2026 General Election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

North Carolina Senate District 21

2 candidates, listed alphabetically.

Candidates

Tom McInnis

RepublicanIncumbent

In office now
State Senator, District 21
Work
Principal auctioneer and broker, Iron Horse Auction Company; state senator (first elected 2014)

Tom McInnis is the sitting State Senator for District 21 in the North Carolina General Assembly, a district that includes all or part of Cumberland and Moore counties; the member page lists 6 terms in the Senate.

Tom McInnis founded and operates Iron Horse Auction Company, a regional auction and real estate firm, and served on the Richmond County Board of Education. Tom McInnis was first elected to the North Carolina Senate in 2014.

McInnis's committees

  • Agriculture, Energy, and Environment
  • Commerce and Insurance
  • Education/Higher Education
  • Finance (Chairman)
  • Regulatory Reform (Chairman)
  • Rules and Operations of the Senate
  • Select Committee on Property Tax Reform (Chairman)
  • Transportation
  • Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee
  • Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations
  • Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee
  • Revenue Laws Study Committee (Co-Chair)
  • Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on the North Carolina State Lottery
  • Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Capital Improvements

Sources for McInnis

Paul Taylor

Democratic

Work
Community organizer; military veteran

Paul Taylor is a veteran and community organizer and holds a business degree from Fayetteville State University.

Sources for Taylor

Sources

Candidate list and race details

What's included
U.S. Senate and House, statewide offices, every state legislative district on the ballot and statewide ballot measures.
Everything else
Local races (county, city, school board, judges) and anything else on your ballot are on your official sample ballot: vt.ncsbe.gov.
Candidate lists
As of Wednesday, October 14, 2026.

This is not an official ballot. Confirm your registration, polling place and ballot with your election office through vote.gov.