North Carolina's 51st House district

North Carolina's 51st State
House of Representatives
district
North Carolina's 51st State; House of Representatives; district
Representative
	John Sauls ; R – Sanford
Demographics	61% White ; 16% Black ; 18% Hispanic ; 1% Asian ; 4% Multiracial
Population (2020)	84,450

Last updated December 24, 2025

North Carolina's 51st House district is one of 120 districts in the North Carolina House of Representatives. It has been represented by Republican John Sauls since 2017.^[1]

Geography

Since 2023, the district has included all of Lee County, as well as part of Moore County. The district overlaps with the 12th and 21st Senate districts.

District officeholders

Multi-member district

Representative	Party	Dates	Notes	Representative	Party	Dates	Notes	Representative	Party	Dates	Notes	Representative	Party	Dates	Notes	Counties
District created January 1, 1983.																1983–1993 All of Buncombe and Transylvania counties. Part of Henderson County.^[2]
Marie Colton ( Asheville )	Democratic	January 1, 1983 – January 1, 1995	Redistricted from the 43rd district.	Martin Nesbitt ( Asheville )	Democratic	January 1, 1983 – January 1, 1995	Redistricted from the 43rd district. Lost re-election.	Narvel Crawford ( Asheville )	Democratic	January 1, 1983 – January 1, 1995	Redistricted from the 43rd district.	Gordon Greenwood ( Black Mountain )	Democratic	January 1, 1983 – January 1, 1993	Redistricted from the 43rd district.
Marie Colton ( Asheville )	Democratic	January 1, 1983 – January 1, 1995	Redistricted from the 43rd district.	Martin Nesbitt ( Asheville )	Democratic	January 1, 1983 – January 1, 1995	Redistricted from the 43rd district. Lost re-election.	Narvel Crawford ( Asheville )	Democratic	January 1, 1983 – January 1, 1995	Redistricted from the 43rd district.					1993–2003 Part of Buncombe County.^[3]
Wilma Sherill ( Asheville )	Republican	January 1, 1995 – January 1, 2003	Redistricted to the 116th district.	Larry Linney ( Asheville )	Republican	January 1, 1995 – January 1, 1997	Lost re-election.	Lanier Cansler ( Asheville )	Republican	January 1, 1995 – April 8, 2001	Resigned.
				Martin Nesbitt ( Asheville )	Democratic	January 1, 1997 – January 1, 2003	Redistricted to the 114th district.	Lanier Cansler ( Asheville )	Republican	January 1, 1995 – April 8, 2001	Resigned.
								Vacant		April 8, 2001 – April 11, 2001
								Mark Crawford ( Montreat )	Republican	April 11, 2001 – January 1, 2003	Appointed to finish Cansler's term. Redistricted to the 115th district and lost re-election.

Single-member district

Representative	Party	Dates	Notes	Counties
John Sauls ( Sanford )	Republican	January 1, 2003 – January 1, 2007	Retired.	2003–2005 All of Lee County. Parts of Harnett and Moore counties.^[4]
John Sauls ( Sanford )	Republican	January 1, 2003 – January 1, 2007	Retired.	2005–2013 All of Lee County. Part of Harnett County.^[5]
Jimmy Love Sr. ( Sanford )	Democratic	January 1, 2007 – January 1, 2011	Lost re-election.
Mike Stone ( Sanford )	Republican	January 1, 2011 – January 1, 2015	Lost re-election.
Mike Stone ( Sanford )	Republican	January 1, 2011 – January 1, 2015	Lost re-election.	2013–2019 Parts of Lee and Harnett counties.^[6]
Brad Salmon ( Mamers )	Democratic	January 1, 2015 – January 1, 2017	Lost re-election.
John Sauls ( Sanford )	Republican	January 1, 2017 – Present
				2019–2023 All of Lee County. Part of Harnett County.^[7]^[8]
				2023–Present All of Lee County Part of Moore County.^[9]^[10]

Election results

2024

North Carolina House of Representatives 51st district general election, 2024^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Sauls (incumbent)	25,829	64.30%
	Democratic	Ginger Bauerband	14,339	35.70%
Total votes			40,168	100%
	Republican hold

2022

North Carolina House of Representatives 51st district general election, 2022^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Sauls (incumbent)	16,973	64.98%
	Democratic	Malcolm Hall	9,147	35.02%
Total votes			26,120	100%
	Republican hold

2020

North Carolina House of Representatives 51st district general election, 2020
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Sauls (incumbent)	22,628	57.33%
	Democratic	Jason Cain	16,841	42.67%
Total votes			39,469	100%
	Republican hold

2018

North Carolina House of Representatives 51st district general election, 2018^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Sauls (incumbent)	13,707	52.79%
	Democratic	Lisa D. Mathis	12,259	47.21%
Total votes			25,966	100%
	Republican hold

2016

North Carolina House of Representatives 51st district general election, 2016^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Sauls	17,904	55.66%
	Democratic	Brad Salmon (incumbent)	14,262	44.34%
Total votes			32,166	100%
	Republican gain from Democratic

