On today’s show, a conversation with Rebecca Trammel — a nonprofit founder, community organizer, and advocate for public education funding — who aims to run as an unaffiliated candidate for North Carolina’s Senate District 7, which covers most of New Hanover County, except for a small notch of downtown Wilmington.
In order to get on the general election ballot in November, Trammel needs to have a petition signed by 4% of the registered voters of District 7, that’s about 7,000 names. The petition is due by noon on Tuesday, March 3 — primarily election day. So, in a sense, Trammel is in a one-person primary race.
If Trammel can get enough signatures, she’ll face Democrat Jessica Bichler, a small-business owner and relative newcomer to politics, and incumbent Republican Michael Lee, one of the most powerful people in Raleigh. Neither Bichler nor Lee a have primary opponent.
Based on the past few elections, the race for the District 7 Senate seat will be hard-fought and expensive. In 2024, we saw millions of dollars from both Republican and Democratic parties pour into New Hanover County.
Trammel has positioned herself as a voice for the politically unaffiliated — the largest single group of voters, both in the state and here locally — a group she says has rejected both parties for failing to truly represent them. We sat down with her in the WHQR studios to talk about how her policy positions fit into North Carolina’s complicated, and sometimes polarizing, environment.
You can find Trammel's campaign site here and reach the campaign for more information at info@runwithrebecca.com.
Trammel's campaign bio:
Rebecca Trammel is a nonprofit founder, community organizer, and civic leader rooted in Wilmington and New Hanover County. In 2014, she co-founded Ruthie Trammel’s Champions for Compassion to honor her mother’s legacy by promoting recovery, mental health, and hope for families in crisis.
Rebecca emerged as a key leader during Hurricane Florence, serving as a founding partner of the New Hanover Disaster Coalition and co-chair of Communications and Advocacy. She coordinated private airlift missions with Operation AirDrop, built a 12-site distribution network, and helped establish three multi-agency resource centers in partnership with local government, nonprofits and FEMA.
As Lead Advocate at Community Conversations, Rebecca champions equity and excellence in public education and leads the statewide #IAmLeandro Campaign, calling for full funding of North Carolina’s constitutional obligation to its students. She has been recognized with the Wilma Woman to Watch Award and the YWCA Women of Achievement Award, and was appointed to the NC MLK Commission by Governor Roy Cooper.
