Henderson Mayor Melissa Elliott filed Thursday to run for the N.C. State House.
Elliott confirmed with WIZS News that she filed as a Democrat; at present, she is the lone Democrat filer for the District 32 House seat.
“We’ve still got another day,” Elliott said in an interview late Thursday afternoon. “I’ve heard another candidate may be coming out of Oxford.” Individuals have until 12 noon tomorrow – Friday, Dec. 19 – to file for the March 2026 primary.
“I’m excited,” Elliott said, to announce her candidacy. “I’m going to run a clean race, in spite of all the dirty things they’ve said about me. I’m just going to be Melissa Elliott, and I feel like all of this was training for me to have super, super thick skin so no matter what people say, I can still fight for people that don’t necessarily fight for me.”
She described herself as an advocate for people, having worked “tirelessly” for 18 years in the local community. And she’s been thinking about running for a higher office for some time.
“Honestly, I started thinking about it the day I won the mayor’s seat,” Elliott said. “Because I know that at the end of the day, I’m going to have a wider reach. I’m policy driven. I know I don’t have a vote here and may not have a lot of pull once I get there, but I think you work your way up the ladder.”
She credits her resiliency and her love for people and for Vance County as reasons she decided to run.
“I believe I can do a great job on the state level. I’ve been thinking about it for two years. I got sidetracked or derailed with all of the public scrutiny and then I said to myself, ‘you’ve never let anybody or anything stop you before,’” so she decided to make her move.
“I want to make a difference,” she explained. “If I can’t do it here, then maybe I can do it there. I’m trying. I’m definitely trying.”
So far, two candidates have filed for the Republican primary for the District 32 seat – Frank Sossamon and Pamela Michele Ayscue. The primary election takes place on Mar. 3, 2026.
