Ashley Bell

Ashley Bell was born in Tyler, Texas, and graduated from Henderson High School; she says she was raised in rural East Texas by small-business owners and was the first in her family to attend college.[2][3] She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Houston (2003), a graduate degree from Wake Forest University School of Medicine (2011), and a graduate degree from the University of Lynchburg (2019); according to her campaign website, the latter is a Doctor of Medical Science.[2][3]

According to her campaign website, Bell began her career as a junior high and high school band director in Texas before moving into medicine.[3] She works as a physician assistant and, according to the site, has about 15 years of clinical experience in emergency medicine, primary care, rural clinics, and telemedicine in North Carolina.[2][3] Her campaign website also describes about 20 years in education, including as a public school teacher and a university professor teaching physician assistant students, with evidence-based medicine and research taught at the master's and doctoral level.[2][3]

Bell says she served on national boards and committees in her profession; Ballotpedia lists affiliations with the American Academy of Physician Associates, the Physician Assistant Education Association, the American Association of University Professors, and Democratic Women of North Carolina.[2][3] She has not previously held elected office, and she won the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary with 47.3 percent of the vote.[2][3] According to her campaign website, she lives and works in the Triad.[3] During the campaign, she emphasized health care, education, and cost-of-living issues.[2][3] She received 48.7% of the vote to Pat Harrigan's 49.7%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News.[1]