Deb Butler

Deborah Armfield "Deb" Butler is an American politician and attorney serving as a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives, where she has served since 2017.^[1] She represents the 18th House District, covering a portion of New Hanover County, as a member of the Democratic Party.^[2][3]

Deb Butler
Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from the 18th district
Incumbent
Assumed office February 6, 2017
Preceded by	Susi Hamilton
Personal details
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Anni Parra
Residence	Wilmington, North Carolina
Alma mater	University of Tennessee (BA) Wake Forest University (JD)
Occupation	Attorney
Website	electdebbutler.com

North Carolina General Assembly

In 2012 Butler unsuccessfully challenged Republican Thom Goolsby for a seat in the North Carolina Senate, losing by an 8 point margin. Butler was appointed to the North Carolina House of Representatives in 2017 to succeed Susi Hamilton, after Hamilton was appointed to head the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources by Governor Roy Cooper.^[4] She has been re-elected to the seat twice, most recently in 2020.

Personal life

Butler identifies as lesbian.^[4] She is one of four openly LGBT officeholders currently serving in the North Carolina state legislature, alongside caucus colleagues Marcia Morey, Allison Dahle and Cecil Brockman.

Butler works as a lawyer in Wilmington, North Carolina.^[5] She married Anni Parra in 2015.^[5]

Electoral history

2020

North Carolina House of Representatives 18th district general election, 2020^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Deb Butler (incumbent)	25,829	59.84%
	Republican	Warren Kennedy	17,336	40.16%
Total votes			43,165	100%
	Democratic hold

2018

North Carolina House of Representatives 18th district general election, 2018^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Deb Butler (incumbent)	17,812	62.43%
	Republican	Louis Harmati	9,835	34.47%
	Libertarian	Joseph D. Sharp	885	3.10%
Total votes			28,532	100%
	Democratic hold

2012

North Carolina Senate 9th district general election, 2012^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Thom Goolsby (incumbent)	52,955	54.16%
	Democratic	Deb Butler	44,817	45.84%
Total votes			97,772	100%
	Republican hold

Committee assignments

^[9]

2021-2022 Session

• Banking
• Commerce
• Finance
• Judiciary III
• Transportation

2019-2020 Session

• Banking
• Commerce
• Finance
• Transportation
• Redistricting

2017-2018 Session

• Aging
• Finance
• Judiciary IV
• State and Local Government I
• State Personnel