It was a long shot for LaKesha Womack to win her race for Congress.
She’s a community organizer, minister, and a mom who experienced homelessness just six years ago. Meanwhile, her opponent, Republican Tim Moore, has been a fixture in North Carolina politics for decades. He wasn’t just the incumbent for this Congressional race, he was also the longest-serving Speaker of the House in North Carolina.
And as if those odds weren’t bad enough, Tim Moore actually redrew the lines of his district to ensure his own victory. In 2023, the North Carolina General Assembly— with Tim leading as Speaker of the House — redrew the district. It suddenly shifted from D+6 to R+8. Then he ran for Congress the following year… and, to exactly nobody’s surprise, he won! Behold the power of gerrymandering.
And that wasn’t all. Tim also outspent LaKesha 34 to 1. Some of the $1.9 million he spent in the race came from the National Rifle Association and major power companies like Duke Energy. LaKesha, meanwhile, spent only $56,000.
This midterm election wasn’t Red Wine & Blue’s first introduction to Tim Moore. Last year, we held two “People’s Town Halls” for Tim’s constituents to ask him questions and express their concerns. He didn’t bother showing up... so his constituents addressed their concerns to a cardboard cutout instead.
Most political analysts thought LaKesha would lose. With the odds stacked against her, she had little support or funding from national groups. But she had something even more powerful: a community of local women who believed in her.
Two Red Wine & Blue groups, Grace & Grit of Steele Creek and Lake Norman Troublemakers, made it their mission to elect her. The women of Indivisible Lake Norman joined their efforts.
They knew their community was ready for something different.
Even Red Wine & Blue wasn’t sure we were going to throw our efforts behind her. Of course we’d love to support every great candidate out there, but like everyone else, our time and resources are limited. It took those on-the-ground groups and our NC Deputy Director, Lori, to break down the numbers in each county and prove that LaKesha had a path to victory.
Never underestimate a mom with a spreadsheet!
From there, we were all in on LaKesha. And on election night, our organizers’ incredible efforts paid off! LaKesha beat Tim Moore by 6,000 votes and will be the new representative for North Carolina’s 14th district. Here’s what she had to say:
“I think that people are just so overwhelmed with all the chaos that’s happening that they just want to restore some sanity back to Congress. They’re tired of everything. And so we’re really excited to be a part of an incoming class that has a clear majority and a mandate from the American people to change the direction that this country is headed in.”
LaKesha Womack’s victory in North Carolina shows the power of friend-to-friend organizing. When women work together, we can beat gerrymandering and big money every time.
That’s my Congresswoman 💙💙💙