D) ▌ Carl Ford (R) ▌ Chris Measmer (R) ▌ Todd Johnson (R) ▌ Eddie Settle (R) ▌ Vickie Sawyer (R) ▌ Mujtaba Mohammed (D) ▌ DeAndrea Salvador (D) ▌ Joyce Waddell (D) ▌ Caleb Theodros (D) ▌ Woodson Bradley (D) ▌ Brad Overcash (R) ▌ Ted Alexander (R) ▌ Mark Hollo (R) ▌ Warren Daniel (R) ▌ Ralph Hise (R) ▌ Tim Moffitt (R) ▌ Julie Mayfield (D) ▌ Kevin Corbin (R)
▌ Republican (30) ▌ Democratic (20) North Carolina General Assembly North Carolina House of Representatives North Carolina Senate