Political newcomer Winn Decker soundly defeated his opponents in the three-way Democratic primary for state House District 37 on Tuesday, earning just over 50% of the vote. He will face off against three-term incumbent Republican Erin Paré in November in what’s sure to be an expensive and contentious general election.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to flip this seat,” he said on a phone call with INDY Wednesday morning.
Decker is a 33-year-old education policy strategist who lives in Fuquay-Varina. An alum of the Hunt Institute with a PhD in public administration from NC State University, he currently works for the Common App, the non-profit college application platform. His state house campaign is focused on education and affordability, and he’s billed himself as a pragmatist who knows the ins and outs of state politics and is willing to work across the aisle. This is his first run for office.
“I am deeply honored to have the trust of voters,” Decker said in a press release after results came in. “This campaign has been about making life more affordable for residents, strengthening our public schools, and creating a community where families can thrive. I am thankful to all of the supporters, volunteers and neighbors who believe we can do better.”
Decker’s opponents, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill law professor Marcus Gadson and information technology consultant Ralph Clements, received 38 and 12% of the vote, respectively. The cumulative turnout of 9,359 voters was 75% higher than the last competitive District 37 Democratic primary in 2022, when 5,362 people voted.
“We all were focused on the same ideas and priorities,” Decker said of Gadson and Clements. “It just shows that there’s a real energy for Democrats in southern Wake County.”
Gadson, who campaigned on ending gerrymandering and restoring trust in the state’s democratic processes, congratulated Decker in a video posted to Facebook Wednesday morning.
“Winn has my complete and total endorsement in the general election,” Gadson said. “Let me … ask my supporters to pray for Winn, and for his Republican opponent, Representative Erin Paré. … Pray for their physical safety and their mental health, pray that this community treats them with kindness and respect.”
District 37 covers Fuquay-Varina and most of Holly Springs, two former Republican strongholds that have turned bluer as they grow incrementally bigger, more educated, and more diverse. Last year, both towns ousted their Republican incumbent mayors by wide margins. Holly Springs just approved Wake County’s nondiscrimination ordinance, which helps protect residents from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, after holding out for years.
The November matchup between Decker and Paré will test whether the incumbent’s right-wing politics still resonate in her changing district. This legislative session, she’s sponsored or supported bills to ban transgender schoolkids from competing on women’s sports teams, remove Planned Parenthood from Medicaid coverage, require local law enforcement compliance with federal immigration agents, expand the state auditor’s powers, require schools to post online catalogs of all the books in their libraries, and define gender as male or female without any acknowledgment of transgender or nonbinary identities.
Paré’s Republican colleagues in the General Assembly have redrawn District 37’s boundaries twice since she was first elected in 2020, but it remains competitive, and she’s only ever won by about 3,000 votes or a handful of percentage points. The Civitas Partisan Index, created by the conservative John Locke Foundation, classifies the district R+0, a true toss-up—down from R+3 in 2024. Decker is running an energetic campaign of doorknocking, house parties, and community appearances. In January, he said his team had talked to more than 2,000 voters.
David McLennan, a political science professor at Meredith College, told INDY in February that state Republicans will fight hard to help Paré hold on to her seat in the general election.
“Paré is a well-funded candidate and someone that Republicans really want to stay in the legislature,” McLennan said. “On a personal level, they perceive [her] as an up-and-comer.”
On the other hand, the timing of this race with federal midterm elections could give Decker a boost.
“Midterm elections tend to favor the party out of power in Washington,” McLennan said. “We’re talking about a Republican-plus-three district. Even a small-wave election for Democrats could overcome that structural disadvantage.”
Decker talks about his campaign as “issues- and values-based” and is openly appealing to a broad swath of the electorate including District 37’s 44% unaffiliated voters.
“We know it’ll be a hard-fought race, we know it’s gonna take every volunteer to get out, knock doors, make phone calls, write postcards, but we’re excited about the base we’ve built,” he said.
Per her most recent campaign finance report, Paré has raised about $206,000 this election cycle, and her campaign has about $199,000 in the bank. Decker’s finance reports say he has raised about $48,000 and has about $27,000 on hand.
Results are unofficial until certified.
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