2014

North Carolina House of Representatives 51st district general election, 2014^[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Brad Salmon	10,755	53.94%
	Republican	Mike Stone (incumbent)	9,182	46.06%
Total votes			19,937	100%
	Democratic gain from Republican

2012

North Carolina House of Representatives 51st district general election, 2012^[16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Stone (incumbent)	15,764	52.03%
	Democratic	W. P. "Bill" Tatum	14,533	47.97%
Total votes			30,297	100%
	Republican hold

2010

North Carolina House of Representatives 51st district general election, 2010^[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Stone	10,793	53.53%
	Democratic	Jimmy Love Sr. (incumbent)	9,370	46.47%
Total votes			20,163	100%
	Republican gain from Democratic

2008

North Carolina House of Representatives 51st district general election, 2008^[18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jimmy Love Sr. (incumbent)	19,231	59.18%
	Republican	Linda Shook	13,264	40.82%
Total votes			32,495	100%
	Democratic hold

2006

North Carolina House of Representatives 51st district Republican primary election, 2006^[19]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tim McNeill	1,121	59.09%
	Republican	Bobby Ray Hall	776	40.91%
Total votes			1,897	100%

North Carolina House of Representatives 51st district general election, 2006^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jimmy Love Sr.	8,724	54.16%
	Republican	Tim McNeill	7,383	45.84%
Total votes			16,107	100%
	Democratic gain from Republican

2004

North Carolina House of Representatives 51st district general election, 2004^[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Sauls (incumbent)	13,255	50.74%
	Democratic	Leslie Cox	12,869	49.26%
Total votes			26,124	100%
	Republican hold

2002

North Carolina House of Representatives 51st district general election, 2002^[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Sauls	8,500	51.14%
	Democratic	Leslie Cox (incumbent)	7,819	47.04%
	Libertarian	Mark Jackson	302	1.82%
Total votes			16,621	100%
	Republican gain from Democratic

2000

North Carolina House of Representatives 51st district Democratic primary election, 2000^[23]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Martin Nesbitt (incumbent)	9,617	31.76%
	Democratic	Barbara Field	8,668	28.62%
	Democratic	J. Ray Elingburg	7,520	24.83%
	Democratic	C. Michael Morgan	4,477	14.78%
Total votes			30,282	100%

North Carolina House of Representatives 51st district general election, 2000^[24]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Wilma Sherrill (incumbent)	41,402	19.18%
	Democratic	Martin Nesbitt (incumbent)	38,594	17.88%
	Republican	Lanier Cansler (incumbent)	38,041	17.63%
	Democratic	Barbara Field	32,224	14.93%
	Democratic	J. Ray Elingburg	29,951	13.88%
	Republican	Betty B. Williams	28,384	13.15%
	Reform	Kristina Michele Murphy	3,593	1.67%
	Reform	Lance Kurland	1,836	0.85%
	Reform	Jerold F. Johnson	1,811	0.84%
Total votes			215,836	100%
	Republican hold
	Democratic hold
	Republican hold

References

↑ "State House District 51, NC". Census Reporter. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
↑ J. D. Lewis (2014). "North Carolina State House of Representatives Districts Map - 1985 to 1992" . Retrieved August 19, 2022.
↑ "1992 House Base Plan 5" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
↑ "Interim House Redistricting Plan For N.C. 2002 Election" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
↑ "House Redistricting Plan" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
↑ "Lewis-Dollar-Dockham 4" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
↑ "2018 House Election Districts" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
↑ "HB 1020, 2nd Edition - 2019 House Remedial Map" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
↑ "S.L. 2022-4 House" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
↑ "SS.L. 2023-149 House" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved April 20, 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.
↑ "NC State House 051 - D Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
↑ "NC State House 051". Our Campaigns. Retrieved August 19, 2022.

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[1] "State House District 51, NC". Census Reporter. Retrieved April 20, 2025.

[2] J. D. Lewis (2014). "North Carolina State House of Representatives Districts Map - 1985 to 1992" . Retrieved August 19, 2022.

[3] "1992 House Base Plan 5" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved August 19, 2022.

[4] "Interim House Redistricting Plan For N.C. 2002 Election" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved August 19, 2022.

[5] "House Redistricting Plan" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved August 19, 2022.

[6] "Lewis-Dollar-Dockham 4" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved August 18, 2022.

[7] "2018 House Election Districts" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved August 19, 2022.

[8] "HB 1020, 2nd Edition - 2019 House Remedial Map" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved August 19, 2022.

[9] "S.L. 2022-4 House" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved August 19, 2022.

[10] "SS.L. 2023-149 House" (PDF). North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved April 20, 2025.

[11] North Carolina State Board of Elections.

[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] "NC State House 051 - D Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved August 19, 2022.

[24] "NC State House 051". Our Campaigns. Retrieved August 19, 2022.

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